Archives for March 2004

‘”You could see by body language, the way they play the game, the way they carry themselves, the way they approach their teammates, you have a pretty good feel who those leaders are already,” Mularkey said. “I’m finding other things out being out here that there are some guys who lead by example. And there are some guys on offense that are standing up a lot better than I thought they would.”‘

‘The best-case scenario is this: The offensive line protects Drew Bledsoe much, much better under new line coach Jim McNally, the draft brings a speed receiver to take the multiple pass coverage off Eric Moulds, Bledsoe uses running back Willis McGahee as a frequent receiver, Josh Reed returns to the slot, where he is more effective, and the running game is so good it creates greater opportunities for the pass. Bledsoe plays as brilliantly as he did in his first half season as a Bill.’

‘It’s hard to imagine the Bills giving up future picks to move up from No. 13. So what needs to happen for the Bills to get Roethlisberger? 1. San Diego trades down and then, stunningly, passes up a quarterback. 2. Oakland and Arizona pass on QBs. 3. No other team (such as San Francisco at No. 16) works a trade into the top 10 to take a QB. (Washington needs extra picks and is a trade-down candidate at No. 5.)’

‘New York Jets All-Pro running back Curtis Martin shared his faith with about 800 people who attended the third annual Athletes in Action awards breakfast Saturday in the Hyatt Regency Buffalo. He was surrounded by an all-star cast of athletes that included former Buffalo Bills quarterback Frank Reich, Cincinnati Bengals quarterback and television sports analyst Boomer Esiason, and former Bills wide receiver Andre Reed.’

‘As of Thursday, Buffalo appeared to be the leader in the race for Williams but, as the Bengals found out last week when Warren Sapp ended up signing with Oakland after a deal with Cincinnati was all but signed, nothing is final until the signature is on a contract and filed with the league.’

‘Van Miller, recently retired voice of the Buffalo Bills, and Wally Huckno, retired Jamestown football coach, are being honored Monday at the 2004 Romulus Club Annual Sports Night in memory of Ilio DiPaolo.’

‘”Mularkey’s style of play is a physical play,” running back Travis Henry said. “That is what he is installing in our heads. It looks like we are going to be a physical, run first, ball control offense.”‘

‘”We installed enough where we felt like we weren’t going to overload their brain capacity,” Mularkey said. “We didn’t want a lot of thinking going on. We wanted these guys playing.”‘

‘Willis McGahee did not appear to be limited in any way over the course of the 3 day camp, and Mike Mularkey agreed. He did make sure to point out that he’d prefer to speak with the trainers before speculating about the running back’s status/progress.’

‘But Bledsoe has a huge supporter in Mularkey, who felt it was important to tell Bledsoe in their first meeting that he’s entrenched as the starter. “I think he needs to know that coming in here because that’s the way it is,” Mularkey said. “You’ve got to have a guy who wants to approach it that way and not have any doubts. “Am I or am I not?’ There is no doubt.”‘

‘”It would be a great pleasure because (McNally) is truly like a master of the game, and he can just take my level of what I know and my ability to another level,” Williams said Thursday during the Bills’ veteran minicamp. “It’s all about just getting better, and with him definitely.”‘

‘”It looks pretty good,” Williams said of the team and the facilities. “We’ll see how it plays out, but I’m glad to be in Buffalo.”‘

‘”I still have confidence in him and so does the rest of the team,” said wide receiver Eric Moulds, who was nagged by a season-ruining groin injury that resulted in him catching just one touchdown pass in 2003, nine fewer than the year before. “Our problems last year went well beyond Drew. It would be wrong to put the bulk of the blame on him. We have to protect better, we have to run better routes, and we have to go with a system that’s more in tune with his skills and our skills.”‘

‘As for the Bills, Volek said they offered to throw him into a competition with incumbent Drew Bledsoe. “They wanted me to come in there and compete with him right away,” Volek said. “That was probably the biggest selling point Buffalo had to offer us.”‘

‘The mini-camp marks the first time Mularkey and his staff have met face-to-face with the entire Bills roster.’