Archives for August 2004

‘”We didn’t come to play tonight as a whole,” Spikes said. “We didn’t play the way we needed to play in order to achieve our goal of being the number one defense.”‘

‘”You’ll see, as we go, more starters,” said Mularkey. “We’re going to put the best guys out there, period. There is no thing that says a starter is relieved from duty because he’s playing first, second, and third down. Fourth down is no different. What’s nice is a couple of guys are volunteering. Two weeks and a row London (Fletcher) has been unbelievable on kickoff return.’

‘On whether the Bills have a running back controversy:

No we don’t. We think maybe the media does, but we don’t have one.’

‘Bills play-by-play man John Murphy and analyst Alex Van Pelt were impressive in the one quarter I heard of the Bills-Broncos game. In the third quarter, I was struck by how smooth Murphy was in his first game and how smart he was to repeatedly ask questions of Van Pelt to draw observations out of the rookie announcer.’

‘McGahee’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus, was not commenting on the matter Friday, which in itself spoke volumes. If the loquacious, accessible Rosenhaus wanted to squelch a story, he would do it.’

‘"I would expect to play (near) the end of the second quarter if not all the way through it," Bledsoe said. "I think it will probably depend partly on how productive we are offensively. If we go out and produce some points, then it will probably be a little shorter amount of time. But if we’re struggling a little bit, we’ll stay until we do something productive."’

‘"That’s the way it is week in and week out in this league because injuries happen and other guys have to come in and play."’

‘Contacted in Miami, McGahee’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus, said he did not wish to comment on the stories but would not deny their validity. "Hopefully the silence is enough of a comment for you, you know what I’m saying?" Rosenhaus said. "It’s not a topic I care to talk about, but maybe down the road."’

‘"This college has done so much for western New York, Rochester and the Buffalo Bills," Wilson said at the ceremony. The Rochester area, in general, he said, has been crucial in the Bills’ goal to become a "regional" team.’

”’The explosion is coming back,” McGahee said. ”I just feel like I’m not trying to get out there and go 110 percent. I’m not trying to rush it, I’m just trying to work my way into it. I am getting more confident.”’

McGahee passing early tests with Bills (Nashville Tennessean)

Volek knows his future is with Titans (Nashville Tennessean)

Tonight’s game: Titans at Bills (Nashville Tennessean)

‘In an AFC Wild Card tilt on Jan. 8th, 2000, the host Titans snuffed out an apparent Bills victory after Frank Wycheck’s cross-field lateral to Kevin Dyson went for a spectacular 75-yard touchdown in the game’s closing seconds. Tennessee went on to win the AFC Championship, while Buffalo has not returned to the playoffs since the heartbreaking defeat. New Bills head coach Mike Mularkey is attempting to reverse that trend, and Saturday’s game will be another small step in that quest.’

‘Travis Henry or Willis McGahee? It might not matter who’s running the ball if the Buffalo Bills can’t get their offensive line troubles straightened out.’

‘McGahee’s agent is not commenting leading to speculation that the report may be coming out of South Florida. The day after Ricky Williams retired from the Dolphins, there were published reports in Miami that the Dolphins had contacted the Bills about Travis Henry. Bills General Manager Tom Donahoe said right away that they never called.’

‘"It was like going from a truck to a Rolls Royce," said former Bills safety John Pitts. "The War Memorial had its great moments and great days, but that was a dive. But the people there in Buffalo, I don’t think you could find no more committed and loyal fans. We used to race off the field because whoever got in the shower first – you got hot water. If you were the last one, the water was going to be cold. Even the guys that were injured, you could see them sprinting off the field. You could just stay back and see if that injury is real or if they’re just faking."’