Archives for September 16, 2004

‘"Playing in the ‘Black Hole" is different," Reese said. "You’ve just got to focus on your game and what you’ve got to do. It’s a totally different atmosphere. It’s like Halloween is coming early. As far as the costumes go, you see everything from A to Z."’

‘A committee comprised of community leaders will review the nominations and select the 10 finalists and name the 2004 Buffalo Bills Community Quarterback winner. The Buffalo Bills Youth Foundation will then award each of the 10 finalists with a $1,000 grant for their charitable organizations, with the winner receiving an additional $10,000 grant. Winners and their agency contacts will also be recognized on the field at the Bills-Steelers game on January 2.’

‘"We watched the tape and Monday and moved on," cornerback Troy Vincent said of the last-second loss to Jacksonville. "They won, we lost, and we’ve got another opportunity this weekend as we travel out to Oakland. We’ll get it together and see if we can have another good defensive performance but this time seal the deal."’

‘This year marked the third consecutive year that the Bills in the Tops Rookie Club attended the event. Students in the Buffalo area have been unable to attend field trips in the past few years due to the Buffalo Public Schools funding crisis. The lack of funds has forced the school board to cut all field trips from the curriculum.’

‘"That situation is always tough," safety Izell Reese said. "The more we can get off the field and get our offense the ball, the better success we’ll have in scoring. That’s our job. I mean, that’s defense. If (the offense) scores three points, it’s our job to keep the other team from scoring at all."’

‘"They’re certainly not afraid to come after you with the blitz because they have probably the best tandem of corners in the league in Woodson and Buchanon," Bledsoe said. "They have two guys who can cover man to man as well as anyone. They will take some chances with the blitz and leave those guys out there on an island. When they do that, we have to make plays against them."’

Rice says support role fine with him (Oakland Tribune)

Rookie Gallery will start Sunday (Oakland Tribune)

Raiders defense aimed at keeping foes guessing (Contra Costa Times)

Gallery lined up to start (Contra Costa Times)

After solid outing against Pittsburgh, Woodson expects test from Buffalo (San Jose Mercury News)

Gallery to start home opener after impressive NFL debut (San Jose Mercury News)

Woodson plays corner as if he hadn’t missed a day (San Francisco Chronicle)

Gallery set to start at right tackle (San Francisco Chronicle)

Rice’s reduced role concerns receiver (Sacramento Bee)

Gallery will start at right tackle (Sacramento Bee)

Rookie lineman Gallery steps into starting lineup (Santa Rosa Press Democrat)

Woodson not thinking about long-term contract now (AP)

‘"I think any rookie, it’s hard to step right in," Mularkey said. "Some guys can do it and some can’t, but I think at some point Lee will. It’s not right now, but he’s got to get more playing time so he can get more experience."’

‘”Every kick is big for me. Even if we’re up 28-0, for me to go out and kick a field goal is big for me; I want to make every one of them. And that one meant a little more than some of the others.”‘

‘At Aurora, Beebe uses a hybrid of the no-huddle (K-Gun, named after quarterback Jim Kelly) and West Coast offenses he learned playing for the Bills and Packers. His quarterback-wide receiver combo of Nate Peterson and Terrence Pool has teamed for seven touchdowns in the three games.’

‘Bledsoe didn’t have to elaborate. The Bills have won just seven times in their last 23 games dating back to 2002 when he joined the club from New England.’

‘The Bills will want to run the ball, score early and take the notorious Raiders’ “Black Hole” crowd out of the picture. That means finding a way to move the Raiders beefy D-line anchored by Pro Bowl veterans Warren Sapp and Ted Washington. Good luck.’

‘OT Jonas Jennings, who has gone against DE Aaron Schobel every day in practice since the two came into the NFL as part of Buffalo’s 2001 draft class, said Schobel was very deserving of his new contract extension. Jennings said Schobel has steadily gotten better. “His counter moves are definitely better and I’ve been going against him for so long and I know him so well,” Jennings said. “I think his speed is his No. 1 asset.”‘

‘”We know what we’re capable of and what we can do as a team,” wide receiver Josh Reed excplained. “We just want to go out there and execute and not shoot ourselves in the foot like we’ve been doing.”‘

”’He’s got to be automatic,” said coach Mike Mularkey, who’s team prepares to play at Oakland this Sunday. ”The objective of the offense is to score points every time they touch the ball, and he’s a large part of that. So his consistency is very important.”’