Archives for October 26, 2004

‘I don’t know what the problem is in the red zone. It’s as if the Bills hit a brick wall once they get an opportunity to put points on the board. I think part of it is their inability to run once they get down there. The red zone rushing attack is non-existent and they need to have more consistency to that aspect of their game. Travis Henry and Willis McGahee are both quality backs and someone is going to have to step it up and get the ball into the end zone.’

‘Turnovers are a part of the game, but where the turnovers occurred killed the Bills time and again on Sunday. The Bills were inside the Ravens’ 20-yard line four times and couldn’t get into the end zone.’

‘Coach Eric Jantzi of North Tonawanda High School has been named the Buffalo Bills high school football “Coach of the Week” for the eighth weekend of the 2004 season (October 23-24).’

‘"A lot of these kids are looking for role models," the physical education teacher said. "When a Buffalo Bill comes to school and tells them to eat right and exercise, it means something to them."’

‘Yeah, they could win their next two – hosting the Cardinals (2-4) and Jets (5-1) – but at season’s end, this team that appeared to be a playoff contender when it began has a 6-10 look, at best.’

‘"If we weren’t getting down there at all, I’d be going, "Holy cow. We are in some serious trouble,’ " Mularkey said. "But the trouble is once we get down there we’re not finishing the drives."’

‘There’s one problem, though. If the Bills make Travis Henry the backup, it’ll diminish his trade value. When Tom Donahoe tries to swing a deal before the draft, other general managers will remind him that Henry wasn’t even good enough to start for a bad Bills team. It’s a classic bind, but it’s of Donahoe’s making. It kills me to say I told you so, but this is why they should have traded Henry back in August.’

‘”That’s what I foresee right now,” Mularkey said Monday after team meetings. “We’re going to continue with stages of it. He did the seven-on-seven (last week). We’ll get him into maybe some team work (this week) that doesn’t put him in a position that he may have to scramble or avoid contact, any of those where there’s sudden movement that he has not tested. We’ll keep bumping that up as he feels.”‘

‘In their six games this season the Bills have driven into the red zone on 16 occasions and have scored just four touchdowns. That 25 percent touchdown rate is last in the NFL.’

‘Leo: The team is 1-5 and spinning its wheels. Something needs to be done. Sal: Spinning its wheels? The engine would have to be running for the Bills to be spinning their wheels.’

‘Bledsoe can be blamed for three of Buffalo’s four failed red zone opportunities.’

‘LT Jonas Jennings’ bad ankle forced him to miss his second straight game. He’s expected to try and practice on Wednesday when full preparations for the Arizona Cardinals begin. Jennings has been injury prone each of his four NFL seasons and he had hoped to shake that label heading into free agency but it hasn’t happened.’

‘We have not stopped fighting for the playoffs. There is a lot of football left, as we’ve got 10 ballgames to go and our number one objective is still the playoffs.’

‘Our coaches currently feel that our best chance to win is with Drew Bledsoe and even though our entire offense struggled in the Baltimore game, Drew has played good football for us this year up until yesterday’s game.’

‘Not that it really matters if rookie qb J.P. Losman can practice or play right now, which he can’t, because he won’t. Still, his day is coming much sooner than I’d ever have thought possible at the start of this season.’