Archives for November 2004

‘"It’s a real team effort," said April. "The head coach made it a priority when we first got here. We worked on it in the off-season and never cheated it and never cut corners on it."’

‘"We knew that they were going to be fundamentally sound," Campbell said of the Rams defense. "We knew there was going to be good spacing in between them so we felt like we could find ourselves somewhere in those spaces. Going into this game, I told my wife, Michel, that I thought there was a good chance I was going to have a good day."’

‘"This week we took it personal," Campbell said. "What happened last Sunday night was embarrassing. We had a bad taste in our mouth and wanted to do something about it today."’

‘The Bills scored on an 86-yard punt return. Their 53-yard punt return set up an earlier touchdown. Their recovery of a fumbled kickoff led to a field goal.’

What a difference a week makes. Last week, almost every unit failed in our grades, this week they all pass with flying colors. The offense dominated for the game for a quarter, the special teams led directly to 17 third quarter points, and the defense shut the door on the high powered Rams offense in the second half. Here are our very good position by position grades:

‘The Bills defense was amazing against one of the best offenses in the league, especially in the second half. Buffalo held St. Louis to just 35 yards on 20 rushes, and only one yard rushing in the second half. Marshall Faulk was shut down with 13 carries for only 6 yards.’

‘For about one half of football Sunday, Buffalo and St. Louis appeared evenly matched. Then, the third quarter started.’

It was fitting that the day Jim Richter was inducted onto the Wall of Fame the Bills would put together a victory that was vintage of the good old days. A 37 point explosion in the 2nd and third quarters, that was a combined effort of all three units, led the Bills to a 37-17 victory over the Rams.

‘It was a dominating effort by a Buffalo team (4-6) that has won four straight at home, but was coming off its worst outing of the season, a 29-6 loss at New England.’

‘Mark Campbell enjoyed a special day. Special teams were pretty special as well for the Buffalo Bills.’

‘Campbell, who didn’t have a reception in the previous three contests, finished with four catches for 37 yards, as the Bills have won three of four. Willis McGahee added 100 yards rushing for Buffalo (4-6), which used strong special teams in the second half to capture its fourth straight win at home.’

‘"I was totally flabbergasted," Ritcher said. "At first, just for a second, I’m thinking, ‘Gosh, I wonder if they want me to come back and play?’ That didn’t last very long. Then he told me the vote had come and what they had decided. I just couldn’t believe it. It was absolutely the farthest thing from my mind that he could have been calling me about. Like I said, I was flabbergasted and honored at the same time. Ever since then, I’ve been looking forward to getting up there and seeing some old friends and being part of the weekend."’

‘Bills’ offense wakes up from seasonlong slumber and outscores Rams, 27-21.’

‘Only two players – Andre Reed and Bruce Smith – played more seasons and in more games for the Bills than Ritcher.’

‘The combination of the Williams firing and the quarterback situation is forcing the Bills, in Year Four of the Donahoe regime, to start over to a large degree. Mike Mularkey brought a new system this season, and J.P. Losman probably will take over at quarterback next season, barring a giant recovery by Bledsoe.’