Archives for December 9, 2004

‘”I’m going to do the best job I can,” Neufeld said of moving into the starting line up. “I’ve learned a lot from Mark throughout this season and hopefully I can get in there and do what he’s been doing.”‘

The Bills are on fire as they will try to continue their improbable playoff run against the Browns. Their 6-6 record puts them on the fringe of the playoffs. Cleveland is going in the opposite direction as they’ve lost six straight and are playing out the string. This is a classic trap game as the Bills could get caught looking ahead to next week’s battle with fellow playoff wannabe Cincinnati.

The ever-immobile Bledsoe will never be mistaken for Atlanta’s agile and powerful Michael Vick when it comes to scrambling out of the pocket. But he’s no longer the aging, struggling, supposedly washed-up player many were calling him after the worst performance of his career in Buffalo’s 29-6 loss to New England on Nov. 14.

On a neatly manicured grass practice field, under a cloudless and sunny August morning, in front of scores of interested onlookers, including members of the national media, Willis McGahee — the Bills’ 2003 first-round draft choice — was making his long-awaited NFL debut, a full 19 months after suffering one of the most gruesome knee injuries anyone had ever seen.