Archives for December 11, 2004

‘Nobody really expects the Browns to win Sunday. They came into the game against New England emotionally charged but lost by 27. They come to chilly Buffalo prepared but undermanned.’

‘They have Troy Aikman and Brett Hull instead of John Elway and Michael Jordan. They have Norwood instead of Jose Mesa. They have Jim Kelly instead of Bernie or Jim Thome. While, still, no city can match the seamless combination of horrible teams and last-minute heartbreak as Cleveland, our friends from just down the road are the closest to truly understanding what it’s like to feel as if they’re living under a giant cloud of Murphy’s Law.’

‘All the talk from the Browns locker room about playing hard for Terry Robiskie? It’s time to find out if a full, distraction-free week under the new head coach means anything in the way of on-field improvements. Buffalo has scored 37, 38, and 42 points, respectively, in each of the last three weeks, and will be looking to score plenty again against the banged-up Browns defense.’

‘The importance of this game cannot be understated for Buffalo, in a five-team race for the AFC’s sixth and final playoff berth. What’s sobering is the Bills, because of tie-breaking scenarios, don’t control their destiny and won’t be guaranteed anything even if they win their remaining four games.’

‘Big Dawg returns to Buffalo this weekend, along with about 40 of his canine-like buddies. But this time he’ll be barking for his Cleveland Browns, and challenging Bills fans to give to The News Neediest Fund.’

‘Since McDonald’s will be the game-day sponsor Sunday, area owners and operators approached the Bills about buying the tickets to ensure the game would be shown locally on television.’

‘If it’s possible for a player on pace for 91 catches and 1,120 yards to go unnoticed, wide receiver Eric Moulds has done it.’

‘"It means a lot," said Evans, the Bills’ first-round pick, the 13th choice overall, out of Wisconsin. "Probably, everybody back at home will be watching. It will be extra motivation for this game, but I get up for every game. You get up a little bit more when you know the people back at home are watching you."’

Stick with Warren, Robiskie urges club (Cleveland Plain Dealer)

Bills’ prize catch idolized Browns (Cleveland Plain Dealer)

Robiskie believes Warren’s ‘a good football player’ (Lorain Morning Journal)

Green staying away from the spotlight (Akron Beacon Journal)

Shocker: Robiskie no Davis (Canton Repository)

Garcia’s last stand? (Warren Tribune Chronicle)

Rookies ready to contribute (ClevelandBrowns.com)

E-mail lauds Browns defenders (ClevelandBrowns.com)

Robiskie: ‘Warren is not a bust’ (ClevelandBrowns.com)

Gerard Warren Q & A (ClevelandBrowns.com)

Browns met first AFL foe in 1968 (ClevelandBrowns.com)

‘The mere fact the Bills are talking playoffs after a demoralizing start is impressive. It appears that many of the pieces for future success are in place. And if Buffalo continues moving forward, the man once known as Dona-woe may become known as Dona-wow in some circles.’

‘”What’s been outstanding on defense,” Robiskie said of the Bills, “is that Jerry (Gray, coordinator) constantly has been able to get those guys to play at a high-end level no matter what’s been happening on the other side of the ball. And that’s hard. Sometimes when your offense has been struggling and still trying to get a feel for what Mike (Mularkey, head coach) and Tom (Clements, offensive coordinator) are doing … the defense has to say. ‘We’ve got to keep going and keep plugging and let those guys catch up.’ And, next thing you know, a couple of plays (on offense), Willis hits on one or two and now your defense is ready to roll and it all starts coming together.”‘

‘It’s unbelievable that in the history of the league no team has ever had six returns for touchdowns in a season and we’re right on the brink of accomplishing that record. There have been a lot of good teams and to say that your team has done something that nobody has done in 45 years is one thing, but to say you are a part of a team that accomplished something that no team has done in 75 years is unbelievable. Obviously, there are some things that we have to do, but it can be done.’

‘Lineman Lawrence Smith has been doing more work at Tackle than at guard just because of the numbers for Buffalo at that position. Smith was working at Tackle while a member of the Ravens’ practice squad.’