Archives for December 14, 2004

‘The Bills have signed veteran TE Bradford Banta. Banta was drafted by the Colts in 1994 and spent six years there. In 2000 he was with the Jets and played for Detroit the last three seasons. Over 11 years Banta has 140 games in.’

‘The Buffalo Bills placed rookie Tim Euhus on injured reserve with a right knee injury Tuesday, the second tight end the team has lost this season.’

‘Banta spent the past three seasons with the Detroit Lions after a one year stint with the New York Jets in 2000.’

‘I say the Bills win the next two and need that Week 17 win to make the big dance.’

‘"We got beat by a good Cincinnati club. We’re a young team and you should be seeing a lot more of us in the playoffs in the years to come. People haven’t heard the end of the Bills."’

‘On Wednesday, Bills’ head coach Mike Mularkey, while indicating that Vincent was finally ready, gave the impression he would be eased into the line-up, possibly as a nickel or dime back. Instead, of course, Buffalo went immediately ahead with its plan to switch the aging corner to free safety, a move that will extend his career. AND, after one glittering performance, it appears the wait was worth it.’

‘McGahee keeps getting excited about his performances and so do the fans. He scored four touchdowns in a win over Seattle. He ran for 105 yards and two scores in a win over Cleveland last week. Overall, McGahee has six 100-yard games since replacing Travis Henry and the Bills have quietly crept back into the fringe of the playoff race at 7-6. Buffalo still needs several breaks to reach the postseason but this season has been successful simply because McGahee has arrived. At least that’s how Jannie sees it. “Every time I watch Willis run these days, I think one thing,” she says. “That’s my boy out there. That’s my boy.”‘

‘”I told them I’m proud of them,” Mularkey said. “To battle back with the adversity that they faced . . . it’s easy, especially in this day and age with the media, the fans and the pressure from outside, to possibly waver and they never have. It’s a credit to them.”‘

‘”The playoff race started the first game of the season,” coach Mike Mularkey said following Sunday’s 37-7 rout of Cleveland. “I’m not going to emphasize it, because again, we still have work to do. The players know it, and I’m not going to start now. We have a focus and we’re going to stick with it.”‘

Tough task this Sunday (Cincinnati Enquirer)

50-50 chance QB Palmer will play (Cincinnati Enquirer)

Offense is on a record run (Cincinnati Enquirer)

Who’s quarterback? (Cincinnati Post)

Perry might get chance to play (Cincinnati Post)

Kitna praises Palmer (Dayton Daily News)

Exam reveals no serious harm to Palmer’s knee (Columbus Dispatch)

Dillon makes peace after upbeat return (Columbus Dispatch)

Palmer might play against Buffalo, despite knee injury (AP)

Bengals’ Palmer questionable for Sunday (The Sports Network)

Marvin Lewis News Conference (Bengals.com)

Palmer questionable for Bills’ Homecoming (Bengals.com)

Bills sell out PBS (Bengals.com)

‘And the Bills are an exciting team. They’ve found the offensive personality that has been missing in the person of running back Willis McGahee.’

‘”He can be here as long as he wants. He’s done a good job. I’m happy,” Wilson said. “We’re friends. He had a very tough job to do coming in here.”‘

‘For sheer dominance, that group in 1964 and 1965 that won back-to-back AFL championships was pretty tough to beat. The ’64 team allowed an average of just 65 rushing yards per game, which is third best in pro football history for a non-strike season. The ’65 team gave up only 16 points per game and had a team-record 57 takeaways.’

‘Mularkey’s biggest worry may be keeping this staff together. Clements was a finalist for the head coaching job at Notre Dame, and is now among the candidates for the top job at the University of Pittsburgh. Gray’s name could also surface as a candidate for future coaching vacancies. “I’d love to see Tom and Jerry Gray get a chance, but I am a little spoiled to have the guys I have,” Mularkey said. “It makes everybody’s jobs easier.”‘

‘GM Tom Donahoe deserves credit for many moves over the past couple seasons, but the drafting of McGee may turn out to be the best value pick he ever makes.’