Archives for December 27, 2004

‘In other words, what are the obligations of the Colts and Steelers? To ensure they are ready for the playoffs? Or to preserve the integrity of the playoff system by using their best players? In most cases, it’s the former — the “Me First” attitude.’

‘But the fact that Jan. 2 will indeed matter, one way or the other, might be this Buffalo team’s most remarkable accomplishment of all.’

‘”This whole season has come down to one game for a long time,” said Drew Bledsoe, who completed 21-of-32 passes for 172 yards with a touchdown. “We’ve been playing playoff games for months and we put ourselves in that situation by losing the first four. We took a big hit against the Patriots and had to bounce back from that and we’ve been playing for our lives for a long time and that’s what we’re doing this week also when we play the Steelers. If we win, then we’ve got a shot, if we don’t, we’re home.”‘

‘"I love it to death that I have the Pro Bowls and everything. But if I wouldn’t have got it I wouldn’t trade it for the position I’m in right here," Spikes said. "This is what you come and play the game for. This is what it all boils down to."’

‘This is going to be a fun week.’

‘The Bills’ Mike Mularkey was on the hot seat by October, dropping five of his first six games as a head coach. They turned it around after a 29-6 loss at New England in Week 10. Trailing 10-0 to the Rams the following week, Buffalo rallied to win 37-17. The Bills haven’t lost since, scoring 38 at Seattle, 42 at Miami, 37 vs. Cleveland, 33 at Cincinnati and 41 yesterday at San Francisco. They don’t, as we say, control their own destiny. Instead, the Bills have to beat Pittsburgh and hope the Broncos lose to the Colts. The catch is, the Colts have no incentive to beat the Broncos, not at the risk of having Peyton Manning, Edgerrin James or even P Hunter Smith, for that matter, suffer an injury.’

The Bills have won eight of their last nine and the Panthers have reeled off six of seven. Both are riding a huge wave of momentum as the last week of the season approaches, and that’s a dangerous trait for a team to have.

‘”It’s easy to sit there and try to watch what’s going on around you,” Mularkey said. “To me that’s just something you can’t even let cross your mind because it does . . . not . . . matter. It doesn’t matter unless we go out on the field and do our part.”‘

‘”I knew he was going to play early in the week,” said center Trey Teague. “I mean, he didn’t tell me for sure, but you can just tell by somebody’s mannerisms if they’re going to give it a shot.”‘

‘”We just took advantage of the matchups that we had,” said Evans, who finished with eight catches for 92 yards and two touchdowns. “We really got into rhythm with the no-huddle, and we were able to pick them apart and take our shots accordingly. Whether Drew (Bledsoe) was hitting me, Eric or someone else we just kept them off-balance.”‘

‘”This is probably the best football team coming in that we’ve played,” Erickson said. “They physically got after us in all aspects of it. They are a very physical football team on defense and very physical offensively.”‘

‘”Everybody is playing disciplined as far as their assignments, and when the defensive calls are made everyone is playing them out,” said cornerback Nate Clements, who had one of the Bills three interceptions. “Every week we try to get three or more turnovers in every practice. When everybody is playing sound and playing together, it’s hard to beat us. When everybody gets involved in forcing turnovers it becomes contagious.”‘

‘If the Bills make the playoffs, they should send a thank-you card to Houston owner Bob McNair. McNair chartered an extra-large plane so wives and family members could accompany his team to Jacksonville on Christmas Day. The Texans responded with a 21-0 victory, dropping the Jaguars a game back of Buffalo in the AFC standings.’

‘When it mattered, Bills stopped the run. Niners had just 33 yards at halftime. Another day at the office.’

‘The Bills, who started the season with four straight losses, now have a six-game winning streak, their longest streak in 14 years.’