Archives for December 2004

‘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.’

‘That was definitely the intent of the Bills – and the Browns as well, for that matter – when they met on a warm late summer Friday evening at the stadium where the baseball movie "The Natural" would be filmed years later. And the fans realized the significance of the event. The game was televised back to Cleveland and, as has always been the case for Browns TV contests, drew a big audience. It was a huge hit in Buffalo as well. A crowd of 45,448 crammed its way into cozy War Memorial Stadium. It was the sixth-biggest home crowd in Bills history at the time – preseason or regular season – would be larger than any regular-season home gathering Buffalo would have in 1968.’

‘Could you please talk about your leadership style and the styles Coaches Mularkey, Clements and Wyche have when it comes to working with you, the other QBs, and the rest offense?

DB: The No. 1 thing as a leader you need to do is do your job first. As a quarterback, part of my job means getting everybody on the same page. I have extra meetings with my running backs, wide receives and tight ends during the week and I have an extra meeting with the offensive lineman to make sure that I’m on the same page with everybody else going into the game so that when we have to make in-game adjustments everybody knows what to expect. The second thing, I just try to be positive all the time regardless of what has happened or what situation we are in. I try to take the same approach every day. I try to come to work with a positive attitude and an upbeat outlook.’

‘We had some great special teams units when I was in Buffalo, but none are like what they have now. These guys play as a team and everyone is on the same page. There is not one aspect of their game that is a weakness. The coverage teams have been great, the return game even better, and Brian Moorman has been a solid punter. This is a phase of the game that could carry the Bills to the playoffs.’

‘McDonald’s gave local football fans a break today.’

‘“He’s had a really good week of work,” Mularkey said Friday after practice.’