Archives for December 2004

‘"We always knew what we could do as a unit," said left tackle Jonas Jennings. "We hit every bump in the road that we could hit during the first four weeks. It was only a matter of time for things to start going our way and we started believing in each other during that time. We’ve got a little swagger and confidence now and that’s how we go out and play."’

‘"I knew the names of the players in the room, but when I walked in, I couldn’t have pointed out Jim Kelly or Bruce Smith or any of those guys," joked Levy. "I said, ‘What it takes to win is simple, but it isn’t easy. Run, throw, block, tackle, catch, kick better than your opponent. We’re not going to do it with a bunch of X’s and O’s. We’re not going to do it with a bunch of talk. We’re going to go to work on fundamentals.’ And I did point out to them, ‘I’m going to ask three questions for you to answer. I know mine. Where are we now? Where do we want to go? How are we going to get there?’"’

‘So here we are. Six weeks after being left for dead in Foxboro, the Bills will host the 14-1 Steelers next Sunday with their playoff hopes very much alive. The bandwagon is overflowing, taking on passengers at a dizzying rate. That’s me hanging on at the rear, still properly skeptical but grateful for an exhilarating ride.’

‘"Really, it’s tough to comment on Pittsburgh right now until I get some tape on them and get a better feel for their personnel and their schemes," Mularkey deadpanned. "No, I think all of us were enjoying the moment when it was happening (over the 49ers). You don’t get chances to be in that situation and let the younger guys get a chance to play. I was enjoying watching them play. I’ll leave it at that."’

Roethlisberger’s rib injury not serious, but record run will come to end vs. Bills (Pittsburgh Post Gazette)

Steelers hope ‘road’ paved in black, gold (Pittsburgh Post Gazette)

Forever focused (Pittsburgh Tribune Review)

Farrior, not Lewis, is praised (Beaver County Times)

Steelers use injuries as motivation to win, not excuse for losing (AP)

Steelers win despite injury to Big Ben (The Sports Network)

Inside slant (CBS Sportsline)

Strategy and personnel (CBS Sportsline)

Notes, quotes (CBS Sportsline)

Burress happy to be back (Steelers.com)

‘”It has been a kind of spark for us in a number of games,” said Bledsoe, who looked comfortable running the hurry-up as he completed 21 of 32 passes for 172 yards with one touchdown, no interceptions and only one sack, which came when he scrambled out of the pocket and was dropped one yard behind the line of scrimmage. Coming into this game I felt we were going to use it more extensively. I felt like we had good matchups outside with our receivers,” he said.’

‘Say what you want, but a lot of starch has been taken out of this game.’

‘Pittsburgh coach Bill Cowher will probably limit the playing time for many of his other starters as well Sunday. The Steelers don’t care about this game. For them, the regular season is over. The season they care about is their postseason, which will begin with a home game at Heinz Field on Jan. 15 or 16.’

‘have carried over to the whole team. The Bills are a confident group now, and feel they can stand toe-to-toe with any team in the league. Opposing defenses are putting quite a bit of focus on stopping McGahee, and that just opens up the rest of the Buffalo offense.’

‘Shaud Williams was well-prepared for his first significant action.’

‘Should the Bills and Jets tie in the standings at 10-6, Buffalo wins the tiebreaker because of a better record among common opponents.’

‘In a season once destined for the scrap heap, the Buffalo Bills have patched up enough holes to stand on the brink of one of the National Football League’s most improbable turnarounds.’

‘And then there’s Donahoe, who has run both franchises. His Pittsburgh roots run so deep his grandfather was once mayor. But his 9-6 Bills need a win against the 14-1 Steelers and help from others to make the playoffs. That makes Sunday’s game at Ralph Wilson Stadium something of a playoff game. “That’s nothing new for us,” Donahoe says. “We’ve been playing playoff games for six weeks.”‘

‘I still wonder how Donahoe could have been so right about Mularkey and so wrong about Williams, but the good news for everybody that cares about the present and future of the Bills, is that Mularkey is proving not only that he’s the right guy, but Donahoe is the right guy as well.’

‘their turnaround. The opinions varied, but one common theme was their head coach Mike Mularkey.’