Archives for February 2005

Though many have opined the Bills are taking a huge risk with Losman, a look at Bledsoe’s 2004 game film would open your eyes and leave you wondering if the falloff in performance will be that significant. Bledsoe’s 12 years of experience and command of the huddle is one thing. But grading him strictly on performance, Bledsoe was one of the 10 worst starting quarterbacks in the NFL last season.

‘Milloy did the right thing. That isn’t to say players like Tedy Bruschi, who stayed in New England for less money, did the wrong thing. Bruschi is still a millionaire plenty of times over, and he liked playing for the Patriots. The choice was his. Milloy made a different choice. It has probably eaten at him some the past two years when he watched the Super Bowl, realizing he could have been him in that celebration. But 30 years from now, he’ll realize he did the right thing.’

”’Our defense we felt was playoff-caliber. Our special teams ended up first in the league,” Donahoe said. ”If we’re going to take that next step, we’ve got to get better on the offensive side of the ball.”’

‘"He’s going to have the benefit of a defense that’s going to be great, and a very strong running back," Bledsoe said of Losman’s opportunities. "He’ll have a lot of help around him. I’m sure they’ll design an offense that lets him get out and run around."’

‘I think when Drew came here we were in a big black hole with this football team and he certainly helped us get out of that. He helped bring respectability back to the Buffalo Bills. He brought creditability to the football team and I owe him a debt of gratitude. Personally, I learned a lot from being around Drew. The way he dealt with adversity. The way he dealt with criticism. I learned a lot by being around him. I really appreciate what he did for us and hopefully he’ll be successful with what happens in the future. I never felt in my conversations with Drew or David Dunn that he would be comfortable here or anywhere as a back-up quarterback.’

‘We had a good season last year. As I’ve told the team and the organization it was not a super year.’

‘"If you’re looking for life or football to be fair, you’re going to be disappointed a lot," Bledsoe said in a conference call from his Oregon home. "Do I think this is fair? No, I don’t think this is fair. But I’m also aware that that’s how it works."’

‘The Bills should be applauded for taking a bold, necessary step. I felt Donahoe would try to squeeze one more year out of Bledsoe, to prove he was right to bring him here all along. But in the end, Donahoe acted in the long-term interests of the franchise.’

‘"This just doesn’t speak to Drew Bledsoe, I think it speaks to our offense," Donahoe said. "Our offense isn’t good enough. We’re not good enough on that side of the ball, and it’s not just Drew Bledsoe. We’ve got to get better on the line, we’ve got to get more consistent. We’ve got to get more big plays from our playmakers."’

‘”When I had the conversation with Mike and first found out the direction they were going to go was with J.P., I was beside myself,” Bledsoe said. “I was very disappointed, very angry, all those things. But since then I’ve kind of gotten around to where I’m excited about finding out what the future holds and moving on to the next challenge.”‘

‘”We had a good year last year, but as I told the team and this organization, it was not a super year,” said Mularkey. “We did not reach some of the goals we set out for. You’re constantly trying to grow and with that comes change. Sometimes that’s subtle and sometimes it can be large, and that’s why we’re here today.”‘

‘Turns out, it’s actually coach Mike Mularkey’s team.’

‘In perhaps his biggest game as a Buffalo Bill, Drew Bledsoe came up small.’

‘If the Bills had defeated visiting Pittsburgh in the final game of the 2004 season, Bledsoe probably still would be the team’s starting QB. But he played horribly, as usually happened in big games against quality opponents.’

‘”In New England I was the first pick in the draft,” Bledsoe said. “If they’re going to trade away picks, they’re going to try to get him on the field. That’s obvious. Had the Pittsburgh game turned out different [a 29-24 loss in the season finale] and we’d won a playoff game or two, I don’t know what would have happened . . . it might have played out differently.”‘