Archives for August 2005

‘This year’s camp lasted only 26 days and the team wasn’t even there (games, scrimmages and off-days) for 10 of them.’

‘If you don’t already have a ticket, you’re out of luck if you were hoping to attend the Buffalo Bills’ final evening practice session today at their St. John Fisher training camp.’

‘”They did a couple of things that they didn’t do during the scrimmage,” said safety Lawyer Milloy. “I think they used our aggressiveness on third down against us. (Favre) made a couple of throws that kept the drive alive. After we gave up that first touchdown, we made the necessary adjustments, which any defense does, and played pretty solid from that point on.”‘

‘”They did a couple of things that they didn’t do during the scrimmage,” said safety Lawyer Milloy. “I think they used our aggressiveness on third down against us. (Favre) made a couple of throws that kept the drive alive. After we gave up that first touchdown, we made the necessary adjustments, which any defense does, and played pretty solid from that point on.”‘

‘”The time of possession and third downs improved, and that’s what we were looking for from last week,” he said. “That was the biggest key. Could we get better than we were last week in all three phases? And we did.”‘

‘”We wanted another crack at him,” linebacker Jeff Posey said. “But we understand you can’t take a chance of getting a guy that important to his team hurt in a preseason game. But most definitely, we wished he could’ve stayed in the game after that good first drive.”‘

‘The defense and special teams have looked as sharp as last season, when they were among the two or three best units in the NFL. The rush defense, a concern after the departure of Pat Williams, has been particularly impressive. The pass rush has been decent. We know the linebackers are solid. I continue to believe this secondary has the potential to be the best in team history. There appears to be depth at most positions.’

‘The Bills have never gone undefeated in the preseason, but have gone 3-1 on several occasions, most recently in 2003.’

‘”We just want to make guys understand that we’ve got a young quarterback and we’ve got his back,” defensive coordinator Jerry Gray says. “We want J.P. to know that whatever happens, the defense will be right there.”‘

‘Given Donahoe’s history of not overpaying for any player, dating back to his days with the Pittsburgh Steelers, it’s highly unlikely he’ll pay Clements top dollar before the start of the regular season, or after that.’

‘George Gause vs. Constantin Ritzmann for the No. 4 defensive end spot — Both players are making plays in practice and in the preseason games. Ritzmann took a big step forward with two more sacks against Green Bay’s second teamers, giving him four in two games.’

‘Mularkey has long been a Levy admirer and has adopted many of his motivational quips. “I told the team he’s one of the greatest that has ever coached in the NFL, a gentleman who has seen it all,” Mularkey said. “We all admire what he’s done and we’re shooting for some of the same goals he accomplished.”‘

‘”You learn not to think about the numbers,” Haddad said. “You just have to go out there and compete against yourself.”‘

‘The club is not concerned about left tackle Mike Gandy, released by Chicago last year. Gandy, signed to replace former starter Jonas Jennings, was recruited to compete for the starting job, and he has won it. Forget about the club moving center Trey Teague to left tackle and inserting rookie Duke Preston in his place. That’s a last resort.’

‘”This is a team game, and there were a lot of people on Ben’s team who helped make that possible. So, to come in here and say a rookie quarterback can do all that … yeah, it’s possible if you’re surrounded by the right people.’