Archives for October 2005

‘"It’s a credit that these guys have never wavered in their belief in what we’re doing," coach Mike Mularkey said Monday. "And that’s not an easy thing to do when you’ve lost multiple games in a row. You start to have some doubt in your mind … But they’ve stuck together, which has been impressive."’

‘Holcomb said it best, Sunday… “It’s all about wins in this league”. That really is the bottom line. Bills fans got to see a Hall of Fame quarterback named Kelly. For now, they have to be thankful they have Kelly Holcomb, who may not be a Hall of Famer, but he can move the ball down the field, convert third downs, make plays, and most importantly, WIN.’

‘My question is, is today’s NFL a “win now” league above all else? For instance, if we get close with Kelly Holcomb in there, but fall just short again, is that justifiable in the Bills’ eyes?

Tom Donahoe: The head coach’s job is to do whatever he feels he needs to do to give his team the best chance to win. That involves strategy, use of personnel and whatever the coach feels is in the best interest of the team. We must always have an eye toward developing players and the future, but nobody should ever apologize for making an effort to try and win football games.’

‘When you signed Kelly Holcomb during the off season many newspaper writers wrote that this was a great signing for the Bills because we wanted a good experience backup QB for a young J.P. Losman. They wrote that if Losman struggled that Holcomb could step in. Now that this has happened, why are they saying the Bills are wrong to play Holcomb and that J.P. should be playing even if he struggles? Please explain.

Mike Mularkey: We brought Kelly in here because of his past experiences as a backup. The main intent was for him to come in here, backup J.P., be a mentor and teach him from his experiences on and off the field. If we needed a spark at the quarterback position, we knew Kelly had the experience in all situations, as a backup and a starter. The way this has unfolded was not planned out. It’s a matter of trying to win games and that is why the decision came down.’

‘Coach Dick Diminuco of Albion High School has been named the Buffalo Bills High School Football “Coach of the Week” for the seventh weekend of the 2005 season (October 14-15).’

‘Whether the same will happen to Holcomb again this year remains to be seen. But with two straight wins and a share of first place, Bills fans aren’t worried about it. All they know is, December won’t seem so dreary if Holcomb and the team continue to succeed.’

‘See what happens when the urge to be clever gives way to common sense?’

‘It wasn’t very pretty and it wasn’t too impressive, but there are no asterisks and no style points in the National Football League standings.’

‘”I really believe that what you believe counts,” Martin said. “I’ve never doubted myself. I’ve never doubted the team. I’ve never doubted our ability to run the ball once. I think it was an example of what we’re capable of.”‘

‘Of a pre-game visit with Takeo Spikes, whose place he took after a ruptured Achilles tendon, Crowell added, “Takeo told me beforehand that he thought I was going to have a big game … and that’s what I did.”‘

‘Kelly Holmcomb…Won 2nd straight start of Bills career, becoming 4th Bills QB to start career with winning streak, joining Daryle Lamonica (first 4 starts), Frank Reich (4), and Doug Flutie (3).’

‘Crowell’s key for the rest of the season? “Same thing we’ve been doing, everybody doing their role in the defense and offense just giving us a little spark. Just keep rolling.”‘

‘In my mind, there were two very surprising aspects of this game. First of all, I expected the Jets’ defense to hold the Bills offense down and make the game close. However, their run defense was weak and their pass-rush was nothing to write home about. Their inability to get to the passer led to Holcomb picking their secondary apart on a few occasions, even though linebacker Mark Brown and cornerback Ty Law each added interceptions. The second surprising thing about this game was the performance by the Bills’ offensive line.’

‘”I think the offensive line did a heckuva job of opening it up,” said Bills quarterback Kelly Holcomb. “We knew what the Jets were going to do to us. They really didn’t present us with many problems. It was just kind of smashmouth.”‘

‘”It was great to see Takeo in the locker room,” Crowell said. “I have talked to him a lot over the past few weeks, and he tells me things I can work on and offers a lot of encouragement. So for him to be here for this game was very inspirational.”‘