Archives for November 2005

‘Virtually every time Carolina threw, Smith was double-teamed by Clements and safety Troy Vincent. “My mama knew they were gonna help (Clements) out,” Smith said. “I’m no idiot. I’m a professional, I read coverages.”‘

‘Once again, they found a way to lose a game that was handed to them.’

‘”We got in the red zone three times and we’re coming away with field goals,” Bills linebacker London Fletcher said. “They get in the red zone three times and they come away with two field goals and a touchdown. That’s the difference in the ballgame.”‘

‘Wright said Mularkey simply doesn’t want to play Adams. Their relationship has been strained at times during the past two seasons. Adams also has butted heads with other members of the coaching staff, and he voiced his displeasure over being benched in the second half of the Bills’ loss at New England five weeks ago.’

‘But the Bills bucked that trend Sunday in part because of the defense’s inability to get off the field. Carolina converted 9 of 14 third downs (64 percent) and held the ball for 35 minutes, 44 seconds. The Panthers’ second possession lasted more than 11 minutes.’

‘”Sometimes, quarterbacks aren’t as accurate when they’re moving,” Rucker said. “Or, if you force him to one side of the field, you kind of take the whole field away. We wanted to get back there and put some pressure on him. If he sits back there patting the ball and is comfortable, it’s going to be a long day.”‘

‘Given another year or two, and some more inspired drafting by Donahoe and Co., this team has a very good chance to become average again. You die-hard Bills fans might want to rush out and buy your tickets for next season, just in case.’

‘”He tried a few times (to get aggressive),” Smith said. “I beat him on the press a lot. On the third down when Jake threw it out of bounds, I beat him on the route, but I didn’t have enough room when I beat him. And he run past me telling me, “What are you going to do?’ Troy Vincent’s out there breast-feeding him. So if he wants to get off that (breast), come talk to me.”‘

‘”I think it went OK,” Peters said. “It was a big challenge, as he is a veteran Pro Bowler and I’m new at the position. You have to respect his speed around the end, and what he’ll do is push you upfield and then give you an inside move. He got a sack on me that if we had to do all over again he wouldn’t have. It was kind of like a busted play for me. I thought I had help from the guard and he beat me inside. But overall, I think I handled him pretty well.”‘

‘Moulds on the Bills trying to make the playoffs: “It’s tough for me because this is my 10th year and I would like to go to the playoffs and win. At the same time, I would like to see the younger players get a taste of what it feels like to win a lot of games and get a chance to go to the playoffs. By no means do I think anyone on this team is going to give up.”‘

‘Coaching: B – Loved Gray’s game plan. He changed up, played coverage. No-huddle was good idea. But red zone still is dead zone.’

‘Coaching: B+ – Fox felt he could win grind-it-out game. It worked.’

‘Collectively, the Bills were awful for the third straight week at converting third downs and controlling the clock. They finished 5-for-13 on third downs after going 3-for-13 in each of their previous two games. They held the ball for only 24:16, the third straight week their time of possession has been below 26 minutes. And, most damaging of all, three trips inside Carolina’s 20-yard-line produced only nine points, giving the Bills only one touchdown over the past eight quarters.’

‘The offense is treating third down as an opportunity to position itself for a punt, going a combined 11-for-39 in such situations the past three games.’

‘As tedious as this struggle was at times, it had one entertaining sideshow. Buffalo’s Nate Clements, who describes himself as a “lock-down corner” and Smith traded verbal jabs after almost every play.’