Archives for December 24, 2005

‘The Bills’ special teams remained relentless.’

‘Terrence McGee put on a show in the Bills 37-27 win against the Bengals.’

‘With the game tied at 27-27, Lindell connected on a 22-yard field goal with 58 seconds left in the fourth that capped off a 13-play, 66-yard drive. Palmer then tried to move the Bengals down the field, but the QB was intercepted by McGee, who returned it 46 yards to the end zone with 35 seconds left in the game to seal the victory.’

‘The Bills won their eighth in a row over Cincinnati, which hasn’t beaten them since the 1988 AFC title game. They pulled everything out of their bag of tricks in this one — the flea-flicker, the onside kick, the reverse on a kickoff.’

‘No decision has been made on Mularkey’s fate heading into today’s contest against the Cincinnati Bengals, sources within the team have told The News.’

‘Bengals 34, Bills 17.’

‘Clements has had a miserable season for a troubled team, partly because the Bills have lacked a consistent pass rush. He’s still listed among the better defensive backs in the league in recent years. Clements has 20 career interceptions and could be a top free-agent because aggressive, experienced cornerbacks with good hands are valued in the NFL. "I have goals and lists myself," Clements said. "It’s nothing new, really, because I’ve been doing that since college. I have all the receivers I face. It’s something you do to help you compete and challenge yourself. I keep it to myself. I don’t need to broadcast it. I let my play do my talking."’

‘”It’s been a while since I’ve been with a team with this type of record – I can’t remember the last time I’ve been involved with something like this – but I’ve told these guys many a time that whatever it is, something good will come from this adversity. Whether it’s football, being better men or better dads, better players or better coaches, whatever it is, something good is going to come from this. I believe it because of how hard they work.”‘

‘RB Rudi Johnson is on a roll so give him the ball. The Bengals are 11-0 when he carries it 25 or more times.’

‘Bengals 31, Bills 17.’

‘Holcomb’s last start vs. Cincinnati came on Nov. 28, 2004, when he played for Cleveland. He passed for five TDs and two interceptions with a career-high 413 yards and 128.5 passer rating in the Bengals’ 58-48 victory.’

‘”They’re a good football team,” said Bills quarterback Kelly Holcomb, a former Cleveland Brown who is no stranger to Cincinnati. “There’s only a small margin that separates the top team from the bottom team. They’ve been down for a long time, but coach (Marvin) Lewis has got that place going. He’s gotten the city and community into it. We just have to go down there and get something positive going.”‘

‘I hate to bring this up, but can you explain the play last week against Denver when you were whistled for roughing the passer? The penalty kept a TD drive alive. I’m sure it was a hard lesson learned.

“First off, I got there late on the blitz. When I did, I wanted to keep my head out of the way so I wouldn’t get a penalty like that, but I should’ve held up. I was one or two steps late. The next time, I’ll try and get there before the ball is thrown, other than that, I’ll hold up next time.”‘

‘But what really separates these two AFC teams is optimism.’

‘Buffalo’s lockerroom is a cauldron of AFC: aggravation, frustration and concern.’