Two Bills Drive

Buffalo Bills News and Discussion

Archives for December 27, 2005

Ask Him Yourself: Mike Mularkey

‘I’d like to know why you couldn’t play "go-for-broke" style football a bit earlier in the season. It seems the team plays better when they’re playing to win, instead of playing not to lose.’

Bills play spoiler in Cincinnati

‘"Nobody gave us a chance to come down here and beat these guys," said Holcomb. "We hadn’t won on the road this year and it feels great. I know we’ve got a long way to go. We’ve got one more game but it leaves a good taste in your mouth when you win instead of lose."’

What if Holcomb had started all along?

‘There you have it, with Holcomb, the Bills still wouldn’t have been a playoff team this season. The coaching has been questionable at best, the defense has been disappointingly bad, the running game has been AWOL, and the offensive line has been weak throughout the season. A victory over the Jets this week would give the Bills an 8-8 record had Holcomb been the starter from day one.’

Where are they now? ñ Dwight Adams

To my surprise, a permanent residency on the local golf course is not at all in Adams’ mindset, and the ultimate goal is to return to the scouting grind. Spending two years on the outside of football has been wearing on Adams. He frankly admits that he never considered real retirement after his self-described exile from the Bills, figuring that he would be a shoe-in for one of the other 31 NFL teams to draw on his two decade treasury of scouting. Adams felt it would be just a matter of time until he landed in the NFL again judging the warm reception he received from other personnel directors on his last trip to the Senior Bowl in 2003.

Donahoe plans on being here a ‘long time’

‘Donahoe continued to tell upset fans that they can’t possibly be more disappointed about the season than people within the Bills’ organization are, and sounded very much like he plans on being back. “As disappointed as you feel, our players, coaches, and people in our organization are much more upset than you are,” he wrote. “This is what we do for a living and every Sunday it is on display for everybody to critique and second-guess. We are going to keep working to get better. We will evaluate every aspect of our organization in the off-season and we will develop a good plan and work tirelessly and patiently to make it happen. You should expect nothing less from us.”‘

A lost season

‘If a new general manager is indeed brought in, he or she may possibly want a new coach. With a defense that needs to be rebuilt and an offense that struggles to score in the red zone, whoever’s leading the Bills next season faces a tough challenge. But the message is clear: Fans are tired of watching a losing football team.’

Bills Have No QB Controversy

‘Having said that, if it’s close, MM should go with the younger qb with the greater upside in Losman. But if not, and it wasn’t even close after this training camp and pre season, he goes with Holcomb.’

Inside slant

‘”I’m not even going to get into it about next year,” Holcomb said. “All I can do is go out and produce and try to win us ballgames. We have one game left. Who knows what’s going to happen? We showed today what we can do when we go out and play our potential. When we don’t beat ourselves, we can win ballgames. I’m looking forward to Sunday.”‘

Strategy and personnel

‘Say this about Mike Mularkey and staff — they aren’t going down without a fight.’

Notes, quotes

‘Bills president and GM Tom Donahoe hasn’t been able to produce a playoff team in his five seasons on the job, and speculation has run rampant for weeks that he could be fired. However, he’s sounding and acting like a man who has been reassured by owner Ralph Wilson that his job is safe. On the Bills’ Web site Monday, Donahoe wrote in a column where fans ask him questions, “My family and I love Buffalo and Western New York, despite what sometimes the media portrays, and we plan on being here for a long time.”‘