Archives for October 5, 2006

‘Doesn’t matter to the Bills that the Brian Urlacher-led defense limited high-powered Seattle — albeit minus Shaun Alexander — to six points in a 37-6 win last week; or that it marked the eighth straight time the Bears have held a team to under 10 points at home. "It’s not about them," receiver Lee Evans said. "We can only worry about what we do. … If we’re worried about how good they are, then we don’t even give ourselves a chance."’

‘Bills strong safety Matt Bowen has missed nearly two months with a broken bone in his lower right leg — not a bruise as the team initially reported.’

‘"We haven’t played our best football yet and there are signs of greatness and we just have to build off of that, make the corrections to our negative play and we’ll be good," said Melvin Fowler. "The best is definitely yet to come."’

‘The pessimist looks at the cup as half-empty and says we lost four Super Bowls. The optimist says, "Wow, what an accomplishment. You guys went to four straight Super Bowls, something that no one has ever done in the history of the game." Do you realize the commitment, the dedication, overcoming adversity, perseverance that has to come into play to accomplish something like that?’

‘Bears 20 Bills 10.’

‘Losman hasn’t quite blossomed yet, but I think the seed is germinating. Let’s hope so.’

‘”We’re not intimidated,” Losman said. “But we know we’re going up against a great team. We have a great opportunity staring us in our face. But they have the opportunity to go 5-0. You don’t know how it’s going to go.”‘

‘”This is who I am,” Evans said. “I’ve never been a wild, outspoken guy. If I have something to say, I’ll definitely say it. But this is about winning. I’ll do anything I can to help this team win. I’ve had seasons where I had individual success. But if you don’t win the games, you don’t get to the postseason. That’s the goal of everybody on this team. It’s not about any one person.”‘

‘Royal has a sore ankle and did not practice. He’s listed as questionable for Sunday’s game in Chicago.’

‘”I would say personality-wise, Coach Smith is more vocal,” said cornerback Charles Tillman, who was a rookie during Jauron’s last season. “Coach Jauron was more quiet, but that’s not a bad thing. That’s just who he is. It’s not a bad quality in a person because he doesn’t like to speak.”‘

‘"I think the other guys (former Bears) obviously feel very, very comfortable with him," Losman said. "When the decision was made and coach Jauron came to Buffalo, a lot of guys were happy to be playing for him again."’

”’He’s awesome,” Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher said. ”The Bills are running the ball and playing good defense, just like we did when he was here. They’re playing very disciplined football. He’s a great coach.”’

‘”We hear quite a bit about the ’85 Bears and you should, that was a great, dominant team and that gives us something to shoot for,” said Smith, whose Bears are off to a 4-0 start and have yielded just 29 points. “The standard has been set by them and that’s what we’re trying to shoot for.”‘

‘”Coach (Dick) Jauron has been preaching it all week: ‘A great challenge equals a great opportunity.’ That’s how we’re taking it,” Preston said. “People are saying they’re the best team in the league, so we’re excited about that challenge, to go out there and see how you stack up.”‘

‘Shortening the field for the offense may become even more important Sunday when the Bills face the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field. The Bears defense hasn’t allowed 10 or more points in its last eight regular-season home games.’