Archives for November 2006

‘”Age is just a number, certainly for Marv,” said Marty Schottenheimer, a spry 63 years old. “Apparently, he is in good health and he certainly has a wealth of experience in doing that job; the overall personnel and the coaching, and now that he is in that role as a general manager. It doesn’t surprise me they are getting better.”’

Chargers’ reserves ready for prime time (San Diego Union Tribune)

Offense relearns how to do simple things (San Diego Union Tribune)

Bills are happy to leave it to Levy (North County Times)

Inside slant (The Sports Xchange)

Strategy and personnel (The Sports Xchange)

Notes, quotes (The Sports Xchange)

McCardell’s presence felt (Chargers.com)

Chargers fans have plenty to be thankful for (Chargers.com)

Chargers sign Halterman to practice squad (Chargers.com)

‘”We all keep tabs on each other,” said Losman, who was the 22nd pick over all. “It’s all just a curiosity thing, really. It’s fun and exciting to see who’s doing what – who was right, who was wrong.”‘

‘”Last week was the start, giving us confidence,” said Losman, who didn’t get flustered when his first five possessions of the second half all ended with punts. “We know what we have to do, and we have to repeat those things. It was good to see. I didn’t have to tell these guys to get pumped up, they knew exactly what to do.”‘

At the bye week, Buffalo was among the most undisciplined teams in the league in terms of turnovers and penalties. But the Bills have drastically cleaned up their act, and the result is wins in three of their past four games.’

‘K Rian Lindell, who went 2-for-2 including the game-winning, 42-yard field goal at the gun against Jacksonville, is 17-for-19 on the year. His 89.47 percent conversion rate would be a single-season Bills record. Scott Norwood (32 of 37) hit at an 86.49 percent clip in 1988.’

‘San Diego averages 32 points per game. They’ll get close in a 31-17 Chargers win.’

‘But if the Bills do find a way to win this game, which seems like an impossibly tall order, they could sneak into the playoffs. Buffalo’s final four opponents are all beatable, even though a couple could be dangerous.’

‘Schobel is serious, though, when discussing the test the Bills face against Tomlinson. “He’s going to get his yards,” Schobel said. “But the thing you’ve got to do is not let him take over the game. You’ve got to contain him. He’s as good as there is.”‘

‘Special teams keyed the victory over the Jaguars, as Roscoe Parrish returned a punt 82 yards for a touchdown and Terrence McGee brought a kickoff back 19 yards to set up Lindell’s winning field goal. "Every team, everywhere is three-pronged. It’s offense, defense and special teams, and it’s not in any particular order," Bills coach Dick Jauron said. "You’ve got to believe that because if you don’t, it’ll come back and hurt you. And we do have a special group."’

‘Mobile iNzone is available to Verizon Wireless customers by visiting www.buffalobills.com/mobileiNzone. Standard text messaging rates apply for all text alerts. Wallpapers and ringtones are $1.99 each.’

‘Spikes spoke about the importance of milk, breakfast and exercise, Principal Margaret Hollstein said. The player also handed out milk and helped serve breakfast to the hungry students. “It was phenomenal,” Hollstein said about the assembly. “Today alone we doubled our breakfast count.”‘

‘"The guys in front of me did a good job blocking and we made it happen," said Parrish. "It was a good feeling."’

‘"I’ve had bigger challenges than the ribs," said McGahee, who came back from a devastating knee injury in college. "That’s not going to stop me."’

‘"That’s been key," said Kelsay of the penetration from the defensive tackles. "Oftentimes this year we’ve seen quarterbacks step up in the pocket, but when we’re getting a push from Tim Anderson, Larry Tripplett, Kyle Williams and Anthony Hargrove in passing situations that helps us as ends a lot."’