Archives for December 6, 2006

‘Coach Dick Jauron was upbeat in saying there’s a "good chance" the two starters could play after both hurt their left ankles in a 24-21 loss to San Diego last weekend. "We’ll just have to see where the week takes us in that regard," Jauron said.’

‘"Me and Jonathan Vilma got a nice little history going so I’ve got to keep the streak going," McGahee said.’

‘Buffalo Bills linebacker London Fletcher-Baker has been named the 2006 Buffalo Bills Walter Payton Man of the Year as voted on by selected members of the Western New York community. This is the second consecutive year that Fletcher-Baker has won the award.’

‘"We’re just not there yet," linebacker London Fletcher said. "We don’t make enough plays to beat the elite teams. We haven’t done that yet. Today was an example."’

‘But you know what? Even if the Bills finish another 5-11 season, assuming they’re at least competitive over the final four games, I see them as improving. Heading in the right direction.’

‘Bills 20, Jets 17.’

‘”Even when I was playing strong safety, I felt like I had a linebacker mentality,” said Wire, who led Stanford in tackles his last two years there. “I’ve always been an aggressive, attacking style of player. That’s just my natural instinct going back to my wrestling days. Even going back to college, I always loved playing linebacker.”‘

‘”This is just a great thing to have Steve Tasker come back. It was nice two years ago when Marv Levy was here, I think it’s wonderful for the community because as we all remember the Bills practiced here for almost 20 years,” said Rick Donovan, Book Nook owner. “The public at large is thrilled that he has come back to sign the book. I read the book and it’s wonderful. … It has stories about anything you could remember from those Super Bowl years. Think of any player or any event, Thurman (Thomas) losing his helmet – there is a story about that. Anyone can pick it up and read it who obviously has some interest in the Bills.”‘

‘Every regular-season Dolphins-Bills game in Buffalo since 1991 has started at 1 p.m. With a later kickoff, temperatures could drop significantly as the game unfolds.’

‘”What instrument would you like to play? ” Tackle Jason Peters, “Probably the saxophone. I used to want to play it in high school and never learned how to.”‘

‘As good as Spikes was before his Achilles’ tendon tear in September 2005, the two-time Pro Bowler has understandably shown clear signs of regression in his return. Last Sunday, though, Spikes had his best performance of the season, tallying nine total tackles and one pass defensed.’

Loss to Jags could hurt playoff hunt (New York Daily News)

Fans not quite bowled over (New York Daily News)

Signed, sealed (New York Daily News)

Mangini Jets into awkward race (New York Post)

Recipe for deception always in the mix (Newsday)

Jets’ Smith getting some real work (White Plains Journal News)

Jets make playoff push (Newark Star Ledger)

Jets confidential (Newark Star Ledger)

Almost perfect, for a half (Bergen Record)

Jets ahead (Bergen Record)

Jets streaking towards postseason (The Sports Network)

Bills-eye Rematch (NewYorkJets.com)

Jets’ Journey Reaches Final Quarter (NewYorkJets.com)

1:00 PM Start for Jets and Vikings (NewYorkJets.com)

‘Head coach Dick Jauron has his work cut out for him this week, which is becoming a similar theme for this beleaguered franchise.’

‘Bottom line, if the Bills go 2-2 down the stretch to finish 7-9, they would exceed, or at least equal most expectations … especially if they play tough in any losses. In any case, this is a team that’s decidedly better than the one Mike Mularkey abandoned after last season and that’s a start.’

‘Green Bay released Manning in September, before the start of this season.’