Archives for December 2006

‘This week presents a pair of odd challenges —- one being the weather, the other being a hot team in Buffalo. The Bills have won three out of their last four while playing excellent football. This week, playing in the snow will be a little different for us from the normal temperature of Southern California where it’s like 75 degrees everyday. So once we get over that, we will be fine.’

When in the red, Chargers don’t zone out (San Diego Union Tribune)

AFL loyalist still warm on Buffalo (San Diego Union Tribune)

Five things to watch (San Diego Union Tribune)

Phillips looks to bowl over Bills (North County Times)

Chargers matchups (North County Times)

Weather, Bills provide stiff test for Chargers (North County Times)

A boost for the defense (Riverside Press Enterprise)

Chargers at Bills (Riverside Press Enterprise)

Chargers activate Merriman, release Gbaja-Biamila (Chargers.com)

‘One woman who is part of a group of about 30 local fans traveling to Sunday’s game against the Buffalo Bills said she is ready for the cold blast. "Layers, layers, I was told that the key to this thing is layers," Charger fan Eva Villalobos said. "So, we have two bags full of long johns and we’re going for two days and we have two bags. Lots of shoes too."’

‘Time Warner wants to put the channel on a sports tier so only those subscribers who request it would pay for it. The NFL wants its channel on basic cable, which would mean Time Warner would make a larger payment to the NFL.’

‘"I believed, and we believed, that it was the right thing to do for our players and who they are and how they perform and then for our team in the short term and the long term," said coach Dick Jauron. "I guess in that regard we feel like we have a stronger lineup now. And they have performed that way. We have gotten a better feel for all of our players though at the same time. So we have a better sense of what we call and what we execute and how we execute it."’

‘Chargers 20 Bills 13.’

‘So much has changed since the Great Breakup of 2000 when owner Ralph Wilson fired Butler and Phillips, and Smith left to join Butler on the sunny West Coast. Foremost is that the bitterness that stewed between the men has long dissipated in the wake of Butler’s death from cancer in April 2003. Life has a way of putting things back into perspective. One thing that hasn’t changed, though, is that Smith can still find players and Phillips can still coach them.’

‘J.P. Losman sees ghosts. “They live around here,” he said. “People talk about it all the time.” About the players who populated the Buffalo Bills teams that made appearances in Super Bowls XXV, XXVI, XXVII and XXVIII, never winning but establishing a standard for what it means to strive and, being denied, to continue to press on. Losman’s charge: to cause the Buffalo community to live in the moment.’

‘”That’s one thing we can’t control is the weather,” said quarterback Philip Rivers, who has never played in the snow. “We’ll just worry about us and we’ll let the weather take care of itself. . . . We’ll be ready. It’s kind of a change-up for us. We look forward to a little change in scenery (and) weather.”‘

‘Among Preston’s strengths is his smarts —- and a thirst to get better. “Duke has done a nice job since Chris went down, and obviously before that too in terms of preparing himself,” Bills coach Dick Jauron said. “He’s very young; he’s a smart player. He’s a guy that works awfully hard at it. “Now he’s got a chance, and as we all know in our business, when somebody goes down, it is an opportunity for someone else. He’s grabbed that thing and he’s played pretty consistently the last two weeks.”’

Losman keeps playoff dreams alive in Buffalo (San Diego Union Tribune)

Players confident they’ll weather the conditions in Buffalo (San Diego Union Tribune)

Preston hopes to give Bolts the cold shoulder (North County Times)

Linebackers welcome Merriman’s return (Chargers.com)

‘Shawne Merriman vs. Jason Peters/Robert Royal.’

‘Bills running back Willis McGahee missed Friday’s practice because of an illness, but head coach Dick Jauron doesn’t think the problem will prevent McGahee from playing Sunday against San Diego.’

‘Meanwhile, Tomlinson, who is third in the NFL in rushing with 1,146 yards, is averaging 134.6 yards over his last five games with a whopping 14 touchdowns. He leads the league in all-purpose yards with 1,602 and has scored 24 touchdowns overall. That’s just five shy of breaking Shaun Alexander’s single-season record of 28 established just one year ago. Imagine preparing for a player who has scored touchdowns running (21), receiving (three) and passing (two). What can’t this guy do?’

‘The Bills are especially concerned about the mismatch at strong safety, where rookie Donte Whitner (5-10, 204) meets star TE Antonio Gates (6-4, 260), a converted college basketball player who leads the Chargers with 50 catches for 604 yards and five TDs. Getting Whitner some help will start with making sure Gates is hit every time he releases from the line, even when he splits out wide. "They get mismatches and it’s hard to defend him," coach Dick Jauron said. "He has size advantages on defensive backs, athletic advantages on most linebackers. They move him all over. He’ll be split out. He’ll be outside the wide receiver. He’ll be inside. So it’s difficult."’