Archives for October 7, 2008

‘Time is what the Bills have, as they enter their bye week with a 4-1 record and a first-place spot in the AFC East division. Buffalo was aiming for its first 5-0 start since the 1991 squad won its first five games and went on to the Super Bowl. Edwards, though, will obviously be evaluated throughout the upcoming weeks while the team still has former starter J.P. Losman to steer the ship.’

‘Schobel said he has a strained ligament in his left foot and doesn’t expect to practice much, if it all, during the break. The Bills (4-1) are off to their best start in 16 years and host San Diego (2-3) on Oct. 19.’

‘The 30th Anniversary of Hospice Buffalo produced “A Harvest to Remember” with $285,000 raised to support hospice care in our community. A sold-out crowd of 900 people attended the Harvest Festival, one of Hospice Buffalo’s largest fundraisers on October 3rd at the Adams Mark Grand Ballroom in Buffalo.’

‘”I just try to mentally prepare like I’m going in and it’s tough,” admitted Losman. “(Sunday) I was put to that test, quite early too, which is even more unexpected. That’s my job right now and I’m going to have to prepare myself.”‘

‘His performance may have been dotted with warts, but a quarterback who hasn’t pouted put forth a respectable showing under instantaneous pressure. With Edwards’ status still uncertain for their post-bye game, the second-stringer will get more preparation time to make the best out of a bad situation for all. Losman will never get the chance to be a great quarterback in Buffalo, but his attitude this year and instances of decent play on Sunday combine to show that he can be a good teammate.’

‘Arizona quarterback Kurt Warner was 13 of 17 for 108 yards on first-down passes. He was 11 of 14 for 77 yards on second-down throws.’

‘They’re 4-1, atop the AFC East but the magnitude of the loss, combined with the team’s uneven performance in the two previous wins, has to leave objective fans wondering just how good the Bills really are. There is plenty for nervous fans to worry about. Here are a few of the primary reasons to be concerned…’.

‘”I’m not going to anticipate anything,” Jauron said. “We’re just going to stay on the protocol. We follow the same thing for any of our players when we’re in this situation. That’s exactly what we’ll do in this case.”‘

‘"We hope so," Evans said. "Anytime you’re dealing with head-type injuries, you don’t know how it’s going to shake out. I talked to him and he seemed to be doing all right. He’s alert and you could have a conversation with him. But you have to be careful with these situations."’

‘Dick Jauron said after the game that no one standing before him – meaning reporters – had the Bills sitting at 4-1 heading into their bye week in their preseason prognostications, and he’s right. So from that standpoint, 4-1 is a terrific achievement. But take a closer look at this 4-1 and you can’t help but raise some red flags.’

‘”It was extremely frustrating. We’ve been pretty good on third down and they’ve been pretty good too,” Kawika Mitchell said. “We knew that was going to be a challenge and they just had a good game plan. We were struggling on first and second downs and even when we dd get them on third-and-long situations, they still converted.”‘

‘”They came in with the mind-set of quick passing, and we didn’t apply pressure,” defensive end Chris Kelsay said. “The times he did hold the ball, we still weren’t putting pressure on him.”‘

‘Offensive coordinator Turk Schonert admitted in hindsight that he probably gave up too early on the run game. The Bills ran only 17 times and gained 84 yards, as Marshawn Lynch had 55 on 13 carries. Lynch had a 22-yard run and Lee Evans had a 22-yard run on a reverse. On the other 15 attempts, the Bills had only 40 yards, so for the fifth week in a row, the running game lacked consistency. Part of the problem is the offensive line is not getting enough push and the holes are not there. But in this game, Buffalo falling behind early dictated that it couldn’t run that much.’

‘The Bills’ normally reliable return game was mostly ineffective, and while Leodis McKelvin clearly has ability, he’s not quite to the level of Terrence McGee on kickoffs and Roscoe Parrish on punts. Both of those players are the Bills’ all-time franchise leaders in their respective specialties, and McKelvin is still trying to decipher coverage schemes and how to set up his blockers within the planned return. He averaged 22.2 yards on six kickoff returns, and the Bills’ average drive start following kickoffs was only their 25-yard-line. Still, Jauron indicated that he was happy with the way McKelvin returned the ball and correctly stated that he was close a couple of times to breaking one the distance.’

‘The Bills tried to blitz the veteran Kurt Warner early, but it simply made no difference; he was getting the ball out quickly, often for short gains, but the chains continued to move. Clearly, Warner has shown as recently as the game before at the Jets that he is more than capable of fumbling when hit, but he probably won’t fumble if he isn’t hit at all.’