Archives for October 20, 2008

‘The exclamation point of the third quarter came with 40 seconds to play, when Marshawn Lynch ran 9 yards around right end for a touchdown to put the Bills ahead, 20-14.’

‘For a change, the Bills entered the fourth quarter with a lead. Could the defense hold it? The answer was a resounding yes.’

‘Coaching: A: Terrific in all phases. Jauron had team well-motivated. Coordinators Fewell and Schonert clearly made the most of the bye week.’

‘So much for the supposed edge the Chargers were going to have at quarterback. Rivers came in as the No. 1 passer in the league with a rating of 109.4, yet he lost two fumbles and threw a calamitous interception with 6 minutes left that may have cost his team the victory.’

‘”In the midst of dealing with the problem that was caused by the balloons, about a mile from the stadium there was a pole fire that caused an additional brief interruption,” Edwards said.’

‘”We are gaining a lot of confidence,” he said. “This definitely is a statement game for us. We can look back on it and say we played a pretty good opponent and beat them by nine points. You never know. We may face them later in the year.”‘

‘So while helium balloons errantly released into power lines caused Sunday’s electrical problems, Bills coach Dick Jauron should send Mitchell a balloon-a-gram today. His team is 5-1 with as good a claim to representing the AFC in the Super Bowl as anybody in this season of unrepentant parity.’

‘One of the sure signs of a good team is winning in the face of adversity. The Bills faced some adversity Sunday, but they were able to overcome it because they now have a deeper pool of players who can make meaningful contributions on game day, and that might be the most notable aspect about this statement victory.’

‘Bills LB Kawika Mitchell: The free agent acquisition had been relatively quiet the past few games, and hadn’t done a whole lot in this game, but what a fourth quarter he had with an interception and a forced fumble – two plays that cemented the victory.’

‘Dick Jauron’s staff did a fine job adjusting to injuries and a power outage at the stadium that knocked out their headsets and hampered communications. They didn’t miss a beat. Turk Schonert called a near perfect game (32 runs, 30 passes) and attacked the soft middle of San Diego’s defense. Perry Fewell stayed aggressive and got pressure on Rivers that paid off with two big turnovers. With a 5-1 record, anything’s possible for these upstart Bills.’

‘”We communicated with our NFL supervisor here on the game site. He talked with (officials in) New York (location of the league offices). The decision was that once we knew that it was going to be awhile for the power to come back, we would keep the game clock and the play clock on the field and we have procedures for that,” referee Jeff Triplette said. “We just proceeded with the game. We notified both coaches and they were both fine and ready to go.”‘

‘”But I thought we did a great job of not using that as an excuse. We sat in the dark before the game, we sat in the dark at halftime, and it got pretty hot in there and you’re not used to that type of environment. We could have gone out there and laid an egg, but we didn’t.”‘

‘”I wouldn’t say it was one of the best throws of my career, but Lee Evans sure made it look like one of the best throws of my career,” Edwards said.’

‘”This was just one more stepping stone,” said center Duke Preston, who filled in for injured starter Melvin Fowler as part of an offensive line that didn’t allow a sack. “To get caught up in this and say it was a milestone win, yes and no.”‘

‘”He’s a warrior,” Jackson said of Edwards. “He leads us where we want to go, and we’re going to be behind him 100 percent.”‘