Archives for October 20, 2008

‘”Early this afternoon after helium balloons with metallic tails were released near the stadium, the balloons ended up tangled in NYSEG power lines that serve the stadium, causing a power interruption,” NYSEG Regional public relations manager Randy Edwards said in a statement. “Service to the stadium was quickly switched to a second available service line. Several minutes after the power outage, the second line was affected by the same balloons and service had to be switched back to the original. In the midst of dealing with the balloons, about a mile from the stadium, there was a pole fire which caused an additional interruption.”‘

‘”The Bills are a legitimate 5-1,” Tomlinson said. “They will be a team to be reckoned with late in the season.”‘

‘”At first it felt like a scrimmage without having the music and lights,” Bills safety Donte Whitner said. “But you still have your fans.”‘

‘Still, they are the first to admit they’ve enjoyed a relatively soft schedule, with home games up next versus decent opposition in Indianapolis and Green Bay. For their part, the Bills are about to embark on a three-game stretch vs. their AFC East opponents, starting at Miami, followed by a home game vs. the Jets and finishing in New England. Those three games, obviously, will go a long way to deciding divisional dominance and a possible playoff berth.’

‘The best team in the NFL nearing the halfway point of the wild, topsy-turvy 2008 season? It is at least possible that it is the Buffalo Bills.’

‘”I thought we did a good job of not using (the power outage) as an excuse,” said Edwards. “We sat in the dark before the game, we sat in the dark at halftime and it got pretty hot in there and you are not used to that type of environment. We could have gone out there and laid an egg, but we didn’t.”‘

‘”I’ve been waiting for this opportunity for a long time, and it was unbelievable that it came like this, against Jamal Williams, a Pro Bowler,” said Preston, who helped the Bills offensive line hold the Chargers defense without a sack or quarterback hurry.’

‘After Sunday’s game, Edwards now has won 10 times in 15 starts, a .667 winning percentage that ranks fifth among active quarterbacks and puts him in the company of New England’s Tom Brady (.784), Pittsburgh’s Ben Roethlisberger (.721), Dallas’ Tony Romo (.719) and the Chargers’ Philip Rivers (.718).’

‘”I’ve waited for an opportunity (to start) for a long time and it’s unbelievable it came like this, playing against a great player like Jamal (Williams),” Preston said. “I was excited. I’ve been so blessed in my life. God has put opportunities in front of me. Going against a Pro Bowler like Jamal, I didn’t have a whole lot to lose. I was just going to go out and scrap. I don’t remember a whole lot of plays. I said I was going to put my head down and battle and when it was over, look up and see how we fared.”‘

Bolts suffer power outage versus Bills in Buffalo (San Diego Union Tribune)

Power outages play games with clock, Chargers defensive timing (San Diego Union Tribune)

Defense lacking pressure on QB, big plays from secondary (San Diego Union Tribune)

Chargers offense lacking consistent attack on the ground (San Diego Union Tribune)

Rivers’ fumbles, interception hurt Chargers chances in Buffalo (San Diego Union Tribune)

Turner’s decision to punt soars over second-guesses (San Diego Union Tribune)

Balloons wreak havoc with stadium power, TV feed (San Diego Union Tribune)

Mt. Carmel High alum gets his shot with Bills (San Diego Union Tribune)

Chargers by the numbers (San Diego Union Tribune)

Chargers-Bills voice of the fans (San Diego Union Tribune)

Photo gallery (San Diego Union Tribune)

Rivers runs dry (North County Times)

Tomlinson no longer Bolts go-to guy (North County Times)

Offense in good hands with Floyd, Jackson (North County Times)

Bills’ line doesn’t skip a beat with Preston (North County Times)

Power outage hits stadium, hinders TV broadcast (North County Times)

Bolts can’t rattle young gun Edwards (North County Times)

Report card (North County Times)

Photo gallery (Riverside Press Enterprise)

Costly blunders doom Bolts (Chargers.com)

Rivers rides ebbs and flows (Chargers.com)

Photo gallery (Chargers.com)

Photo gallery (Niagara Gazette)

Photo gallery (Buffalo News)

‘This might have been football from the stone age – the Bills sat in a dark locker room before the game and at halftime – except it wasn’t technical difficulties that troubled the Chargers as much as the Bills did. Playing without two defensive starters, they contained running back LaDainian Tomlinson, holding him to 41 yards on 14 rushes. And they bedeviled quarterback Philip Rivers, whose second quarter fumble gave the Bills a short field to drive for a touchdown.’

‘Edwards was not sacked and hardly touched Sunday by San Diego’s Pro Bowl-studded defensive front, propeling the Bills to a 23-14 victory.’

‘Bills receiver wide receiver Josh Reed said he didn’t know why the game was held up about 15 minutes before the decision was made to play without power. “We had a football with air in it and beautiful sunshine and two teams ready to go,” he said. “That’s all you need to play football.”‘

‘It was a typical Edwards game — smart, efficient, effective — and it proved to be extraordinary as his completion percentage of 83.33 broke Jim Kelly’s franchise record of 82.16. He didn’t let anything bother him. Not the first concussion of his 24 years on the planet, which caused him to miss the first of the Bills’ two weeks of practice during their bye. Not the stadium’s intermittent loss of power, which directly resulted in his being flagged for a delay-of-game penalty because the play clock wasn’t working (San Diego’s Philip Rivers also got the same penalty). Not the fact his starting center, Melvin Fowler, was sidelined with an injury.’

‘”(Brandon Manumaleuna) ran a crossing route and I knew to look to #85 (Antonio Gates), the number one receiver… and that’s just the play that we worked on,” Mitchell said. “They didn’t run it all game, and we finally got it, and I was the guy that was supposed to make the play on it so I did.”‘