Archives for December 2008

‘Sunday’s games locked in the 2009 opponents for NFL teams. Next year, at home, the Bills will host the division foe Pats, Jets and Dolphins plus the Texans, Colts, Saints, Buccaneers and Browns(?) Road games will be at the AFC East plus Jacksonville, Tennessee, Atlanta, Carolina and Kansas City.’

‘"In our day and age of instant gratification, making switches and pulling pieces apart, I don’t know if that’s the best way to do it all the time," Preston said, as he and his teammates met for the final time and cleaned out their lockers a day after a season-ending 13-0 loss to New England. "If you keep jumping pieces and hoping that it’s just going to stick, I don’t know. For coach Jauron and his staff, and the work that we put in, I really think it’s close."’

‘Again, the feeling by many that firing the head coach is “the answer”, is over simplistic to the max. There are too many other questions as well. To me, the Bills TOP priority in the off-season, is to beef up their pass rush. Yes, having Aaron Schobel healthy is a given, but even that isn’t nearly enough to make the difference needed to make the Bills a playoff-contending defense. Whether through free agency, or the draft, or both, the Bills need an outside linebacker with pass rushing skills as well as a defensive end opposite Schobel.’

‘Buffalo Bills owner Ralph C. Wilson Jr. said late this afternoon the team would make a decision on the future of head coach Dick Jauron on Wednesday.’

‘This is the time for this franchise to do something bold. They are not going to get Cowher or Jimmy Johnson, or Mike Ditka or Bill Parcells. But they need change. Just because Tom Donahoe failed, doesn’t mean that way of doing business is wrong. They need to go out and hire a football man to run this show. They need to then let him pick his head coach and get ready to go to work. They need to hope that this person picks the next Mike Smith or John Harbaugh not the next Mike Mularkey or Gregg Williams.’

‘”Yeah definitely,” said Crowell when asked if he’d entertain coming back. “That’s what I talked to (Bills COO) Russ (Brandon) about. I love playing for this organization, the fans are great and they’ve supported me through this whole thing. I would definitely entertain it. Russ said the door wasn’t closed, he just obviously wanted to see where I was in my rehab and what’s next for me. He said he would definitely be talking to my agent and the door is definitely not closed.”‘

‘A game that was thankfully over by 10 minutes to 4 featured a single aspect the Bills can celebrate, namely the futile yet still valiant effort of running back Fred Jackson to get his team to .500 on his own. His carries served as the last fun moments for backers to appreciate, so Buffalo may as well briefly cherish his toils before offseason misery sets in for good.’

‘”We were trying to run the ball effectively with (Jackson), which I thought we did, and we got down in a position where we could get some points on the board,” said Edwards, who was 14-of-25 for 128 yards. “I really don’t think that in terms of style and the way things were going that it dictated a play call that involved us throwing the ball into the end zone.”‘

‘”My perspective is we underachieved as a football team,” Whitner said. “Someone brought it to my attention saying, ‘You guys went 2-8, or something crazy.’ I didn’t even look at it that way and that’s what happened. We are an underachieving football team and that’s what we are.”‘

‘It turns out Sammy Morris was the only decent pick of a miserable 2000 draft by the Buffalo Bills. Morris has lasted nine seasons in the NFL, and he’s having his best campaign. He finished as the Pats’ leading rusher with 727 yards and a 4.7 per-carry average. He also had 17 receptions.’

‘Wasted opportunity was the tale of the second quarter. The Bills had the wind at their back and threatened to score early by marching to the New England 28-yard line.’

‘He helped the Pats dominate the quarter, even though they went against the wind. The Bills ran just eight plays to the Pats’ 20. New England held the ball for 10:56 to 4:04.’

‘”We watched quite a bit of the Giants-Buffalo game from last year and I’d say the conditions were somewhat similar to that in terms of which way the wind was blowing and how much of a factor it was during the game,” Belichick said. “It was probably harder today than it was in that game.”‘

‘State police reported that they made three arrests on drunken and impaired driving charges Sunday afternoon as they patroled for intoxicated motorists after the Buffalo Bills home game. Troopers also issued 36 traffic tickets.’

‘If they put a score on game management, it was a three-touchdown victory for Pats coach Bill Belichick over Bills coach Dick Jauron.’