September 30, 2004

Buffalo hopes to continue its post-bye success

The Buffalo Bills own one of the best records in the NFL when coming out of their bye. The only problem, though, is that this week they are hosting the defending Super Bowl Champion New England Patriots, who will be shooting to tie an NFL-record with their 18th consecutive victory.

"The only streak we're concerned with is our wins and losses," Bills center Trey Teague said. "We can't be worrying about anybody but ourselves. We need to play a tough game this week and get a win."

Bills defense faces unpredictable Patriots offense

Preparing to face the Patriots offense is as challenging as forecasting the weather in Buffalo for the next three months. Everyone knows there's going to be snow, rain, wind and sun, but it's a matter of predicting which will happen on what day. "You never know which identity they're going to come with," safety Coy Wire said of New England, the team Buffalo hosts on Sunday. "They have their no-back offense, two-back running game. They have multiple identities. It's just a matter of preparing for all of them."

Pats on a Roll, Head to Orchard Park

The New England Patriots and the Buffalo Bills have developed into one of the NFL's most intense rivalries. Many of their players have switched teams and when these two teams meet twice a year, you can always count on a lot of hype. Last season the Bills and Patriots book-ended each other on the schedule. Buffalo sprinted out of the starting gate in 2003, soundly beating the Pats 31-0 while picking off quarterback Tom Brady four times. But 16 weeks later, it was the Patriots on the end of a 31-0 victory on a day when the Bills offense just couldn't seem to get anything going. Weeks later, the Patriots won their second Super Bowl in three years.

Bills vs. Patriots Sold Out

The Bills-Patriots game at Ralph Wilson Stadium is sold out and will be televised locally. This week's game is the 10th straight sellout for the Bills. Radio listeners can tune into the game in Buffalo on three different stations - 97 Rock (96.9 FM), 103.3 The Edge (103.3 FM) and WHTT/Oldies 104.1 FM - and in Rochester on WCMF (96.5 FM) in Rochester. It can also be heard throughout the region on the Bills radio network.

Bills Games a Priority at Billy Bean's

Ten years ago, John Strom was looking for a friendly place where he could watch Bills games every week in his hometown of Danbury, Connecticut. Unable to find such a location, the Syracuse native had an idea. Why not start a sports bar of his own? And that's exactly what he did.

A quick return? Losman feels it in his bones

J.P. Losman's recovery from his left leg injury has been going quicker than expected, even to the point where he's taken dropbacks and done some jogging. He indicated Wednesday that he might return following the Bills' game against the New York Jets on Oct. 10.

"It was really exciting," Losman said of his workouts. "There's no other way to say it. You can't play it cool. It was fun." Bills coach Mike Mularkey acknowledged Losman is coming along well but hesitated to be as optimistic about a return following the Jets game

Bills nothing but a joke to Belichick

Stop the new presses. Bill Belichick actually said something funny. Ten minutes into an otherwise dull and unrevealing conference call with the Buffalo media Wednesday, the Patriots' head coach was asked how he felt about being named one of the world's 100 most powerful and influential people by Time Magazine.

"It was flattering to be on that list when I can't even get my dog to come when I call him," Belichick said. "I'm not able to influence things in my own household, like what show we're going to watch on TV. I take out the trash like everybody else."

Fear's no factor for Patriots

It's amazing the New England Patriots' winning streak did not end in their season opener against the Indianapolis Colts.

The Colts gained more yards - 448 - than any team has managed against the Pats in 2¹/2 seasons. Yet the reigning Super Bowl champions made the two biggest plays near the end - forcing a Colts fumble at the 1-yard line with 3:51 left and sacking Peyton Manning out of easy field-goal range with 49 seconds left.

Final score: Patriots 27, Colts 24.

Making things interesting-Belichick provides fighting words

 

He surely thought of it dozens of times and apparently said it at least once. Given the chance yesterday, though, Bill Belichick wasn't going to repeat out loud his opinion of Drew Bledsoe. By now, the football world knows what the New England Patriots coach thinks of his former quarterback anyway. And if he was ever worried about it, Belichick has two Super Bowl rings as peace of mind over bailing on Bledsoe in 2001 in favour of Tom Brady.

Belichick turns up the heat

 ORCHARD PARK — The Buffalo Bills-New England Patriots rivalry was already the equivalent of a triple order of atomic hot chicken wings, so what's a little more sauce?

A new book by former Boston Globe columnist Michael Holley titled Patriot Reign (Morrow, $23.95) that chronicles the team's success over the past three years and coach Bill Belichick's complex management style, is filled with disparaging material about the rival Bills.

Losman making quick recovery

ORCHARD PARK — The news on Buffalo Bills rookie quarterback J.P. Losman keeps getting better.

X-rays Tuesday showed that his broken left fibula is healing faster than doctors first thought and Losman said he could be cleared to play in as little as three weeks. If it turns out that way, Losman will have missed only four or five games, not the eight that was originally feared.

Patriots all business with Bills

So what is left of the emotions that have run so deep the last two seasons? Drew Bledsoe is now in his third season with the Buffalo Bills, long since removed from that testy trade which ended his nine-year run in New England. Safety Lawyer Milloy, another disgruntled ex-Patriot, is expected to miss Sunday's game with a broken forearm, so that topic can be tabled as well.

Bills report: Notes, quotes

--CB Troy Vincent, president of the NFL Players Association, is watching the current National Hockey League lockout with keen interest. He said the NHL needs to take the NFL's lead and somehow implement a salary cap. "It's worked well for us," Vincent said. "We're not in a position of any lock out. There's labor peace, two sides working together so it doesn't get to the situation we're seeing in the NHL today. The cap has worked for us and we're talking right now about another extension so we don't put the sport in that position."

Bills report: Inside slant

Quarterback Drew Bledsoe doesn't need extra motivation to beat the New England Patriots and coach Bill Belichick. Belichick was the man who gave up on Bledsoe more than two seasons ago and, history has shown, it was the right move. But just when it appeared all of the angles had been exhausted, out comes a new book to open up old wounds and add more fire to Sunday's showdown at Ralph Wilson Stadium where the Patriots will be out to make NFL history by winning their 18th consecutive game.

Bills report: Strategy and personnel

The Bills' decision to carry rookie quarterback J.P. Losman on their active roster instead of placing him on season-ending IR is looking shrewd. After breaking his leg in practice on Aug. 24 in a collision with cornerback Troy Vincent, Losman was expected to miss eight games or more. Now he may miss only four or five. X-Rays this week showed that Losman's left broken fibula is healing faster than even what doctors first thought and Losman believes he could be cleared to play in as little as three more weeks.

Buffalo debacle still fresh: Ugly defeat haunts Brady

Tom Brady certainly seems to be the rare breed of athlete that gets all the motivation he needs from within.
 
But if the Patriots quarterback needed a little extra dose for this week's opponent, he knows where to go. All he needs to do is find the tape of last year's 31-0 season-opening loss in Buffalo in which he threw four interceptions and finished with a 22.5 rating.

Patriots expect strong showing from Buffalo

Bill Belichick is proficient at finding the silver lining, especially when talking about his team’s upcoming opponent. Buffalo is winless through the first three weeks of the season and has scored only 20 points in two games, but regardless of how bad the offense looks, Belichick said the Bills are a threat because of their aggressive defense, which is currently ranked fourth in the NFL.

It's no joking matter: Pats will be wary of tricky Bills coaches

FOXBORO - Beware of trick plays. It's a message Patriots coaches deliver in preparations for every opponent, but this week it's being heard louder than normal. That's because Buffalo head coach Mike Mularkey and quarterbacks coach Sam Wyche are known to regularly include a few wrinkles in their playbook.

Bledsoe brings welcome sight

FOXBORO -- It's a pass rusher's dream, an occasion when eyes get wide and appetites are whetted. Drew Bledsoe is next up on the schedule. Bledsoe is the NFL's most-sacked quarterback of this generation, and Buffalo's new coaching staff has yet to figure out a scheme to protect its immobile signal-caller. Bledsoe was sacked seven times against Oakland two weeks ago and has gone down eight times on the season. This follows a 2003 campaign in which he was dropped a league-high 49 times, which was actually an improvement from the 54 sacks he took in 2002.

Bledsoe, Bills unimpressed by new Belichick book

Don't expect Drew Bledsoe to rush out to pick up a new book profiling his former coach Bill Belichick. Bledsoe, the Buffalo Bills quarterback, sounded unimpressed Wednesday when informed of the book titled ''Patriot Reign.'' And Bledsoe shrugged his shoulders when told of the New England Patriots coach's observation that the best way to defend against him is forcing him into making mistakes in a a short-passing game. ''Hmmm. OK,'' Bledsoe said.

September 29, 2004

Drew is blue

You have to go back nearly four years to the day, Oct. 1, 2000. Drew Bledsoe, then the New England Patriots' starting quarterback for first-year coach Bill Belichick, displayed a bravado for the entire National Football League to see. Back then, when Bledsoe was on a Hall of Fame track, he dissected the Denver Broncos, hitting 18 of 27 passes for 271 yards, four TDs, with only one interception and a QB rating of 123.6. It was the last time Bledsoe, who's started 47 games since, strapped his team on his back and whooped a 10-plus win, playoff-caliber opponent.

Patriots seek to tie NFL record

Roll call for the list of NFL teams with the most consecutive victories can grow by one in Orchard Park, New York this Sunday when the New England Patriots play the Buffalo Bills. A New England victory would boost the Patriots to 18 consecutive wins, including playoffs. That total would tie five teams for the longest winning streaks in NFL history: 1933-34 Chicago Bears, 1941-42 Chicago Bears, 1972-73 Miami Dolphins, 1989-90 San Francisco 49ers, and the 1997-98 Denver Broncos. When New England last entered western New York, the Bills intercepted four passes and posted their first shutout in four years with a 31-0 victory on Kickoff Weekend of 2003. Buffalo head coach MIKE MULARKEY seeks his first NFL victory, and the Patriots aim to improve their 4-3 record against the Bills when playing Buffalo with a winning streak of five games or better.

Date	Length of Patriots Win Streak	Game	Winner/Score
10/3/04	17	New England at Buffalo	???
12/27/03	11	Buffalo at New England	New England, 31-0
11/5/78	6	New England at Buffalo	New England, 14-10
12/20/64	5	Buffalo at New England	Buffalo, 24-14
10/20/74	5	New England at Buffalo	Buffalo, 30-28
10/26/80	5	New England at Buffalo	Buffalo, 31-13
11/23/86	5	Buffalo at New England	New England, 22-19
12/18/94	5	New England at Buffalo	New England, 41-17

Buffalo quarterback DREW BLEDSOE was selected by New England with the No. 1 overall pick in the 1993 NFL Draft and led the Patriots from 1993-01.  In the New England record book, Bledsoe stands first in career completions (2,544), attempts (4,518) and passing yards (29,657). 

“They’ve got smart football players,” says Bledsoe of his former team.  “They make very few mistakes and force you to execute well against them.  If you make a negative play they come after you and attack you with their blitz package.”

Another former Patriot cites the team’s resolve.  “They have shown over the past year and a half that they are willing to win the ‘ugly’ games and that’s really what this league is predicated on,” says the Bills’ LAWYER MILLOY, who started at safety for New England in every game from 1997-02.  Milloy will likely miss Sunday’s game with an injury.

“Their coach (BILL BELICHICK) gets them ready to win the close games,” adds Milloy.  “That’s the mindset you have to go in with in order to beat them.  You have to be ready to win the game at the end.”

New England linebacker WILLIE MC GINEST is a veteran of 17 Bills-Patriots games.  A teammate of Bledsoe’s from 1994-01, McGinest knows what the Patriots must do to reach consecutive win No. 18.  “You can’t let Bledsoe sit in the pocket,” says McGinest.  “He has a strong arm, he has great vision, he is a great quarterback and he can get the ball anywhere on the field if you give him time.  He has great vision and he can hurt you.”

A noisy Ralph Wilson Stadium awaits the defending Super Bowl champs.  “You have to know the cadence and snap count,” says Patriots wide receiver TROY BROWN about handling the crowd noise.  “For receivers, it is a little easier because I’m watching the ball anyway.  For the linemen and backs, it is a little more difficult to hear the snap count.”

NFL FACTOID

 

31-0, FIRST & LAST:  Last season, the Bills defeated the Patriots 31-0 in Week 1 and the Patriots topped the Bills 31-0 in the last week of the season.  This marked the only time in NFL history that two teams played each other on the first and last weeks of the season and shut each other out by the identical score. 

Bills Back to Work

After a bye last week, the Buffalo Bills returned to work Wednesday. Buffalo is 10-5 all-time coming off a bye, but faces a daunting task this Sunday against the Super Bowl Champion New England Patriots and their 17 game winning streak.

“That is extremely impressive,” exclaimed quarterback Drew Bledsoe, a former Patriot. “With free agency, with the salary cap, with the emphasis on bringing in young players and having to bring them along quickly, that's a very, very impressive run by them.”

Bills Encourage Healthy Diet, Exercise

The Buffalo Bills have teamed up with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Western New York, Kaleida Health, and Upstate Farms to promote good eating habits and exercise to children throughout the Western New York region. The program kicked off at the Dr. Lydia T. Wright School of Excellence, School #89 in Buffalo. Five-hundred lucky fifth grade students were invited to attend a special assembly that talked about the "Eat Right and Exercise" program and how to maintain a healthy diet.

QB Losman Optimistic About Return

Bills rookie quarterback J.P. Losman did some jogging for the first time Tuesday since breaking his left leg in training camp. Losman went half-speed 100 yards three times as well as simulating some passing drops half-speed. "It was really exciting," said the second of the team's two first round picks. "That's the only way to tell it. I can't play it cool, it was fun."

Bills to Hold Seventh Annual Fan Food Drive

The Buffalo Bills will host the seventh annual Fan Food Drive prior to this Sunday's game against the New England Patriots. All donations will benefit the Food Bank of Western New York.

Monetary donations and non-perishable food items will be collected at all gates by volunteers headed by Fan Food Drive chairwoman Mary Wilson. Mrs. Wilson will team up with the Bills Women's Association, Buffalo Jills, Blue Coats, Student Leaders and Food Bank staff who will be located at collection points outside every gate of the stadium.

Bills' Losman expects to begin practicing in two weeks

Rookie quarterback J.P. Losman threw his first practice passes for the Buffalo Bills since breaking his left leg last month, and anticipates being cleared for contact within three weeks. Losman made the announcement Wednesday, a day after he threw several passes and jogged for about 100 yards. The workout came after an X-ray showed his leg healed significantly, and less-than-expected swelling.

Patriots Say They're Focused on Bills

Don't mention the streak within the confines of Gillette Stadium. The New England Patriots take a string of 17 straight victories into Sunday's game against the Buffalo Bills. A win at Ralph Wilson Stadium would make them the sixth NFL team to win 18 straight, including playoff games.

"We've played two games," coach Bill Belichick says. "Right now, a streak of one division win is what I'm looking for."

Belichick buddy knows you don't mess with Bill

They met back in the early 1960s, when Steve Szabo was a halfback and defensive back for Navy and little Billy Belichick was an assistant coach's kid who was running around practice and hanging out with his idol, Roger Staubach. Belichick was 10 years old when Szabo first met him. "Back then, who knew?" Szabo, now a Buffalo Bills assistant, said after practice this week. "I was just a Midshipman who was playing. Steve (Belichick) would bring his kid out there once in a while to practice. He was just a little guy."

Bills offense in line for trouble

Here's what Buffalo Bills offensive line coach Jim McNally sees when he looks at the Patriots' defense: ``They're sound and have terrific coaching. They might feel that what they do is simple, but it can be complicated (to an opponent). They might have a three-man line, then the next game it's a four-man line. They keep it simple for themselves, but when you try to block them, they put you in tough situations.
 
     ``Is (Willie) McGinest a linebacker or defensive end? (Mike) Vrabel has his hand down but is he rushing or dropping? You don't know what's coming.''

September 28, 2004

Flashback: Last-Second TD Beats Pats

Nov. 22, 1981: Maybe former New York Yankees star Yogi Berra was on to something when he said, ‘It ain’t over til it’s over.’ Fortunately, the Bills believed the same thing when they hosted New England that Sunday afternoon and came away with a 20-17 victory.

Trailing the Patriots by four and with no timeouts, Buffalo got the ball on its own 27 with 35 seconds left in the fourth quarter.

In the Bills huddle, quarterback Joe Ferguson said, ‘90 all go.’ It was a pass play that’s first option was designed to go to the halfback. Normally, that would have been Joe Cribbs. However, he had left the game in the first half because of injured ribs and was replaced by six-year veteran Roland Hooks.

Players Prefer Bye Week Mid-Season

Former Bills quarterback and current radio color analyst, Alex Van Pelt, sits down with buffalobills.com every Tuesday to offer his insight to last week's game, this week's game, and his performance in the radio booth.

It's tough when you have a bye week so early in the season like the Bills do this year. As a player, you hope to have a bye midway through the season to have a chance to regroup and rest a bit. The only positive of having it in week 3 is that it will give the Bills a chance to work on some things that they weren't able to do in the first two games of the season. It also gives them an extra week to prepare for a crucial game.

Bills fans stick behind their team

It's a month into the season, and Erland 'Erkie' Kailbourne is still pushing Buffalo Bills tickets.

That's not unusual for the Business Backs the Bills committee chairman who has discovered it's a year-round job trying to fill the 73,000-seat Ralph Wilson Stadium in an economically challenged region.

Struggling Bledsoe has fallen on tough times with the Bills

The mere concept will no doubt lead many Patriots fans to shudder, but there are elements of Drew Bledsoe's game that Tom Brady hopes to incorporate into his game someday.

"This is his 12th year," said Brady. "I hope to play for 12 years. Everybody hopes to play for 12 years.

Catching up with Bledsoe

Richard Seymour was just a rookie when Drew Bledsoe entered his final season as a New England Patriot.

Seymour wasn't there when Bledsoe broke in and took his lumps under the stern guidance of Bill Parcells, or when he unexpectedly led the Patriots into the playoffs in 1994, or to a Super Bowl in 1996.

Patriots exit bye week with anxious feeling

The waiting for the New England Patriots is almost over.

The Patriots returned to practice at Gillette Stadium Monday following their bye week and a full three-day weekend since their last practice on Thursday. Following an off day Tuesday, the team will return to practice Wednesday to begin preparations for their match up AFC East rival Buffalo. While the bye week afforded many with time to spend away from football, many of the players who spoke in the locker room today said the break was a long enough interruption from football.

Aerial circus has Bills fans wondering

Wow, did you catch that Green Bay-Indianapolis game Sunday afternoon? At one point, I tried to adjust my TV set because I couldn't believe my eyes. The teams were actually throwing the ball down the field and scoring points.

With four minutes left in the first quarter, the Colts and Packers had already combined for five touchdown passes. Peyton Manning and Brett Favre combined for 751 passing yards, nine TDs, no interceptions and a sack in the Colts' 45-31 win.

Bills hope to derail Patriots' express

The New England Patriots are the New York Yankees. They are USA Basketball pre-Athens. They are UConn women's basketball. They're like dandelions in April, pennant races in September and falling temperatures in December. The Patriots are a given and the closest thing the National Football League has to a dynasty since the Dallas Cowboys of the early '90s.

They return to Buffalo on Sunday armed with a 17-game winning streak. No team in league history has won more than 18 in a row and they could reach that mark Sunday unless the Bills have something to say about it.

Bills report: Inside slant

Quarterback Drew Bledsoe has been almost as easy to sack as ex-Bill Rob Johnson, who was run out of town because of his inability to make plays under pressure. Bledsoe has been sacked 111 times in 34 games with Buffalo - an average of 3.3 per game. Johnson was sacked an average of 3.63. Bledsoe is coming off a seven-sack performance in a loss to Oakland and it doesn't get easier. On Sunday, the New England Patriots invade Ralph Wilson Stadium eyeing an NFL-record tying 18th consecutive win.

Bills report: Strategy and personnel

PASSING OFFENSE:
D -- Drew Bledsoe, coming off his worst season, has done nothing to silence his critics. His numbers are decent looking (60 percent completion rate, 2 TDs, 1 interception) but he still can't consistently make plays under pressure.
RUSHING OFFENSE
D -- The Bills have been committed to the run, which is good, but the production hasn't been there with just 162 yards on 60 carries.

Bills report: Notes, quotes

--After watching the replay, RB Travis Henry now feels he scored on the fourth-and-goal dive play from the 1-yard line against Oakland last week. "I wasn't even down," he said. "I was on top and I reached the ball across the plane."
--SS Lawyer Milloy would love nothing more than to play in Sunday's showdown with New England, his former team that cut him just days before the 2003 season opened, but it's not going to happen.

Can Szabo's secrets help the Bills?

Defensive backs coach Steve Szabo is a well-liked member of the Buffalo Bills coaching staff, but this week he's really Mr. Popular. Winless Buffalo takes on the unbeaten New England Patriots on Sunday at Ralph Wilson Stadium, and the Bills' challenge could not be more daunting. Trying to stop the Patriots from winning their NFL record-tying 18th straight game while averting the second 0-3 start of their own in four seasons.

Beleaguered Line

As the Buffalo Bills return from their bye week and host New England on Sunday, they still have to be somewhat concerned with the playoff of the offensive line. Through the first two games, Buffalo has run for only 162 yards and have not scored a rushing touchdown. That doesn't reflect well on guys up front who make the running game work.

September 27, 2004

Patriots Profiler- Two for two, not too much to ask

During this bye week, any outside observer could see the Patriots’ 2-0 record as a satisfying one for New England fans. That observer, however, would not know the true, over-analytical, “Remember-the-last-time-things-went-so-well” nature of team followers.

In 2002, defending the franchise’s first Super Bowl title, New England opened the season at a decisive 2-0, smacking the Steelers and Jets. Another championship? No problem. Until they lost four in a row, finished 9-7, and missed the playoffs.

Patriots Focusing on Next Game, Not Streak

FOXBORO, Mass. - The New England Patriots returned from their bye week to face the same question they'd heard before they left: What about The Streak?

Their answer was the same: What streak?

The Streak: Pats prefer improving

FOXBORO, Mass. — The New England Patriots could have used some free time during their bye week to celebrate their first anniversary without a loss. They preferred to spend it working to avoid another defeat. And they're trying to ignore the fact that two more wins will break the NFL record for consecutive victories in the regular season and playoffs, an increasingly popular topic of media questions.

Losman on track to begin practicing within five weeks

J.P. Losman could be cleared to begin practicing within five weeks based on the progress the Buffalo Bills rookie quarterback has made recovering from a broken left leg.

Now walking without crutches or a protective boot, Losman is scheduled to have an MRI exam this week to better determine his status.

If all goes well, Losman's agent Gary Wichard said Monday that his client could be practicing as soon as Nov. 1, the day after the Bills play their seventh game of the season, hosting Arizona.

Ask Him Yourself: Tom Donahoe

Buffalo Bills General Manager Tom Donahoe took some time out to answer questions from Bills fans.
Richard Arnold (Stratford, Ontario): Seems some circles are criticizing you for not improving the O-line, yet quality players still want to come to Buffalo (i.e. Vincent). Do you and they know something the average fan does not?
Tom Donahoe: Players throughout the League recognize that Buffalo is a quality place to play and a very good organization and that makes it easy for us to attract free agents to Buffalo.

Ask Him Yourself: Mike Mularkey

Buffalo Bills head coach Mike Mularkey took some time out to answer questions from the fans.
Mike Parrish (Saratoga Spring, NY): Why is the offense not using the tight end in short patterns to help the QB gain his confidence. It seems to me that with the line still trying to bond, this would help when the wide outs are having problems releasing into their patters. Drew's best years were when he had the luxury of Ben Coates being open 5-10 yards up field. The Pats will be coming hard at the QB and this would be a nice way to slow down the rush.
Mike Mularkey: We've used a number of plays to try to get the ball to the tight end and we've caught a few. Early on, even if you look at the last couple of preseason games, we were sticking it in there a number of times. We're still calling them and some of the defenses are scheming to stop it.

NFL in Review: Week 3

Steelers 13 Fins 3

Unfazed by torrential rain, the Pittsburgh Steelers played smashmouth defense befitting their muddy, sodden uniforms. Pittsburgh forced four turnovers, made a key fourth-down stop and beat the hapless Miami Dolphins 13-3.

Texans upset Chiefs

The Houston Texans came up with one clutch second-half play after another, and Brown capped the rally by nailing a 50-yard field goal with 2 seconds left for a 24-21 victory. The Chiefs, the defending AFC West champions, became the fourth team since 1990 to start 0-3 after making the playoffs the previous season.

Complete week 3 wrap

September 26, 2004

Bledsoe's talk is brave, but he acts like he's defeated

Drew Bledsoe said it himself last week. Some of the most successful players in the National Football League were the ones with a bit of a screw loose. Athletes in general require a short memory, but the great players are the ones who put the worst behind them and move forward. Maybe that's been Bledsoe's problem. This guy is one of the most intelligent players ever to wear a Buffalo Bills uniform. He has a long memory. Say what you want about the veteran quarterback, but he's never come across as someone who was even mildly nutty. Bledsoe always held it together. Always.

Bills need attitude, not sympathy

It's thoughtful for NFL headquarters to send a sympathy card, but receiving one doesn't compensate for a three-point loss on the road in Oakland when the Buffalo Bills are fighting for self-respect. The failure to award a safety to the Bills' defense when the rules clearly called for it? That's a potential game-turning play. The Raiders would have had to kick or punt from their own 20-yard line, providing favorable field position.

Pressure's on Bledsoe: So far, Bills are standing by their man

Drew Bledsoe is under siege again, the victim of an impatient fan base and a critical media up in Buffalo. Even though, with rookie J.P. Losman out of action until at least midseason with a broken leg, journeyman Shane Matthews is the alternative, there were still calls for new coach Mike Mularkey to make a switch at quarterback after losses to the Raiders and Jaguars.
 
Bledsoe wasn't pleased.
 
I'm the quarterback here,'' he said. ``And I'm going tobe the quarterback here and that's what it is. Our guys know that. If there was a situation where Mike (Mularkey) felt we'd be more effective with someone else, he would make the change. But that's not the case.''

Sack attack concerns Bills

After collecting seven sacks against the Buffalo Bills in their 13-10 victory last Sunday, the Oakland Raiders hardly acted surprised. Could anybody blame them? After allowing an NFL-high 51 sacks last season, the rebuilt Bills line operated in various states of dysfunction throughout training camp, putting them weeks behind schedule.

September 25, 2004

Brown 'humbled' by induction

The phone call made Travis Brown nervous. It came from longtime Northern Arizona head athletic trainer Mike Nesbitt in late July. "He said, 'T. Brown are you sitting down?'" Brown recalled Nesbitt saying to start the conversation. "I was like, 'Oh, great, who's in the hospital?'" The former Lumberjacks quarterback, then getting ready for Buffalo Bills training camp, thought Nesbitt was the bearer of bad news. He wasn't.

September 24, 2004

NFL Denies it Apologized to Bills for Blown Calls

The NFL tells Channel 2 News it has not formally apologized to the Buffalo Bills for three incorrect calls in Sunday's 13-10 loss to the Oakland Raiders. As a matter of policy, the league says it doesn't apologize to teams. An NFL spokesperson did say the league communicates with teams about calls on a confidential basis, and wouldn't comment beyond that. The Bills aren't commenting on the situation.

Bills still search for a rushing rhythm

Say this about the Buffalo Bills running game: The new coaching staff has kept its promise to use it willingly. As for that 1-2 punch featuring Travis Henry and Willis McGahee, that has yet to show itself, which may be a big reason for the club's offensively challenged 0-2 start. In establishing the ball-control identity coach Mike Mularkey and offensive coordinator Tom Clements feel is best for their team, the Bills have called 60 run plays vs. 51 pass plays. But while that commitment to the run bodes well, the production has been less than scintillating, raising questions about why Mularkey and Clements have been unwilling, or unable, to capitalize on McGahee's talents.

Offense Main Focus During Bye Week

The Buffalo Bills offense struggled against the Oakland Raiders last week, but they now have two weeks to work out the kinks and prepare for the World Champion New England Patriots. Drew Bledsoe and company were efficient in week one against the Jaguars and put the team in a position to win late in the ball game. They put us in a position to win the game against Jacksonville and we made some dumb mistakes on defense, cornerback Nate Clements said. We're a team and that's how we're going to continue to play. We win together and we lose together.

Work on special teams could show good returns for Bills

The Buffalo Bills' return game falls under the category of the Glass is Half Full . . . or Empty. The Bills haven't done anything good yet on returns, but they show signs they're capable of big things. For a team that's 0-2 and has a long track record of return-game impotence, that's something to embrace. "We've showed the potential we can get down the field there, so hopefully this will be the year we do it," said Bills kickoff return man Terrence McGee.

NFL: 3 Calls Go Against Bills

The NFL responds to errors made by its officials so as to seem above reproach. Because every once in a while, you get a game, like the one the Bills played and lost in Oakland Sunday, that looks like it's been thrown.

The NFL prefers its officials to be bad, not dishonest.

Anchorage Backers Get Up For Every Game

The next time you wake up bright and early before the sun rises, take a moment to think of what Bills fans in Alaska do every week during football season.

With a four-hour time difference between Anchorage and Buffalo, the Anchorage Area Bills Backers are up and ready on Sundays while most fans are still snoozing.

"My wife and I wake up at 5:30 a.m. every week to get ready, we're usually out the door by 7:00 a.m.," said Ed McComb, member of the Anchorage Backers.

September 23, 2004

Flashback: Jerry Butler has Record Day

Sept. 23, 1979: In his first three games, Bills rookie receiver Jerry Butler, hampered by a shoulder separation, had 11 catches for 162 yards and no touchdowns. However, during the fourth game of the year, at home against the division rival Jets, he nearly doubled his season total of receptions. And only two weeks after halfback Roland Hooks had found the endzone four times against Cincinnati, Butler did the same against New York, as Buffalo beat the Jets, 46-31.

Fired-up Drew draws the line

Buffalo Bills quarterback Drew Bledsoe acted defiant and sounded fiercely competitive Wednesday. "I'm the quarterback here, and I'm going to be the quarterback here, and that's what it is," Bledsoe said in response to the uproar over the Bills' 0-2 start. "And our guys know that. The players on the team know that. The coaches know that. And that's just simply the way it is. If there was a situation where Mike (Mularkey) felt we'd be effective with somebody else, he would make that change. That's not the case."

Patriots could feast on Bills

Buffalo Bills fans figure to watch history in the making in the next home game. The opposing New England Patriots will try to become the sixth NFL team to win 18 consecutive games. The five teams that won 18 straight all lost their 19th games. It would take a major upset for the Patriots not to break the record and add a few more wins for good measure. Following the game in Buffalo Oct. 3, the Patriots will have a rare three-game homestand vs. Miami (Oct. 10), Seattle (Oct. 17) and the New York Jets (Oct. 24).

Bledsoe refuses to buckle to critics

Just two games into his third season as quarterback of the Buffalo Bills, Drew Bledsoe, a four-time Pro Bowler and the NFL's 12th all-time passer, is fighting for his job. At least he should be in the eyes of many fans and media that feel the team can do no worse, and maybe better, behind journeyman Shane Matthews. The 11-year veteran joined the team late in the preseason after injuries to first-round draft pick J.P. Losman and Travis Brown.

Bills report: Inside slant

This is how bad it's gotten for quarterback Drew Bledsoe during the Bills' 0-2 start following last season's 6-10 finish: Radio talk shows are comparing him to Rob Johnson. Reporters are asking coach Mike Mularkey if it's time to consider switching to 11-year journeyman Shane Matthews. Now that really hurts. While the Bills spend their bye week figuring out ways to fix their sloppy play and a way to prevent the New England Patriots from making NFL history by winning their 18th consecutive game on Oct. 3 at Ralph Wilson Stadium, Bledsoe is fending off a growing legion of critics who would not protest his benching

Bills report: Strategy and personnel

--Bufalo Bills Pro Bowl SS Lawyer Milloy would like nothing more than to face his old Patriot teammates, but the Bills aren't going to grant him medical clearance until he's fully healed, or at least close to it.
--LB Takeo Spikes recorded two interceptions in his Bills' debut against New England in the 2003 season opener, but he has none in the 17 games since.
--RG Chris Villarrial appears to be OK after leaving the Raiders game early in the third quarter.

Bills Report: Notes & Quotes

--CBs Troy Vincent and Nate Clements are taking bows for holding Raiders WR Jerry Rice without a catch last Sunday.
--Two costly holding penalties that wiped out big returns in the kicking game won't turn Buffalo's coverage men gun shy.
--DT Sam Adams "Somebody needed to make a play at the end of the game..."

Third down: Whatever happened to Drew Bledsoe?

Jeff Merron: His O-line apparently forgot he's still in the league.
Alan Grant:Bledsoe is still a premier quarterback...
Eric Neel: I know he can still play...
Skip Bayless: This isn't Lasiks-vision hindsight. I said publicly at the time that the Patriots were making the right move trading Bledsoe...

September 22, 2004

No Down Time

This is the Buffalo Bills bye week. But instead of getting some time off for a little rest and relaxation, the Bills will instead spend their off week putting in extra time on the practice field. “Any time you start 0-2 or 0-3 or whatever you start, I think you have to come out and work a little bit harder to see what you got to do to get better,” wide receiver Eric Moulds explained. “We haven't scored many points the first couple of games and work is what we need and so that's what we got to do.”

Defiant Bledsoe answers his critics

A defiant Drew Bledsoe provided a stern response to those questioning whether he's still capable of leading the Buffalo Bills.

"I'm the quarterback here. And I'm going to be the quarterback here," Bledsoe said after practice Wednesday. "The players on the team know that. The coaches know that. And that's just simply the way it is."

Raiders down bad news Bills, 13-10

Drew Bledsoe's first career game in Oakland wasn't much fun. Playing before the Raider Nation for the first time in his 12th season, Bledsoe was sacked seven times and struggled for the second straight week to take advantage of good field position. Three of the sacks came in the first half, when Bledsoe's 31 yards were only seven more than those of punter Brian Moorman.

Game Center | Play by Play | Drive Charts | Team Stats | Photos

Game Center at NFL.com

Mularkey spots a silver lining

Mike Mularkey sat down with the offense Tuesday afternoon and explained in painstaking detail every mistake the Buffalo Bills made in their 13-10 loss to the Oakland Raiders. No, it was not the longest meeting in NFL history. The Bills head coach said, upon further review, their performance actually looked better. Take the offensive line, which has been a major source of concern since training camp. Drew Bledsoe was sacked seven times, and Travis Henry had little running room against the Raiders. Mularkey watched the video and, given how two newcomers were inserted into the starting lineup during training camp, concluded the line has shown progress.

Drew may need to step aside

Let me preface this column by saying that Drew Bledsoe is one of the classiest, most sincere people I've dealt with in my 27 years in the business. Unlike many of his peers, he isn't a fair-weather athlete. He's willing to face the music when things aren't going right. The dignified manner in which Bledsoe handled his demotion in New England after being a super Patriot for nearly a decade is the stuff of legend — a story you want to share with the kids. Bledsoe is the kind of player that even sportswriters root for, and, believe me, that's saying a lot given the depth of cynicism in my profession.

September 21, 2004

Some Bills Fans Starting To Worry, Want Answers

At WGR-Talk Radio in Amherst, the phone lines have been lighting up like mad with angry Bills fans. "Not only does the city need a control board, the Bills need a control board to make some of the decisions around here," said one angry caller.

Offense has Mularkey scratching his head in Buffalo

Mike Mularkey was hired in Buffalo based upon his success with the Pittsburgh Steelers as offensive coordinator. That, combined with the fact that the Bills have three former Pro Bowl players on the offensive side of the ball, figured to amount to a boat load of points being scored. However, that has not been the case, as the Bills (0-2) have produced just two touchdowns through their first two games, including Sunday's 13-10 loss to the Oakland Raiders.

Bledsoe is playing like a confused, gun-shy rookie

The biggest disappointment in Buffalo’s 0-2 start this season isn’t the Bills’ play in the red zone, their penalties, poor blocking on the offensive line or special teams — although they can all share in the blame — it’s the pitiful play of quarterback Drew Bledsoe. Looking more like a rookie — nervous and indecisive, missing wide open receivers, holding the ball too long, almost never audibilizing and unable to cash in from the red zone, Bledsoe — the pride of Buffalo — is off to another embarrassing season. Is all this really necessary?

Bills honor Bergan as top coach

Ellicottville Central School’s Tim Bergan is the Bills’ high school football coach of the week after the Eagles’ Section 6 Class D East 16-14 win over Maple Grove on Friday night. Bergan is 121-54-1 (.690 pct.) three games into his 19th season and his team is off to a 3-0 start and outscoring the opposition, 115-21. A frequent finalist in voting for Big 30 Coach of the Year, Bergan won the Times Herald Award in 2000. This is the eighth year Buffalo has sponsored the “Coach of the Week” program. During each of the 11 weeks of the high school football season, a committee appointed by the Bills selects a “Coach of the Week”.

Game Notes: Bills vs. Raiders

Eric Moulds: Extended his club-record receiving streak to 96 games…5-yd. TD reception was the 41st receiving TD of his career…marked the 11th time in his career that he has posted TDs in consecutive games…both receptions at OAK resulted in first downs (eight of 10 receptions this year have resulted in first downs). <br>

Brian Moorman: Punted five times for 199 yards for a 39.8 average, including a long of 63 yards…completed a 24-yd pass on 4th down to Kevin Thomas, which was the first completion by a Bills non-QB since Chris Mohr's 44-yd. pass to Daryl Porter (11/19/00 at KC)…tallied two punts inside the 20 yard-line.

It's too early to write off Bills' season

They could just as easily be 2-0 instead of 0-2, and imagine how that would alter the community perspective. If the Buffalo Bills are 2-0 then this sense of doom, this belief that another season has been wasted, surrenders to a feeling of anticipation, a belief that glorious things may be in store. We'd be straining all the negatives from the soup if the Bills had beaten Jacksonville, which they should have, and Oakland, which they could have. We'd be talking about how they're closing in on being for real, how they're finally on the right track.

Bills' offense a throwback

The best news concerning the Buffalo Bills on Monday was that they were guaranteed to survive this Sunday without another loss. The bye week couldn't get here fast enough for a team unable to get out of its own way and an offense that has, in fact, rivaled some of the worst units in team history. Yes, it really has been that bad.

Bills report: Notes, quotes

--The Bills haven't had a winning road record since 1999, the last season they posted a winning overall record (11-5) and made the playoffs. Sunday's loss made the Bills 2-11 in their last 13 road games dating back to 2002 when QB Drew Bledsoe came aboard. In those games, Bledsoe has thrown 10 touchdown passes, 17 interceptions, and been sacked 45 times. Buffalo has committed 38 turnovers and collected just seven takeaways (minus-31). It's hard to believe the Bills were once 3-1 under Bledsoe on the road.

Bills report: Strategy and personnel

REPORT CARD VS. RAIDERS
PASSING OFFENSE
D-plus - Take away a 36-yard pass to Eric Moulds and a 65-yarder to Lee Evans, both against broken coverage, and Bledsoe threw for 97 yards with one TD, one interception and seven sacks. Bledsoe was alarmingly off the mark for much of the day, with high throws and short-hops under the intense Raiders' blitz. Moulds made a nice TD catch but Josh Reed dropped a short pass in the red zone and Bills settled for a field goal. Bills didn't hit enough big plays early to call off the dogs. At least two sacks were blocking mistakes, allowing unblocked heat.

Bills report: Inside slant

If the Bills had to do it again, they'd still try to run the ball into the line on fourth-and-goal at the Oakland Raiders 1-yard line. "It was a good call. We looked over the play, we just didn't get it in," said running back Travis Henry, who was stuffed for no gain on one of the critical plays of Sunday's 13-10 loss, leaving them with a lot of explaining to do. "If we had to do it over, we'd do the same thing."

In defense of the offense

After dropping their first two games of the Mike Mularkey Era by identical 13-10 scores to the Jacksonville Jaguars and Oakland Raiders, the Buffalo Bills have the company line down cold: It's a long season and anything can happen.

Convinced that they're their own worst enemy by committing costly penalties and mental errors, the Bills head into their bye week determined to clean up their sloppy play and make something of this still-very-young season.

Week 2: Is the Buffalo offense really this bad?

Sal: The numbers don't lie. The Bills' record is 0-2, they have two touchdowns and 20 points, they're averaging 2.7 yards per rushing attempt and 242.5 total yards per game, and Drew Bledsoe has been sacked eight times and looks as helpless as ever behind a weak offensive line. Does that answer the question?
Leo: Your stories should get to the point that quickly. The numbers are becoming as ugly as last year when the Bills didn't score a touchdown in seven games. It's hard to believe that many of the same sloppy errors that occurred under Gregg Williams and Kevin Gilbride are happening under Mike Mularkey and Tom Clements.

September 20, 2004

Sad Start For Bills

If the Bills won’t give a refund they should at least give their fans a blindfold.  It hurts ones eyes to sit through a Bills game and watch this offense.  Maybe it wasn’t Kevin Gilbride’s fault after all, this still looks a lot like the anemic, unproductive, and un-watchable offense we saw in 2003.

 

Many people will point to Mike Mularkey’s decision to go for the touchdown on 4^th and goal from the one as the critical call of the game.  Some would say if they had kicked a field goal, maybe the Bills late touchdown would have tied the game. 

Bledsoe-led Bills offense still sputtering

Quarterback Drew Bledsoe and the Buffalo Bills spent the offseason insisting their offense would be improved, erasing memories of last year's struggles. So far, no good. The same problems sacks, penalties, red-zone ineptness that plagued Bledsoe and his offense last year are back again, leaving the Bills (0-2) with plenty of concerns heading into their bye week.

Buffalo tests even the most patient of fans

Buffalo's Terrence McGee angled toward the spot where the goal line and sideline at Network Associates Coliseum meet, trying to outrun the angle drawn by tubby Oakland kicker Sebastian Janikowski.

Even before Janikowski put enough of a bump on McGee to knock the cornerback/kickoff returner out of bounds at the Raiders' 11-yard line, the crowd at Mister B's -- Billstuff's first vantage point on a spectacular cusp-of-fall afternoon -- wasn't talking about the possibility of tying the game, but of what would go wrong.

Raiders Sack Bills 13-10

The Oakland Raiders defeated the Buffalo Bills 13-10 at Network Associates Coliseum in Oakland. The Raiders defense sacked Bills QB Drew Bledsoe seven times and WR Ronald Curry recorded his first career touchdown reception - a 44-yard strike from QB Rich Gannon.

Ransacked Bills 0 for 2 in sloppy loss

Mike Mularkey had his back against a cement block wall deep inside Network Associates Coliseum late Sunday. The symbolism was dramatic. Facing an Oakland Raiders team smarting from a season-opening road loss at Pittsburgh and looking to stretch its record in home openers to 9-1 since re-locating back from Los Angeles, Mularkey's Buffalo Bills needed to play a near perfect game.

Sack-happy 'D' bags Bills

 There was cornucopia of imperfections Sunday. And the point?

All of it was worth overlooking in the Oakland Raiders' 13-10 win over the buffaloed Bills.

The bad paled in the face of one fact, one number actually. A number that is near and dear to the heart of the Raiders, their history and their following.

Bills' Bledsoe way off mark

For Drew Bledsoe, it was a first.

It was also one of his worst.

The Buffalo Bills quarterback had never played at Network Associates Coliseum until Sunday.

It's an experience Bledsoe won't soon forget, no matter how hard he tries.

Monday Billboard

It's getting a little redundant, isn't it? The Bills played another horrible offensive game. They wasted another fine performance by their defense. They made just enough dumb plays to lose, again. They lost to the Oakland Raiders, 13-10 - the identical score as last week's opener. Buffalo is 0-2 and looking like a team that will be fortunate to equal last year's 6-10 record. The Bills have two weeks to contemplate their fate. They're on a bye next week and host the defending Super Bowl champion Patriots in Ralph Wilson Stadium in two weeks.

Going nowhere fast

Raiders' kicker Sebastian Janikowski (11) couldn't stop Terrence McGee's (24) third-quarter kickoff return for the Bills, but a holding penalty could. The call wiped out an 88-yard play.
RUNNING GAME
(F): It's hard to get a run game going when you can't sustain any drives. But not scoring on goal line 2 straight weeks is pathetic.
PASSING GAME
(F): Painful. Miserable. Brutal. Bledsoe was awful. He is helpless against the blitz. Pass game couldn't exploit thin DB corps.

Raiders turn up the pressure

The big ugly for the Buffalo Bills was halfway down the postgame stats sheet: seven sacks for 46 yards lost. Sometimes, statistics don't lie. The Oakland Raiders knew coming into Sunday's game that they could attack the Bills' offensive line. The result was a 13-10 Oakland win in its home opener. "Going against their offensive line, we knew we were going to be able to get some pressure," Raiders cornerback Ray Buchanan said.

Erratic Bledsoe not on target

It seemed like old times for Buffalo Bills quarterback Drew Bledsoe on Sunday, and we don't mean that in a good way. The Bills' 13-10 loss to the Oakland Raiders brought back some bad memories of Bledsoe's woeful 2003 season. His numbers were decent enough: 13 of 24 for 198 yards and a touchdown. But what the statistics don't show is the number of bad throws to open receivers. 

These reruns are painful to watch

Do you suppose I could submit last week's column and leave it at that? Really, why torture ourselves unnecessarily? What exactly can be said that hasn't been said before? The Bills have become the NFL's version of the movie "Groundhog Day." The alarm clock rings on Sunday morning. You yawn, go out to the stadium, watch Drew Bledsoe stumble around behind that sieve of an offensive line, feel sorry for the poor defense, tabulate all the bonehead plays and go down to the locker room to hear the players and coach insist they really are a good team.

Bledsoe's the fall guy

It was supposed to be different. A new coaching staff and a couple of new players were supposed to create a new dawn for the Buffalo Bills' offense. Instead, the Bills find themselves still mired in a deep, dark offensive freeze. The Oakland Raiders handed the Bills their second straight 13-10 defeat Sunday in a fashion that was all too familiar and left the Bills frustrated and somber in the locker room afterward. "We're just killing ourselves," said defensive tackle Pat Williams.

Bills: 2-minute read

Here's a closer examination of some of the issues in the Bills' loss to the Raiders.

Play of the game

Ronald Curry's 43-yard touchdown reception that gave Oakland a lead it never relinquished. Curry got behind Buffalo rookie safety Rashad Baker and caught Rich Gannon's pass to cap a 98-yard drive, the only series in the game in which the defense failed. Unfortunately for members of the Bills defense, they don't have the luxury of ever failing. They have to play an almost perfect game to give this offensively challenged team a chance to win.

0-2 Bills lost in Raiders' 'Black Hole'

Buffalo Bills defensive tackle Sam Adams has been on both sidelines at Network Associates Coliseum, home to the Oakland Raiders and arguably the most enthusiastic/obnoxious/demented fans in the NFL.

Which side does he prefer?

"It's easier to be a Raider when you play here," said Adams, who was one in 2002 when the Raiders advanced to the Super Bowl.

Mularkey's fourth-down call was right

Mike Mularkey absolutely made the right call when he elected to go for the touchdown on fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard-line on the first play of the fourth quarter of Buffalo's 13-10 loss Sunday at Oakland. I know there is a percentage of the aggravated Bills fan base that is mumbling today about that decision. The argument is that if he had kicked a field goal, Eric Moulds' TD reception would have tied the game at 13-13 with 1:20 left to play.

Defense Keeps Game Close

The Buffalo Bills may have lost the game in Oakland, but the defense is starting to get a lot of attention. For the second straight week, the Bills unit allowed only 13 points to the opposition. The Bills were able to shut down the Raiders running game. Quarterback Rich Gannon was the team's leading rusher with 24 yards on four carries. Tyrone Wheatley and Amos Zereoue were non-factors in the game. The defensive line was able to shut donn the run up the middle and to the outside.

September 19, 2004

Game Summary - Buffalo at Oakland

Rich Gannon threw a touchdown pass and the Oakland defense came up with a goal-line stand in the second half, as the Raiders held on for a 13-10 victory over the Buffalo Bills at the Coliseum. Gannon completed 19-of-27 passes for 209 yards and was also Oakland's leading rusher with 24 yards. He threw a 43-yard touchdown pass to Ronald Curry in the first half, as the Raiders (1-1) bounced back from last week's season-opening loss to Pittsburgh and gave Norv Turner his first win as Oakland's coach.

Raiders 13, Bills 10

Jerry Rice probably didn't figure his team-first attitude would lead to the end of his NFL-record receptions streak.

But Ronald Curry's big day Sunday is a sign the Oakland Raiders will no longer rely as much on Rice in their talented receiving corps. Rice's NFL-record streak of 274 games with a catch ended, and Curry caught five passes for 89 yards and a touchdown in the Raiders' 13-10 victory over the Buffalo Bills on Sunday.

Downfield passing game nonexistent for Bills' offense

Remember how it used to be, when Drew Bledsoe first came to town? Remember the overtime win at Minnesota? Miami in the snow? The Bills threw down the field. They attacked. Opposing defenses trembled in fear; Bills fans stirred in anticipation. Every one of Bledsoe's throws seemed to float through the air like a promise.

Building a safety net

When you've grown accustomed to doing things a certain way, change cannot come without exertion, without trial and error, without a degree of anguish. Coy Wire was drafted by the Buffalo Bills to play strong safety although he never played in the secondary before. Then he was moved to free safety. Now he's back at strong. Wire also went from being a starter as a rookie to a member of the special teams to a starter again in place of the injured Lawyer Milloy.

Raiders return to old-style offense

The Oakland Raiders' offense is undergoing a personality transplant. The Raiders have been known the past five years as the dink-dink-dunkingest, short-passing-happiest team in the NFL. The team that lines up today against the Buffalo Bills is shedding the image of its previous two coaches - Jon Gruden and Bill Callahan - and trying to get back to the Raider glory days.

Health woes can't keep Wyche from coaching

No matter what happens in the Raiders' home opener today, Sam Wyche, the Buffalo quarterbacks coach, will be able to make a better exit after the game than the last time he coached in Oakland. That was in 1981, when Wyche was the 49ers' quarterbacks coach, and, after the final exhibition game, he got into a heated argument with Raiders' assistant Charley Sumner walking off the field in Oakland.

Bills face Raiders and Oakland Coliseum’s mystique

The reality is, part of it is myth.
It’s a lousy facility for football.
Network Associates Coliseum, former Oakland-Alameda County Stadium, is one of only four of the National Football League’s 32 home fields that are currently shared with a major league baseball team.
The surface — dirt and natural grass surface — is terrible, especially before the skin portion of the infield is sodded over.
And while Raider fans have a reputation for intimidating, creative dress, there’s some question about their depth of loyalty.

Raiders' need to strike balance puts emphasis on run game

Anyone trying to categorize the Raiders' offense over the past five seasons would be wise to grab a calendar. Simply pick a year, and find a distinct offensive style.

Bills are ready for Raiders and their fanatics

Chris Villarrial knew he was in a place like no other the first time he played at Oakland’s Network Associates Coliseum as a member of the Chicago Bears in 1999.

“I looked up in the stands and this kid was probably 8 years old and he was giving me the finger, and he was standing next to his dad,” Villarrial recalled. “You can expect the unexpected at this place.”

Roland is a Raider to the core

You can scrutinize the stat sheets and watch game films until your eyes are screaming for the Visine, and you still won't get a clear picture of Roland Williams' true value to his football team.

As Oakland Raiders quarterback Rich Gannon says, "It's the intangibles with Roland, the things that aren't easy to quantify."

September 18, 2004

Bledsoe knows slow start is no reason to panic

ALAMEDA -- The New England Patriots started the 1996 and 2001 seasons by losing their first two games and rebounding to make the Super Bowl. It's the situation awaiting the loser of Sunday's game between the Raiders and Buffalo Bills. Current Bills quarterback Drew Bledsoe was a member of both those Patriots teams. The memory of those slow starts puts Sunday's game between the 0-1 Raiders and 0-1 Bills in proper perspective.

A new challenge for Bledsoe

Hard to believe, but Drew Bledsoe's long NFL career has never taken him to the Coliseum and an encounter with the Black Hole. It's a prospect that has the Bills quarterback both excited and apprehensive about his second career visit to the Bay Area.

"We played the Raiders in the preseason quite a few years back. We went down and played at Stanford Stadium (Aug. 25, 1995),'' recalled Bledsoe, who is entering his third season as Buffalo's starting quarterback and 12th in the NFL. "But I have never played at the Coliseum, so I'm a little interested to see what that's all about.''

Lindell finds life begins beyond 40

An 0-for-5 stretch in baseball is not even considered a slump. But for a field-goal kicker, missing your last five from 40-plus yards is a whole different story.

That is the drought Buffalo Bills kicker Rian Lindell finds himself engulfed in, with a crucial 42-yard miss in the second quarter of last week's opener fresh in his mind.

"You just go onward and upward," Lindell said. "Try and put that behind you and make the next one."

Raiders' Turner is NFL survivor

When he popped in the tape of last Sunday's game between the Buffalo Bills and Jacksonville Jaguars, Norv Turner couldn't help but experience a flashback to 1994. Turner, fresh off a second consecutive Super Bowl victory over Buffalo as offensive coordinator of the Dallas Cowboys, was in his first season as an NFL head coach. That trying 3-13 season, his Washington Redskins lost six games by four points or less, including three two-pointers.

Venturing into the Black Hole

When the Buffalo Bills play at Oakland Sunday they'll venture into one of the NFL's most intimidating stadiums. Most of the Bills have never been to the black hole. Safety Izell Reese knows the place well from his days with the Denver Broncos.

“It's Halloween every game,” Reese explained. “It's loud, it's rowdy, the fans say anything from a to z, the costumes, everything. Halloween's coming early for us.”

September 17, 2004

Tops Game Ball Winner: Eric Moulds

Buffalobills.com visitors selected wide receiver Eric Moulds as the Tops Game Ball of the week winner for his performance against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sept. 12. Moulds caught a team-high eight passes for 75 yards, including a 17-yard touchdown pass from Drew Bledsoe in the first quarter. The touchdown reception was his 40th in his career and he trails only Andre Reed for touchdown catches with the Bills.

I Want Proof

The Bills head out to Oakland on Sunday. We keep hearing how it is such a tough place to play. Let’s face it. EVERY road stadium over the last few years has been a tough place to play for this team. I need proof before I can pick them in any game that involves travel. These are not your Super Bowl Raiders. They have a lot of problems. But guess what? Oakland fans are looking at this game as a win. You know they are. No one on the Bills scares them. I’m not sure if anyone on the Raiders scares the Bills, but they do get to play this one on their side of the USA.

NFL Preview - Buffalo (0-1) at Oakland (0-1)

A couple of clubs coming off heartbreaking losses in Week 1 will convene in Oakland this Sunday, as the Raiders host the Bills in the second contest of the year for both teams. Visiting Buffalo suffered a 13-10 home loss to Jacksonville last time out, with a seven-yard touchdown pass from Byron Leftwich to Ernest Wilford at the final gun spoiling Mike Mularkey's head coaching debut. The Raiders, meanwhile, dropped a 24-21 decision to Pittsburgh, with a 42-yard Jeff Reed field goal in the waning moments handing Norv Turner a defeat in his first game with Oakland.

L.A. Bills Backers Show Support

The City of Angels. The Lakers, Dodgers and Disneyland. But chicken wings? It's got those too. When the Los Angeles Bills Backers meet every Sunday at Q's Billards in nearby Pasadena, they can often be seen eating one of their favorite Buffalo meals. "The General Manager of the restaurant, Jimmy Peterson, is a Bills fan," said the club's co-president Kim Montoya. "When he approached one of our members [about making the restaurant the new home for the group], my husband and I went over and tested the wings. Then we were all set."

Bulletin Board

The Buffalo Bills and the Bills Youth Foundation are accepting nominations for the Community Quarterback Award program. The Bills will award $20,000 in grants through the program to outstanding volunteers in Western New York.

Nonprofit organizations may nominate people ages 13 and older who serve in a volunteer capacity. Individuals also may nominate themselves.

Points allowed, scored are statistics numbers 1A, 1B

If a coach were assessing his team's success for a game or season, what five or six statistics would he be most interested in? I'll give you a head start: No. 1 is did he win the game?; No. 2 is turnover differential. - Bob Hartman, Buffalo

Answer: Let's call points scored and points allowed the No. 1 statistic. That's obvious. It's actually two statistics, but we'll count points allowed as 1A and points scored as 1B. Turnover differential is a good No. 2. Over the past five years, 30 of the top 40 teams in turnover differential made the playoffs.

Halloween atmosphere won't be a treat for Bills

The Buffalo Bills will have to contend with a formidable 12th man in their first road game of the season. Maybe "12th beast" would be a more appropriate term. Oakland Raiders fans are known for being loud, and the gang in the south end zone of the stadium is among the most colorful and rowdy in the NFL.

Legendary challenge awaits Smith

Buffalo Bills left guard Lawrence Smith will be staring across the line of scrimmage at two legendary defensive linemen - Warren Sapp and Ted Washington - when he takes the field Sunday in Oakland for the first road game of his NFL career. "It's going to be exciting considering I used to watch those guys on TV when I was in college," Smith said. "I think it's going to be a big test, a big challenge."

Don't discount debut of McGahee

If the game hadn't unraveled in such a devastating manner, more people would have noticed the big steps Willis McGahee took Sunday on his road to recovery from a career-threatening knee injury. It was a huge load for a player making his regular-season NFL debut, but the former University of Miami All-American was up for the challenge.With Travis Henry sidelined with muscle cramps and the Bills nursing a 10-6 lead with 7:12 remaining, coach Mike Mularkey called on McGahee to milk the clock and secure the win. As a closer, he turned in a performance Mariano Rivera would have admired. He did his part.

Spikes still driven

During his nine-year NFL playing career, Bills coach Mike Mularkey played on only three teams that advanced to the playoffs. That's three more than the star outside linebacker he now coaches, Takeo Spikes, has been on during his six-plus years in the NFL. In fact, since entering the NFL in 1998 as a first-round draft choice of the Cincinnati Bengals, Spikes has never played on a winning team, nor on a team that lost fewer than 10 games in a season, let alone a playoff team. Following Sunday's disheartening 13-10 loss to Jacksonville, Spikes' career record in NFL games dropped to an abysmal 25-72.

September 16, 2004

Big Game Sunday

Buffalo at Oakland Sunday pits the Bills against the silver and black. Opponents used to get caught up in the Raider mystique and their commitment to excellence. But these days Oakland is just another team. “All I know is we got the Oakland Raiders this weekend, and we know they have a good organization. They have tough players over there, very talented athletes, and that's the team that we're getting prepared to play,” said safety Pierson Prioleau.

Bledsoe curious heading into first game in Oakland

Somehow, Drew Bledsoe has gone 164 regular-season and playoff games without playing in front of Oakland's rowdy Raider Nation. The only time Buffalo's quarterback has even faced the Raiders in the Bay Area was during his days with the New England Patriots in an exhibition game at Stanford University on Aug. 25, 1995 - the year Al Davis' franchise returned to the area after 12 years in Los Angeles.

Bills report: Strategy and personnel

The Bills, who plan on playing an offensive style heavy on the run and high-percentage short passes, have got to be at least a little concerned about place-kicker Rian Lindell. Playing "small ball" demands a reliable kicker but Lindell started off the year missing wide left from 42 yards and making 1 of 2 field goals overall in a three-point loss to Jacksonville.

Bills report: Notes, quotes

--WR Eric Moulds had his left hand stepped on in the first quarter against Jacksonville and had it heavily taped during practice on Wednesday. Moulds said a Jaguars defender purposefully tried to injure him, a claim coach Mike Mularkey can't prove but doesn't doubt. "I didn't even know that's how it happened, but there are things that go on underneath the pile that I know I wouldn't even start to describe, because I've been underneath there," said the former NFL tight end. "But yes, there are some guys who play like that and feel it's the advantage they're trying to create by taking one of your players out. Unfortunately it happens. I don't care for that."

Bills Look to take Victory out of ‘Black Hole’

The Buffalo Bills will look to crack into the win column this Sunday and they'll be trying to do it in one of the toughest stadiums in the league. Oakland's "Black Hole" is known throughout the NFL as one of the loudest and most intense places to play. The Bills will bring their 0-1 record there to take on the Raiders. Free safety Izell Reese is one of the few players on the Bills roster that has played in Oakland before. Reese was formerly with the Denver Broncos and had to go out there every year.

Tops, Bills Working for Education in WNY

Tops Markets of Western New York and the Buffalo Bills have teamed up to make sure local students get the opportunities to take educational field trips. Rookie members of the Bills toured the Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society with students this past week to encourage cultural learning and student achievement. "This is a great program," Bills lineman Jasen Esposito said. "It gives the kids the chance to see some really interesting and historical displays."

Bills report: Inside slant

Losing last week's regular-season opener, at home, on the last play of the game, in coach Mike Mularkey's debut, was certainly disappointing for the Bills. But disappointment could be replaced by something much worse - disarray - if the club drops to 0-2 with a loss Sunday against the Raiders at Network Associates Coliseum. "The Black Hole" awaits Buffalo. Avoiding an early hole is the Bills' mission.

Wire Heading Back to School for Charity

Coy Wire is going back to school. The Bills strong safety is teaming up with McDonald's to raise money for the Ronald McDonald House Charities and The Coy Wire "Caring" Foundation through kids in local schools. Students will compete to see which school can raise the most money with the prize being Coy Wire serving as your school principal for a day.

Bills Focus on Matchup with Raiders

The new work week has begun for the Bills and that means the team's season-opening loss is behind them and focus is now on Buffalo's next opponent, the Oakland Raiders (0-1). "We watched the tape and Monday and moved on," cornerback Troy Vincent said of the last-second loss to Jacksonville. "They won, we lost, and we've got another opportunity this weekend as we travel out to Oakland. We'll get it together and see if we can have another good defensive performance but this time seal the deal."

Bills Accepting Applications for Community QB Award

Orchard Park, NY – The Buffalo Bills and Buffalo Bills Youth Foundation are accepting nominations for the Community Quarterback Award program. The Bills will award $20,000 in grants through the Community Quarterback program to recognize outstanding volunteers in the Western New York area. The program is part of the national NFL Community Quarterback Award program that honors volunteers in all 32 NFL markets and awards more than $1 million annually to the charitable organizations that they serve.

Raiders show a commitment to the blitz

If you thought the Buffalo Bills' offense lacked explosiveness in Week One, get ready for the sobering forecast for Week Two: It might be just as hard to find the end zone Sunday in Oakland. The Bills managed 242 yards in their loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. Oakland's revamped defense allowed 5 yards fewer - just 237 - in its season-opening 24-21 loss at Pittsburgh. The Raiders boast three great defensive strengths:

Bills' offense can't afford to delay

London Fletcher was not in the mood for talking Wednesday. The Bills' middle linebacker was an elusive figure during the one-hour media session. At one point, he hesitated on his way out of the locker room and said he'd entertain a question or two. But as soon as someone asked about his delay-of-game penalty late in Sunday's loss, he was out the door. "I thought you were going to ask about Oakland," he said as he disappeared down the hallway.

Bills won't rush young Evans

He was selected 13th overall in April's NFL draft, a wide receiver touted for his world-class speed, sure hands, and maturity that would allow him to make an impact his rookie season. So where is Lee Evans anyway? The Buffalo Bills' slick new toy that wooed the training camp crowds during practice at St. John Fisher College, has been kept mostly in its packaging to this point, a perplexing development considering Evans' depth of talent.

Bills' Lindell still confident despite a critical miss

Rian Lindell says he's not feeling the heat, but the heat is there nonetheless. Coming off a sub-par debut season with the Bills when he made just 17 of 24 field goals, Lindell got off to a rocky start Sunday when he missed a 42-yard field goal in the second quarter in a game Buffalo ultimately lost by three points. Lindell later made a chip-shot 25-yarder, but with just over two minutes to play, coach Mike Mularkey opted against trying a 51-yard field goal and instead punted.

September 15, 2004

Bills Have to Finish

It’s rebound week for the Buffalo Bills. After squandering a number of opportunities in last week’s season opening loss to Jacksonville, the Bills look to make amends Sunday at Oakland. “We know what we’re capable of and what we can do as a team,” wide receiver Josh Reed excplained. “We just want to go out there and execute and not shoot ourselves in the foot like we’ve been doing.”

Former Bills assistant Hawkins dies at 69

Ralph Hawkins, 69, who spent 35 years in the NFL as an assistant coach or scout, including one season as defensive backs coach of the Buffalo Bills, died Sept. 9 in Atlantic General Hospital in Berlin, Md. He had Pick's disease, a neurological disorder that causes dementia.

Defensive holding calls increase in Week One

Although there were fewer penalties overall in the first week of the NFL season, the number of defensive holding calls tripled, presumably because of the new emphasis on calling them.

Fans keep Bills' turnstiles spinning

The Buffalo Bills are still smarting over the season-opening loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, but they are smiling over the full house in Ralph Wilson Stadium last Sunday. A 6-10 season hasn't dampened the spirits of Bills fans, which is evident based on season-ticket sales. The Bills have sold 42,553 season tickets this year. That's 863 fewer than a year ago, but it's still the second-highest total since 1994. "It's been good," Bills President and General Manager Tom Donahoe said. "And along with the suite renewals and the premium seats, it's been a good year in that regard."

Strategy and personnel

COACHING
D-plus -- Mike Mularkey's regular-season debut was marred by the turnovers and penalties that plagued his team in the preseason. Some questionable passing calls by coordinator Tom Clements, twice passing on third-and-one unsuccessfully to stir memories of Kevin Gilbride of a year ago. Bills never tested Jaguars' deep cover 2 zones with the speed of Evans. Meanwhile, Jacksonville scored winning TD throwing into triple coverage. Defensive coordinator Jerry Gray needed to find way to get to quarterback Byron Leftwich on final drive.

Notes, quotes

The Bills had drives of 13, 10 and 12 plays produce no points thanks to a missed field goal and two fumbles. "The bottom line is that we got down there three times and didn't finish," said WR Eric Moulds, who fumbled at the 12. "If we're going to be a good football team, we've got to learn how to finish."

Inside slant

It's a play that will keep cornerback Nate Clements up at night. A play he wishes he could have over. With the Bills protecting a 10-6 lead with 1:18 to play and the Jacksonville Jaguars facing a fourth-and-14 play at their own 34-yard line, Jaguars quarterback Byron Leftwich heaved a desperation pass to veteran Jimmy Smith down the right sideline. Clements, singled one-on-one with Smith because Jacksonville had spread the field with five receivers, had perfect coverage.

What Went Wrong

It had all the makings of a season opening win but mistakes, especially in the fourth quarter, cost the Buffalo Bills Sunday. The usually reliable Eric Moulds lost a fumble inside the Jacksonville 15. "We get down there and at least get three points out of it if I don't fumble the football," said Moulds. "So I have to take better care of the football. I take full responsibility.

September 14, 2004

Tough Loss To Take

Overall, I saw some great things on the field on Sunday. There are definitely some areas for improvement. Walking out of the booth, I thought there was no way that the Bills should have lost that game. It's just disappointing to see the defense play so well during the game and then come out on the last drive and allow a score. That's just what Jacksonville wanted and that was the type of game they wanted to be in. They made some great plays on that last drive so you can't take anything away from them. I thought the game could have been won a few times before that last drive but the Bills didn't make some of those plays and it cost them.

At this rate, Lindell might get the boot

When your objective is to win close, low-scoring football games - "small ball," in the current parlance - it helps to have a reliable kicker. The Bills have Rian Lindell, who might be the worst kicker in the NFL. Lindell's career field-goal percentage of 73.1 is the second-worst in the league among non-rookies. Only Arizona's Neil Rackers (67.5) is worse. Since the start of the 2001 season, Lindell is the only NFL kicker who has coverted fewer than half his kicks from 40-49 yards. The better kickers make 70-75 percent from that range. It's a stressful, unforgiving profession. If you make a habit of missing from 42 yards, as Lindell did against the Jaguars, you won't last very long in the league.

Gray upset by ending of game

Buffalo Bills defensive coordinator Jerry Gray reviewed the game film of Sunday's gut-wrenching 13-10 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, and determined that his defense put forth an excellent performance. For 57 minutes and 53 seconds. It was the final 2:07 that bothered Gray, who saw the Jaguars drive 80 yards for the winning touchdown against his proud defense. "The whole thing is, we've got to finish," Gray said Monday.

Stars Don't Shine In Bills Opener

A new season in the NFL brings new hope and optimism.  Sunday in Orchard Park the first of 16 installments left Bills fans hurting and disappointed.  The jury is still out on a variety of subjects, and we won’t get too deep into dissecting the 2004 team from one game.  However, I will tell you that several players have me reevaluating my opinion of the term “star” players when it refers to a few of the Bills. 

Week 1: Is the offense any better?

Leo: After one game and 10 points scored, the answer is an emphatic no. After last year's Bills finished 30th in scoring, this was no way for the new coaching staff to win over fans. Buffalo left about 17 points off the board because of miscues, so there's hope that Mike Mularkey can live up to the hype if he can get his players to clean up their act.

Sal: I'm not sure if this offense is worse than 2003, but I do know it's just as boring. A boring win is OK, a boring loss is not.

Bills regroup for Raiders

Being the voice of reason that he is in the Buffalo Bills locker room, veteran cornerback Troy Vi