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Bills Hold On For 20-14 Win
Peters A Tight End? The ever changing situation regarding Jason Peters continues. Days after Coach Mularkey said he wanted Peters to concentrate on playing tackle, he has changed his number from 71 to 86, which is a tight end number. He did lineup there on goal line plays.
Injury Update: The Bills appear to have got out of the game without any more injuries. Chris Villarrial missed the game with an illness. Reports say he was hospitalized with an abdominal problem. Duke Preston got the start for him. Mike Williams was active and played on field goal and punt units mostly but Greg Jerman got the start. Coy Wire and Tim Euhus were inactive. Injury Page.
Secondary Shines: The Bills secondary gave up a few long plays but they made a whole lot of huge plays as this unit shined brightly in the Bills 20-14 win over the Dolphins. They get high grades as does the QB position and the receiver position in the win. Gameday Grades.
Bills Hold Off Dolphins: Kelly Holcomb hit Eric Moulds for a touchdown pass. Willis McGahee ran for a score and Rian Lindell hit two field goals as the Bills held on for a 20-14 win over the Dolphins. The secondary came up with huge plays including a forced fumble by Nate Clements that was recovered by Troy Vincent to hold off a late Dolphin rally. Game Review.
Weather May Be A Factor: It will be unsettled weather for the game today as the Bills welcome in the team from sunny South Florida. There is a 30% chance of a few showers in the forecast with a gametime temperature of 52°. Wind can also be a factor as it will be out of the North Northeast at 10 - 20mph.
Saturday October 8, 2005
Williams Game-Time Decision: It looks like Coy Wire will miss this week's game with his thigh contusion. He has not practiced all week. Mike Williams is expected to be a game time decision as he practiced on a limited basis again on Friday. Expect Greg Jerman to probably make his third straight start for Williams. Tim Euhus practiced fully all week for a second week in a row but he is also expected to be a game-time decision. Injury Report.
Friday October 7, 2005
Edwards Season Likely Over: Ron Edwards had surgery on his injured right shoulder earlier this week, Coach Mularkey announced today. He will likely miss the rest of the season. He missed most of the 2003 season after undergoing rotator cuff surgery on his left shoulder. This injury isn't believed to be as serious. Mularkey called Edwards one of the team's more consistent players. His loss will further hurt the run defense that ranks second to last in the league. He will be replaced by a combination of Tim Anderson and Justin Bannan. Anderson was supposed to battle Edwards for the job in training camp but the fight never materialized. Lavuale Sape will likely be activated for the first time this year as well. He had a very strong training camp. Injury Report
Wire Remains Out: Coy Wire did not practice once again yesterday and it is highly unlikely he will play on Sunday. Mike Williams did a bit more yesterday, but still did not take part in team drills. Tim Euhus continues to practice fully raising hopes he will make his season debut on Sunday. Injury Report
Updated Preview: For only the second time since we started doing game previews way back in the late 90s, we are forced to do a full update to our game preview. The first time was the late signing of Lawyer Milloy before opening day two years ago. We changed our prediction in that game from a loss to a win and we were right. I updated this week's preview because of the starting of Kelly Holcomb. The team continues to refuse to confirm this but it is the worst kept secret in Western New York. Holcomb is no Milloy, I updated the preview but didn't change my pick (although I gave the Bills a few more points). Game Preview.
Thursday October 6, 2005
Thomas Under The Knife Again: CB Kevin Thomas underwent another operation on his troublesome knee. He was already on the team's physically unable to perform list. He had surgery on the right knee in the off season and it turned into a bigger problem than originally thought. The second surgery may end his hopes of playing this year. He had the second operation two weeks ago. He is on crutches but the coach is not giving up on him yet for this season. Injury Report
Moulds Confirms Quarterback Change: Veteran receiver Eric Moulds confirmed to the Associated Press that Kelly Holcomb would be the starter at quarterback when the Bills host the Dolphins on Sunday. He is the first member of the Bills organization to go on record about the change although the media has been widely reporting that there would be a new signal caller. Moulds said, "It takes a good coach to say, `I'm going to sit the starting quarterback down and be able to go with somebody else and try to get a spark from Kelly, A lot of coaches wouldn't have done it so we respect him and we're going to back him 100 percent." Moulds also stated that the veteran players on the team wanted to win now and that the window was closing.
Edwards Injury Could be Serious: The injury to DT Ron Edwards may be serious. Media reports say that the team is evaluating whether his injury will require surgery or will be able to be rehabilitated conventionally. There is a possibility he could be lost for the season. This would be another loss to an already banged up defense, particularly in the middle where they are already having problems stopping the run. Injury Report
Holcomb To Get Start? Reports in the Buffalo News now say that Kelly Holcomb will get the start. As we have been reporting, Tom Donahoe said lineup changes were possible and Coach Mularkey would not confirm or deny changes in the starting lineup. Rumblings have been going on all week that a QB change was going to happen. The Bills will not confirm a change has been made.
Wednesday October 5, 2005
Changes Possible: When Tom Donahoe said everyone was on thin ice after Sunday's loss, he meant it. He told ESPN.com this week that changes are possible in the lineup but they are up to the head coach. In his usual Wednesday press conference today, Mike Mularkey would not comment on possible lineup changes. He also would not deny changes are possible at any position. WGR is reporting that their are rumblings at One Bills Drive that Kelly Holcomb will get the start against Miami. After last week's loss, Mularkey re-affirmed that J.P. Losman is the starter, but he wouldn't back up that comment today.
Bills List 5 on Injury Report: The official NFL injury report for Sunday's games came out today and the Bills list 5 players for their matchup against Miami. DT Ron Edwards is listed as out, WR Roscoe Parrish is listed as doubtful and OT Mike Williams, Safety Coy Wire and TE Tim Euhus are all listed as questionable. Injury Report
Bills in Trouble? This week our columnist, Tony Bogyo, looks at the current state of the Bills and reviews the New Orleans loss through the looking glass of word championship Scrabble (yes - the board game and new "sport") Complete Story.
Tuesday October 4, 2005
Tough Matchup Ahead: It's a day early but I want to put Sunday's pathetic loss behind me in the worst way. So the preview of this week's matchup is now available on the gameday homepage. Surprisingly for the Bills, the well rested and first place Miami Dolphins come to town on Sunday. A win can actually put the Bills back in the mix but the way they have been playing that might be too tough a task to complete. Game Preview.
Monday October 3, 2005
Waiting To Get Over The Hump: J.P. Losman spoke to the media today, and said it was a tough day seeing everything that he did wrong and everyone was able to see what everyone did wrong in the team meeting. He knows he's getting better at some things but he feels the team is ready to go but they need to get over the hump. He knew that he may be benched and said it isn't affecting him in a negative way. He needs to concentrate on himself and they need to stay together as a team because of all the negative talk outside the locker room. The young QB is very impatient in terms of his growth as a quarterback. This week's game against Miami is a big game for them, and he will look at himself in the mirror and find out what he needs to do to change to get the team rolling.
Team Meeting: Coach Mularkey had all the players watch films together today in a team meeting. before breaking down into positional meetings. They did that last year with good results. They re-iterated everything they've been preaching since day one. The showed everyone where the faults are although there were a lot of positives from yesterday that don't get discussed. It was an open forum with all the coaches talking and participation from the players and thinks it will be a wake up for the players who saw where they were undisciplined. You couldn't do it every week but it was necessary at this point. He hopes running the ball will improve the cohesion along the offensive line and in turn help the passing game improve. He said the team is disappointed at the first quarter of the season but they have to look ahead there is still three quarters of a season left. The coach felt Angelo Crowell played good football yesterday making some plays. He thinks the problem with J.P. Losman is that he still doesn't trust himself and letting it rip. He hopes that improves.
Edwards Has MRI: Ron Edwards is undergoing an MRI today to see the seriousness of the shoulder injury suffered in yesterday's loss. There were no other injuries besides the usual bumps and bruises. He expects everyone else to be healthy for next week. Injury Page.
Halftime Fight: According to various reports the two teams got into a fight at halftime as they entered the tunnel. Josh Reed and Mike McKenzie got into a shoving match and one Saints player said that Eric Moulds spit on his teammate.
Losman Not Happy: J.P. Losman said he's never happy when he's pulled and he takes it personally. He knew the team was looking for a spark by pulling him. The most frustrating part for him is that there are plays to be made, but they aren't executing properly. He did feel more comfortable in the game and it was good to see positive things happening. They are getting better and nobody is folding. They need to keep fighting and the plays will come. He knows they need to be consistent and confident and they have to work on that.
Everyone On Thin Ice: Tom Donahoe told the media after the loss that the team is going to do what is best for the team as far as the QB situation goes. As far as personnel goes, an agitated Donahoe told the media everyone is on thin ice.
Losman Still The Starter: In his post game comments, following the horrible loss in San Antonio, Coach Mularkey said that J.P. Losman is still the starter. He was relieved for the 2nd time in three weeks in the loss to the Saints. He said he put in Kelly Holcomb to try and get a spark and a change of pace. The coach felt the lack of picking up third downs was a big factor in the offensive problems as well as poor play from the whole offense, specifically the offensive line. The coach admits that it is easy to see that they should have run the ball more with Willis McGahee. It was disappointing that they had the Saints in a lot of third and long situations but didn't get off the field. He knows that has to be addressed. The bottom line is that the team needs to play like a team and they haven't played well enough all the way around according to the coach. He knows there is still three quarters of a football season left to make things happen.
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