Official Buffalo Bills Thread!!!!

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***Jets Outlook***

NEW YORK JETS POS INJURY STATUS
Jason Glenn LB Forearm OUT
Brent Smith G-T Knee Doubtful
Rashad Washington S Foot Questionable
Wayne Chrebet WR Back Probable
Sam Cowart LB Knee Probable
Brandon Moore G Hamstring Probable
Derrick Strait CB Foot Probable

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***Article on Injuries***

Bills Getting Healthy

John Tramontana, buffalobills.com
11/03/2004 6:30 PM

The Bills have been plagued by injuries to key players early in the season, but most of those players are set to make their return.

Safety Lawyer Milloy returned two weeks ago against Baltimore after missing the first five games of the season. Milloy is not only one of the best in the league at his position, but he is also an emotional leader of the Bills defense.

"Having Lawyer back has been a big boost for our team," Head Coach Mike Mularkey said. "He's a leader on our defense and is highly respected by his teammates. Just having him being able to play against the Jets will be a big lift for us."

Milloy was unable to play against the Jets the first time these two teams met in October. New York quarterback Chad Pennington shredded the Buffalo secondary while the Bills were without two impact players, Milloy, and cornerback Troy Vincent.

Vincent injured his knee against the Patriots in the third game of the season and has been out of the lineup since. He is listed as questionable for this weekend's game and may return to the lineup this weekend.

"I'm about to go put my equipment on with my helmet and shoulder pads for the first time in four weeks," Vincent said as he headed out to the team's practice on Wednesday. "I'm looking forward to it. I've been trying to do as much as I can in the rehab room and out of it. Now it's time to go out there and move around with so called live bullets."

Vincent may not be the only player seeing action for the first time in a month this weekend. Center Trey Teague may work himself back into the offensive line as well. Teague also injured his knee against the Patriots and Mularkey has listed him as questionable on the injury report. Both players participated in practice on Wednesday.

Quarterback J.P. Losman was upgraded to questionable for the first time this season after breaking his leg in training camp. Losman will be the third quarterback this weekend and would only be able to play in an emergency situation.

"I'd probably say he could (play), but it would be very limited," Mularkey said. "It would only be in an emergency situation."

Wide receiver Josh Reed will most likely miss this week's game against the Jets. Reed suffered a knee injury returning a punt against the Cardinals in the first quarter. His absence makes the Bills a little thin at receiver, with Drew Haddad also out of the lineup nursing a hamstring. With both injuries the Bills signed free agent wide receiver Kahlil Hill to their practice squad replacing offensive tackle Rodney Reed.

Josh Reed did not practice on Wednesday and Mularkey did not say for sure how long the injury would sideline him. Safety Coy Wire also missed practice with an abdomen injury. He is listed as questionable.

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***Signing***

Orchard Park, NY - The Bills announced today that the team has signed WR Kahlil Hill to its practice squad. Originally selected by Atlanta in the sixth round of the 2002 NFL Draft out of Iowa, Hill spent time on the Falcons, Saints, and Lions practice squads in '02. He was most recently signed as a free agent by San Francisco (1/8/04) and was released prior to the 2004 season.

The son of former Bills All-Pro wide receiver J.D. Hill, Kahlil Hill ranks second on the Hawkeye's career list with 152 receptions and sixth with 1,892 receiving yards.

The Bills also announced today that the team has released OT Rodney Reed from its practice squad.

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***Article***

Time to Separate Good, Bad, and Ugly

Andre Reed, buffalobills.com
11/05/2004 11:00 AM


Editor's Note: The Buffalo Bills all-time leading receiver, Andre Reed, shares his thoughts every Friday exclusively on Buffalobills.com. Andre talks about the current state of the Bills along with how league issues affect what happens at One Bills Drive.

It's that time of year in the National Football League when you have to separate the haves from the have nots. The good teams keep winning, while the bad teams start to plummet and find a way to lose. We're at the midpoint now and teams need to find their identities and what they plan to do with the rest of their season. The Bills are a team in transition that looks to be headed in the right direction based of their past few games. They need to win their next two games to keep pace with the Jets and Patriots in the AFC East.

We all knew the New England Patriots were going to lose sometime, we just didn't know when. Well, that finally happened last Sunday against the Steelers and now we're going to have to see how they bounce back. With the streak off their shoulders now, I think they'll be able to concentrate just on playing football. Even though they have been doing that most of the season, I'm sure the streak has been in the back of their minds. They haven't lost in a year and a half so it'll be interesting to see how they play this weekend in St. Louis.

We had Bills teams that were very similar to the Patriots. I remember in 1991 we started out 5-0 and then we went into Arrowhead Stadium to play the chiefs on Monday night and they embarrassed us. We weren't really used to losing so we had to come back after that defeat on national television. We knew that we could win because we were confident and everyone believed we would. No one ever questioned anything and I think that's how the Patriots are today. They just know they're going to win the ballgame. Now that they've lost, they need to regain that confidence.

I think the Bills are starting to get more confidence. They've won two of their last three games and they're doing it the old fashioned way, running the football. Willis McGahee has been running very effectively and has given this offense a spark. Travis Henry is still a great back and I think he'll contribute to this team throughout the season. The important thing is that these two guys don't lose focus of the team's goal, and that's winning. They can't make this into an issue that divides the locker room.

Thurman Thomas was one of the greatest to ever play and Kenneth Davis could have started for most teams. But those two guys knew their roles on our team and that's why we won. Everyone contributed and that's what the Bills need to do. If everyone figures out their role, this team could get a nice winning streak going.

There are going to be times in the season where things aren't going to go your way and you're going to have to persevere. I think the Bills are starting to learn that. They lost some tough games early on in the season but now things are starting to click. It's important that they keep that momentum going and not regress this week against the Jets. They showed signs of that this past game against Arizona.

The Bills made a lot of mistakes against Baltimore and lost a tough game that they had the opportunity to win. They were in the red zone a few times but turned the ball over and didn't get any points. At 1-5, it would have been easy for them to come out and role over against the Cardinals but they didn't do that. They came out and dominated the game, especially on special teams. It's true that many people might not be impressed because they beat the Arizona Cardinals, but I don't see it that way. A win is a win, period. The Cardinals have a history and a reputation of being a bad football team but they're better than most people think.

Before the Bills game, Arizona beat a pretty good Seattle Seahawks team that many experts felt should challenge for the Super Bowl. They also kept the Minnesota Vikings from the playoffs last year, shocking them in the last game of the season. They're a team that's on the rise and the Bills should feel good about this win regardless of the opponent. It all starts with one game and if you can keep that momentum going, you can beat anyone in this league.

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***Season Update (3-5)***

The Bills defeated the Jets 22-17. Willis had another hundred yard game and the team is now 3-0 with Willis as their starter. Drew had a great game also. No sacks or interceptions for the second straight game. He even had a few rushes, including one for 15+ yards.

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***Next Game***

The Bills installed the game plan for New England Wednesday. This week’s game will be televised nationwide by ESPN, 8:30 p.m. EST Sunday. Buffalo has won three of its last four games while the Patriots are one of three NFL teams to reach the midpoint of the 2004 season with a 7-1 record. Launch the multimedia player to listen to what Willis McGahee, Lee Evans, Terrence McGee, Drew Bledsoe and others had to say about the Patriots.

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***Playoffs***

1. Pittsburgh (7-1)
2. New England (7-1)
3. Denver (6-3)
4. Indianapolis (6-3)
5. NY Jets (6-2)
6. San Diego (6-3)
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7. Baltimore (5-3)
8. Jacksonville (5-3)
9. Houston (4-4)
10. Kansas City (3-5)
11. Tennessee (3-5)
12. Buffalo (3-5)
13. Cincinnati (3-5)
14. Cleveland (3-5)

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***Injury Report***

BUFFALO POS INJURY STATUS
Constantin Ritzmann DE Foot OUT
Josh Reed WR Knee Doubtful
Coy Wire S Abdomen Doubtful
Troy Vincent CB Knee Questionable
Mike Williams T Neck Questionable

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***New England Outlook***

NEW ENGLAND POS INJURY STATUS
Ty Law CB Foot OUT
Tyrone Poole CB Knee OUT
Deion Branch WR Knee Questionable
Matt Chatham LB Hamstring Questionable
Mike Vrabel LB Lower Leg Questionable
Tom Brady QB Rt. Shoulder Probable
Larry Izzo LB Knee Probable
Jim Miller QB Rt. Shoulder Probable
Asante Samuel CB Shoulder Probable

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***Article***

With half the season already in he books, things are starting to take shape in the NFL. Or are they? Just a few short weeks ago the Buffalo Bills looked dead in the water after starting the season 0-4. Since then, the Bills are 3-1 and have the same record over that four game span as the New England Patriots. The only team that has been better than the Bills over the past month is the Pittsburgh Steelers at 4-0.

Some critics would say the Bills haven't proven much by beating the struggling Miami Dolphins and Arizona Cardinals, but last Sunday's decisive win over the New York Jets showed that they can play with the best in the AFC.

Now, the real challenge begins. The Bills have to go into Foxboro, Massachusetts where they have struggled in recent years. Not to mention they have to play the defending Super Bowl Champions on ESPN's Sunday Night Football. The Bills have been a different team away from the comforts of Orchard Park, NY, but that has to change this Sunday if the Bills want to make a run for the playoffs.

Over the past 15 road games, the Bills have only won two of those and they haven't won since last November when they beat the New York Giants, 24-7. The Giants ended up finishing the year with only four wins. Buffalo came close a few times this season losing by three points to Oakland and only two points to the Jets. In each game the Bills weren't able to get much of a running game going, but second-year back Willis McGahee is now in the lineup.

McGahee has made three career starts, gaining over 100 yards in each game and leading the Bills to victory all three times. In the first meeting between the Bills and the Patriots, Travis Henry ran for 98 yards and proved New England had a weakness defending the run. McGahee can be just as powerful as Henry and also has speed to break a big run outside. Against the Jets, McGahee had five runs for 12 yards or more and the Bills will count on establishing the run early to get off to a quick start in Foxboro. Having success in the running game early will give quarterback Drew Bledsoe the opportunity to beat a depleted Patriots secondary through the air. The running game should prevent New England from blitzing as often as they'd like to, and should give Bledsoe some extra time to get rid of the ball.

Last week against the Rams, New England sent wide receiver Troy Brown out as a cornerback. The Bills will most likely see similar set-ups as the Patriots try to compensate for their injuries. All-Pro cornerback Ty Law is expected to miss at least a few more games which may give Eric Moulds some favorable match-ups.

When the Bills are on defense they are going to have their hands full. While they may be the third ranked defense in the NFL, Buffalo has given up chunks of passing yards the past few weeks. A big part of that is the absence of veteran corner, Troy Vincent. Vincent injured his knee the first time these two teams met in week four and may be able to play this Sunday night. If not, second-year player Terrence McGee will get the start.

The Jets picked on McGee last week, completing six passes to his receivers including a 51-yard touchdown strike to Santana Moss. McGee struggled with his footing throughout the day and the Patriots will most likely come out and throw his way.

"He's got a chance to be one of the best DBs in the nation now," All-Pro linebacker Takeo Spikes said of McGee. "This is a copycat league. They're (New England) going to go out and try him again next week. He's going to have a great opportunity to present himself next week at New England on primetime TV. That's a great opportunity."

Buffalo will also have to contain running back Corey Dillon. Dillon has added a new dimension to the Patriots offense and allows quarterback Tom Brady to set-up play-action passes. The Bills were able to shut down Jets running back Curtis Martin, who was third in rushing in the league coming in to last week's game. If they can also shut down Dillon, Tom Brady will have to beat them in the passing game.

Safety Layer Milloy will also be back against his former team after missing the first game recovering from a broken forearm. His presence in the secondary has already made a huge impact in the three games in which he has played. Milloy gives the Bills the opportunity to take more chances blitzing the quarterback, knowing he will be in coverage.

The Bills have had their recent troubles on Sunday Night Football, losing both of their games in 2003. If the Bills can go into New England and upset the Patriots, they will find themselves right back in the middle of the playoff hunt.