Offense dragging down Bills

By The Associated Press

Tuesday, October 26, 2004 10:28 AM EDT

ORCHARD PARK - When he's not getting sacked, Drew Bledsoe's throwing interceptions, or his receivers are dropping passes. The Buffalo Bills running attack is no better. Neither Willis McGahee nor Travis Henry have scored a touchdown this season.
The offense was supposed to improve under rookie head coach Mike Mularkey, but remains inept. That's a big reason for the team's 1-5 start.

"It's a culmination of a lot of things," Mularkey said Monday. "We've got to get better. We know the enemy, and we'll try to address it."

Where to begin?

The Bills, hosting Arizona this weekend, are trying to erase the dreadful memories of last Sunday's 20-6 loss at Baltimore.

Bledsoe was sacked four times, threw four interceptions and lost a fumble. The Ravens scored 10 points off turnovers, including Deion Sanders' 48-yard interception return.

The Bills came away with only two field goals in four trips inside the Ravens' 20. They failed to generate an offensive touchdown for the sixth time in 10 road games - and eighth time in their last 20 overall.

Buffalo's offensive troubles last year were one of the reasons coach Gregg Williams' was fired. The team finished 6-10.

Mularkey was hired in part because of the expertise and creative game-planning he displayed in three seasons as Pittsburgh's offensive coordinator.

Mularkey refuses to be drawn into comparisons to last year.

"I'm not going to go there," he said. "If anything goes wrong this year, then I'm the guy to hang the hat on."

And he chooses to see the bright side, noting that at least his team's getting into scoring position.

"If we weren't getting down there at all, I'd be going, `Holy cow, we are in some serious trouble,"' Mularkey said. "But the trouble is, once we get down there, we're not finishing the drives."

The Bills rank last in having managed just four touchdowns in 16 trips inside an opponents' 20 this season.

They've managed just six offensive touchdowns in six games. They've failed to score 21 points in a game this season, and have not scored a rushing touchdown in nine games.

It's so bad that the eight rushing touchdowns Kansas City scored in a 56-10 win over Atlanta on Sunday match the number Buffalo has scored in its last 20 games.

And Bledsoe's numbers continue to spiral.

For a quarterback who set 10 franchise passing records in 2002, his first year in Buffalo, the 12-year veteran has not enjoyed a 300-yard passing performance in his past 20 outings.

During that stretch, Bledsoe's thrown more interceptions (18) than touchdowns (14). And it's a stretch in which Buffalo has 14 times been unable to generate more than 270 yards of total net offense.

Bills fans are beginning to clamor for change, the calls growing louder for Bledsoe to be benched in favor of J.P. Losman. The rookie out of Tulane continues to recover after breaking his left leg in training camp in August.

Mularkey said Losman, the second of Buffalo's two first-round draft picks, is still a few weeks from being cleared for contact. And even then, the coach isn't prepared to say if or when Losman might play.

Bledsoe has shrugged off the criticism, maintaining he's the starter.

"We have to play better," Bledsoe said. "I don't know what the answer is. I wish I did."

Offensive lineman Ross Tucker was also at a loss.

"It's the same thing I said to you two weeks ago, and the same thing I said three weeks ago," Tucker said. "If I knew, things would be a whole lot different."

---

Notes: CB Troy Vincent, who missed his third straight game with a right knee injury, doubts he'll be able to begin practicing this week. ... C Trey Teague (left knee) hopes to begin practicing this week after missing three games. ... Mularkey hopes LT Jonas Jennings (left ankle) will be ready to play this weekend after missing the last two games.

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