Archives for November 12, 2001

‘Just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse for the Buffalo Bills…it did.’

‘Not only is Williams a rookie coach, but also six members of his staff are in their first season in the National Football League, four of them on offense. And it’s beginning to show.’

‘A bizarre scene occurred in the second half when, while pass blocking, Bills’ rookie offensive tackle Jonas Jennings got his facemask caught in that of Pats’ defensive end Anthony Pleasant. An official had to separate them.’

‘Tom Brady created a negative hubbub when he got picked off four times in the fourth quarter of the Denver game. But yesterday’s effort against the Bills made the Denver edition look like Johnny Unitas.’

‘Look, these Bills stink. They’re either too young, too old or list hospital bed as place of residence. They’re also unlucky and a bit stupid. Yesterday they had nine penalties, none more egregious than when they had third down on the Patriots’ 1-yard line, trailing just 7-0. A false start cost the Bills 5 yards, they took the obligatory three points but never recovered until Van Pelt gave them a (too) late quick fix. This was the first time Johnson had played at Foxboro Stadium. But it had a familiar look of other stadiums on other Sundays for the ill-starred QB. Another loss, another injury. Pretty much business as usual.’

‘But basically it was three hours of heavy, well-paid guys in tight pants running into each other very fast while guys in striped shirts threw yellow hankies at them and the wind blew hard. Sloppy, sloppy, sloppy. For season ticket holders, this was the perfect occasion to give your seats to that nuisance neighbor down the street.’

‘The Pats, after all, missed two field goals, committed seven penalties (five of which handed the Bills first downs), turned the ball over three times and allowed seven sacks. Yep. Just the way they drew it up in practice last week.’

‘"They had nothing to lose at 1-6, so they threw the kitchen sink at us," said Patriots veteran inside linebacker Ted Johnson. "It was fun because we made the big plays in the game when we had to."’

‘Smith still has a number of friends on the Bills, and he wanted to show the Buffalo media and fans that he wasn’t a bust, as many of them had said. That was motivation enough for Smith, but he acted all week as if he were going to face his old coaches. His teammates knew he was acting differently. The usually quiet Smith was gabbing continually.’

‘Bills quarterback Rob Johnson will miss a minimum of four weeks after suffering a broken right clavicle in the fourth quarter of a 21-11 loss to the Patriots on Sunday, ESPN’s Chris Mortensen reported. Johnson suffered the injury when he was sacked by Terrell Buckley with 4:17 left in the game.’

‘Buffalo’s offensive disarray was largely responsible for the Patriots’ 21-11 win. A false start by Jonas Jennings killed one should-have-been touchdown. Jay Riemersma’s holding infraction not only erased another, but made necessary the play on which Rob Johnson’s season very possibly ended. Penalties were only part of Buffalo’s miseries. Just getting out of the huddle was more than the Bills could handle at times, leading to two wasted second-half timeouts. Those would have been pretty handy at the end, after Buffalo cut New England’s lead to three points and desperately needed to stop the clock.’

‘The Bills lost 21-11 to New England Sunday, and lost Rob Johnson indefinitely. Johnson broke his collarbone after being sacked Terrell Buckley late in the fourth quarter. It was his 5th sack of the game. The Bills defense sacked Tom Brady seven times, and held him to just 107 yards passing with one interception by Antoine Winfield.’

The sun shone brightly over Foxboro Stadium for most of New England’s 21-11 win over Buffalo on Sunday. At least above the Patriots’ sideline. “When it rains, it rains hard,” said Bills running back Travis Henry.”And it’s raining right now for us.” The Bills outgained the Patriots, but fatal penalties kept them out of the end zone until 2:43 remained and they trailed by 11 points. Buffalo held New England to 205 net yards, but gave the Patriots less than half a field to cover on both of their touchdown drives (one of which was sustained by a pair of defensive pass interference penalties). Rookie punter Brian Moorman, whose kicking was one of the scarce bright spots through the first seven games, couldn’t handle the southern Massachussetts wind as the Bills brace for the gusty portion of their home schedule.’

‘Was Johnson riding off into the sunset for the season? Or for his Bills career?’

‘The Bills had a season-high seven sacks to contribute to a good defensive effort in a 21-11 loss to the New England Patriots. It was the Bills’ highest total since getting seven against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 12th game of last season, and also the highest total allowed by the Patriots since the Colts recorded eight sacks Dec. 6, 1992. The Bills have been turning up the heat on opposing quarterbacks in recent weeks. After recording just four sacks in the first four games, the Bills’ defense has produced 17 in the last four contests.’