Archives for September 2002

‘"It was a double pump and the linebacker didn’t get deep enough," Jets coach Herman Edwards said. "The point isn’t to blame someone. It was a great play on their part. We didn’t get there on the rush. (Bledsoe) had too much time. If you give a guy that much time, the zone breaks down."’

‘Martin, who has been amazingly durable during his five seasons with the Jets, will be re-examined today. X-rays at the stadium were negative.’

‘On the field at Ralph Wilson Stadium, Chad Morton could feel the life spilling out of his legs, so he began to bargain with them. "Come on now!" he yelled, into the desperate din of 72,751 voices. "Don’t get caught! Don’t fall down! Just a little bit more! Just a little bit more!"’

‘”They had a great game plan for us offensively,” said strong safety Sam Garnes, one of the new starters. “Bledsoe was just a warrior out there. We have a lot of respect for him, and I have even more because I haven’t played him as much as my teammates. He played a hell of a game. I have to give him his props.”‘

‘As wide receiver Wayne Chrebet observed, “Chad’s starting to write his ticket to the Pro Bowl already.”‘

‘ The Jets left Ralph Wilson Stadium with pounding hearts, a wild victory and acres of room for improvement.’

‘Martin had carried four times for 6 yards and caught five passes for 35 yards when he left a game in which he was the only Jet to suffer a significant injury.’

‘Poor Danny Smith. One game into the season, and already he’s dumber than a speed bump.’

‘There had been 317 overtime games in NFL history before the Bills made the mistake of losing the coin toss. Only one of those games had ended with a kickoff return for touchdown.’

”’He showed our guys that with Drew in there, the game is never over,” said Bills president and general manager Tom Donahoe. ”He’s lost none of his ability to throw."’

‘Even those who believe Drew Bledsoe is a better quarterback than Tom Brady must admit this: When it comes to winning, Brady gets the breaks and Bledsoe does not.’

‘Alas for Buffalo, Drew Bledsoe cannot play special teams.’

‘”He is a true leader,” said Bills left guard Ruben Brown. “I’m just so glad he’s here.”‘

"It was a wild game with a lot of big plays up and down the field. It was great to see Drew make some big plays and he kept us in the ball game. Defensively they really played with their backs to the wall and overcame a bunch of things during the ball game. We gave up too many big plays and the big play that beat us at the end of the ball game."

‘Bledsoe, acquired to spark the Bills offense in a deal with New England last April, almost capped a dramatic debut. He forced overtime when he threw his first TD pass of the game with 26 seconds remaining — a 29-yarder to Eric Moulds.’