Archives for December 10, 2002

‘But in the weeks and months that passed, it has been the manner in which Brady, Belichick and his players have picked Bledsoe and the Bills apart in two meetings this season that now has everyone convinced the Patriots management made the proper decision when they opted to make Brady their pony of choice for the race toward a second successive appearance in the Super Bowl.’

‘Let’s face it, Tom Brady didn’t even need to get his uniform dry cleaned after his games against the Bills.’

‘If the season ended today, the Chargers would be on the outside looking in.’

‘Many of the players were probably still stinging from last Sunday’s 27-17 loss to the New England Patriots, but no one could tell. After staring in the wondrous eyes of children, the game hardly mattered.’

‘ Just because the team doesn’t quit on its coach, that doesn’t mean the owner and the GM will not.’

‘The Bills’ streak of sellouts could end this week. Though no ticket information was made available Monday, there were a little less than 13,000 remaining heading into last weekend.’

‘They’ve closed a season with three straight wins six times in their 43-year history, the last being 1995, when they overcame a 4-7 record by winning their final five. But since then they’ve gone 1-2, 0-3, 0-3, 1-2, 0-3 and 0-3 to finish seasons.’

‘The Chargers are doing the right thing here. Maybe Brees isn’t the ultimate answer. Who knows? But if he is the QB of the future, they have to know, and it isn’t going to be Flutie. Still, that doesn’t mean there aren’t times when a change is necessary.’

‘”We have to go out and win the games, whether we go to the playoffs or not, we’re still trying to go 3-0 the last three games,” he said.’

‘Pressure on the QB is part and parcel to stopping the run. The Bills linebacking corps is a whole other topic of concern, but it starts up front. When star nose tackle Ted Washington was released during the cap purge, Gregg Williams had to lie down before he fainted. He knew the struggles that awaited.’

‘WHO was secretly hoping that San Diego’s Drew Brees suffered some type of injury against the Raiders — nothing terrible, mind you, but just serious enough for him to miss this game against the Bills and force San Diego to start Doug Flutie in his return to the Ralph. Come on you Flutie Fanatics, admit it.’

‘The Bills have been successful because of the big play ability of their quarterback and wide receivers. Both Moulds and Peerless Price have already passed the 1,000-yard mark and came into the game averaging 14 yards a catch. They did have 17 catches between them but Law, Otis Smith and Terrell Buckley combined to limit big plays.’

‘How would Bledsoe fare against this Bills defense? How would Brady fare against this Patriots defense? We’ll never know. All we know is that Brady’s Patriots are better than Bledsoe’s Bills. Everything else is background noise.’

‘For about three decades, McKenzie has represented U-M and Highland Park in more impressive ways than this. In 1974, as a star lineman with the Buffalo Bills, McKenzie decided to help his community. So he started a football camp in his hometown of Highland Park, which he proudly calls “the capital of Detroit.”‘

”’We’re definitely living on the edge. … We’ve got a few plays with Flutie at wide receiver,” Schottenheimer said on Monday, a day after the Chargers’ damaging 27-7 home loss to the rival Oakland Raiders (9-4), who now have control of the AFC West as well as the conference’s best record. ”I’m serious,” Schottenheimer said after his comments drew a few laughs at his weekly news conference. ”Sure. Why not?”’