Archives for September 2003

‘The Jaguars still had 9,294 unsold tickets yesterday afternoon and must sell all of them by 1 p.m. tomorrow to avert the first blackout of a regular-season home opener in franchise history.’

‘Belichick underestimated the ability of the Bills or any team to get Milloy signed and on the field so quickly. That is exactly why he waited until the last minute to release him. He never thought he’d see him in a Bills uniform, playing almost every snap on defense. The difference in what Milloy wanted and what the Patriots were willing to pay was under a million dollars. When there are only sixteen games in an NFL season how much is each win worth? They are most certainly worth more than a million dollars.’

‘There are four former Jaguars on the Bills: OT Marcus Price, an original Jaguar and sixth-round draft choice from 1995; TE Ryan Neufeld, who was a Jaguar in 2000; LB Jeff Posey, who was with the Jaguars in 2001, and WR Bobby Shaw, who played for the Jaguars a year ago.’

‘Now is your chance to ask Buffalo’s new linebacker a question!’

‘Buffalo Bills defensive tackle Sam Adams’ 37-yard interception return for a touchdown is among the five Week One nominees for the NFL Play of the Week.’

‘Law said Milloy may not have been the reason the Pats lost the game, but Milloy did prove a point – that he could still play football at a high level. The notion that he had lost a step was floated when the Patriots cut him loose. ”I think he proved a point, exactly,” said Law. ”I think he proved to you guys (media) who doubted him, to the organization, regardless of what they thought, and to himself. He got something off his back by proving he was as good, if not better.”’

‘It was a welcoming feeling,” he said of Sunday’s player introductions when he was the last Buffalo defender to exit the inflated helmet. “From leaving Boston the way I did, rejected, to coming here and getting my name called out and getting the fans going, it just felt like I’d been here my whole career."’

‘The Buffalo Bills’ new tackle titan Lawyer Milloy was bowled over by all the love shown by 400 New England Patriots fans who packed a Boston bowling alley last night to raise money for his charitable foundation…“The city of Buffalo and my teammates welcomed me with open arms, but the city of Boston, I love you and thanks for lettin’ me be me.”’

‘"These fans were just crazy. I just loved them. To come here and see this kind of support, even when we first got here, and it hasn’t diminished at all, I just wanted to give my heart and soul to the team and be a winner. I wanted to participate in the community and just offer all the support I could from the standpoint of a player on the team. It was just fantastic," said Warlick, who was presented with the Ralph C. Wilson Distinguished Service Award three years ago. "I was recognized as having played a part in not only the community, but the team back then. I made that my life’s work, playing professional sports, and to be recognized like that, that’s the ultimate."’

‘"I think it was a little bit of a statement game for us," Bledsoe said. "We came out and said, "Listen, it’s not just on paper where we got better. We actually can take it to the field.’ But that being said, in this league you’ve got to prove it every week. We made a bit of a statement, but we also woke some people up."’

‘"I checked out every one of them, man," Spikes said Monday afternoon. "Empire Sports, ESPN, CNN, ESPN2. I checked out everything. It was a sight to see."’

‘"He gives you a threat on the perimeter," Williams said. "He gives you a threat with his feet that should he ever get in a ball game he can makes some plays out of nothing."’

‘Although it was only one game, there was undoubtedly something different about this Bills team that I haven’t seen in quite some time. Come to think of it, probably since the seasons surrounding that opening-day win over the Rams in ’92 I had mentioned earlier. Could you feel it?’

‘What did they really do? The Patriots aren’t exactly like shutting down Joe Montana’s 49ers.’

‘Who was Bill Belichick trying to kid when he kept denying that the Lawyer Milloy saga had nothing to do with his team’s performance? He kept saying the Bills totally outplayed the Patriots, and he was right, but to think his strange release of Milloy and his subsequent signing by Buffalo did not play a factor in the game is out of touch with reality.’