Archives for September 2004

‘”In the climate we’re in in the league now, with free agency and the salary cap, they’ve done a tremendous job of keeping their core guys intact and also bringing in young players who have been able to be immediately effective for them. So if there’s a great team in the league, I would think the Patriots would be the one everybody would look at.”‘

‘"If you need this (for motivation), you aren’t much of a player," linebacker Takeo Spikes said. "But everything extra is a bonus."’

‘”I’m way ahead of schedule,” Losman said on Wednesday at Ralph Wilson Stadium. “The swelling is more down than they thought it would be at this point, the bone is growing back more than they anticipated. I could see it myself on the X-ray.”‘

‘Relevant or not, the book isn’t a work of fiction given Belichick’s track record of mastering Bledsoe. Since the trade, New England’s only setback against Buffalo was a 31-0 thrashing in last year’s season opener at the Ralph.’

‘”I don’t think that there were many good plays out there,” Brady said. “From the quarterback position, I threw four picks. We couldn’t get in on any goal-line situations. We didn’t score a point. We were shut out for the first time in 10 or 12 years. It was just embarrassing. We played terribly. I played terribly and I still remember that game.”‘

‘“If we do the little things right – if we are clean in our blitz pickups, if we are crisp in our routes and execution – then those plays are going to start to happen for us,” he said. “But when we miss some of those little, simple things, then the big things just simply don’t happen. When we do that, then you will see the numbers start to come up for us as an offense. But until we correct those little mistakes, those things just simply aren’t going to happen.”’

‘“We got embarrassed on that field,” Brady said yesterday. “We’re going back to the same environment, under different circumstances, but with the same feelings we had last time. Hopefully, we’re more prepared than we were last year and hopefully we go out and play better than we did last year. If we don’t, it could be the same outcome. I don’t think any of us felt very good after that game and I think a lot of the guys in the locker room still remember that game very well. Every time you see the tape of that game, you cringe.”’

‘With the Bills’ offense sputtering — having totaled 10 points apiece in each of their two losses — there’s reason to think gadget plays might become a greater part of their plan. They also serve as a counter-punch when defenses are in attack mode. “The whole basis behind all those plays is to (exploit) either over-aggression or something they saw on film the opposing team wasn’t adjusting to,” Vrabel said.’

‘Although they’re 0-2, the Bills have given up just 13 points in each of their first two games and have allowed a pair of touchdowns — both on passes. They’re also No. 1 in the league in run defense.’

‘”The people here are fed up with the offense,” said Sal Maiorana, who covers the team for The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. “It’s not two games, it’s two years. It’s gotten to the point where they’re frustrated with Bledsoe. He can’t move or make a play. The offensive line can’t protect him and they can’t run-block. The expectations are higher with [the coaching changes. The expectation was that they’d be better, and they haven’t done anything. People are at wits’ end. There is some pressure for the Bills to perform, and they know it. Their season is close to going down the drain three games in.”‘

‘While Tom Brady’s star has soared since September 2001, Drew Bledsoe’s has crashed.’

‘Although the Bills now have one of the league’s better defenses and have surrounded Bledsoe with an array of options, the results have been blah.’

‘”I think it is more business as usual this year,” New England linebacker Roman Phifer said. “They’re in our division, and it’s always a big challenge to play them in Buffalo. The emphasis is now more that they are in our division than the Drew Bledsoe issue.”‘

Patriots have memory to feel sorry about (Boston Globe)

They’re like a broken record (Boston Globe)

Watson placed on IR (Boston Globe)

Buffalo debacle still fresh (Boston Herald)

Pats tackle Drew (Boston Herald)

Mum’s the word on streak (Boston Herald)

Knee injury lands TE Watson on IR (Boston Herald)

Take this job and love it (Boston Herald)

Fans have Bledsoe, Bills on hot seat (Providence Journal)

Belichick the model teams now want to copy (Providence Journal)

Patriots’ Watson out for season (Providence Journal)

A tale of two quarterbacks (Providence Journal)

Watch out for Bills’ tricks (Metro West Daily News)

Knee costs rookie rest of season (Metro West Daily News)

Winless Buffalo built around ‘D’ (Woonsocket Call)

Rookie TE Watson out for the season (Woonsocket Call)

A Tight Downward Spiral (Hartford Courant)

Patriots all business with Bills (Springfield Republican)

Knee injury sidelines rookie tight end for season (Springfield Republican)

They even can tackle aging (Portland Press Herald)

Bledsoe gives Pats high praise (Nashua Telegraph)

Bledsoe now in Brady’s shadow (Brockton Enterprise)

Buffalo can’t wing it on steals (Quincy Patriot Ledger)

Injuries hit Pats offense (Quincy Patriot Ledger)

Drew who? (Lowell Sun)

Watson put on IR (Attleboro Sun Chronicle)

Patriots place TE Watson on injured reserve (AP)

Patriots sign TE Jed Weaver, Place TE Benjamin Watson on IR (Patriots.com)

Bill Belichick Press Conference (Patriots.com)

Tom Brady Locker Room Interview (Patriots.com)

‘Bledsoe, who is 1-3 against his old club and 4-12 in his last 16 games with 10 TDs, 12 interceptions and 55 sacks, needs desperately to put his career back on track and this is the game to do it.’