Archives for September 2004

‘What does Belichick have cooked up for Sunday’s game in Ralph Wilson Stadium? What should Drew Bledsoe and Buffalo’s troubled offense expect – pressure up the middle like it had in the first two games this season or defensive linemen staying back and linebackers rushing, as the Patriots did in confusing the Bills in 2002? Will quarterback Tom Brady dink-and-dunk until the Bills are sunk?’

‘"We come back that week on Monday morning. I hope he’s cleared to go practice,” Wichard said. "Yeah, he’s doing great.”

‘"He’s just not the same player," an NFL general manager said last week. "You can only take so many hits. It’s not a question of courage. He’s proven that. But your body can only take so much and then you start to react different. I doubt he even senses it. It’s not a conscious thing, but you can’t pull the trigger when you need to anymore."’

‘The Bills’ offensive line will be challenged by the Patriots’ interchangeable ways Sunday when the teams meet in Buffalo. The Bills’ line consists of left tackle Jonas Jennings, left guard Lawrence Smith, center Trey Teague, right guard Chris Villarrial and right tackle Mike Williams. Jennings, Teague and Williams are returning starters, while Villarrial was a top free-agent acquisition and Smith a first-year free agent signee. Leaky offensive line play (NFL-high 51 sacks in 2003) has been a concern in Buffalo in recent years and the well respected McNally, a 25-year NFL coaching veteran hired by first-year coach Mike Mularkey, is being counted on to help fix it.’

A Bill believes he’s due (Boston Globe)

Right on schedule (Boston Herald)

Pats chat with Tom E. Curran (Providence Journal)

Trouble on the line (Metro West Daily News)

Time for the real Seymour to show (Woonsocket Call)

No hype, just wins (Attleboro Sun Chronicle)

Numbers don’t tell story for Seymour (Brockton Enterprise)

Patriots may join elites (Quincy Patriot Ledger)

Drew is blue (Lawrence Eagle Tribune)

‘I still can’t figure out if he’s to blame for the Bills’ failure to throw the ball downfield or if it’s the fault of his line for failing to give him enough time. However, with each passing game, it seems more and more that Bledsoe is unable, or unwilling, to throw the ball quickly enough to avoid getting sacked as often as he does.’

All conventional wisdom leads you to believe the Patriots will tie the NFL record with their 18th consecutive win. Both teams have had two weeks to get ready so they should both be well prepared. Bill Belichik is arguably the best coach in the game and giving him two weeks to prepare could be bad news for the Bills. The Bills are desperate for a victory and the Patriots are due to lose. The Bills will need to play a near perfect game to win this week. They stressed the mistakes they made in the first two weeks over the bye, I think that they were listening and will stop shooting themselves in the foot. In the NFL on any given Sunday anybody can win. So even though it makes no sense whatsoever I’m picking the Bills to pull off a monumental upset to save their season.

‘Nov. 22, 1981: Maybe former New York Yankees star Yogi Berra was on to something when he said, ‘It ain’t over til it’s over.’ Fortunately, the Bills believed the same thing when they hosted New England that Sunday afternoon and came away with a 20-17 victory.’

‘"Their record is deceiving," Patriots defensive end Richard Seymour said. "They could easily be 2-0. They’re probably the best 0-2 team in the league."’

‘I think it’s going to be a very intense game this week at Ralph Wilson Stadium. The rivalry between the Bills and the Patriots has really heated up over the past few seasons. It’s always a grudge match when these guys get together. The crowd will play a big part in the game. With the Patriots coming here it may be a better game than most people think. The Bills will have to play mistake free for the first time this season to beat New England, but it is possible. They need to come out and have a good opening drive to get their confidence back on offense.’

‘Coach Jerry Smith of St. Francis High School has been named the Buffalo Bills high school football "Coach of the Week" for the fourth weekend of the 2004 season (Sept. 24-25).’

‘It doesn’t appear, however, that Bledsoe will be leading the Bills to a championship any time soon.’

‘Think of the Patriots of 2001-03 and a pair of Lombardi trophies spring to mind. Think of the Bills of 2002 and 2003, and it’s their run-ins with the Pats – both on and off the field – that tell you all you need to know. If Pedro Martinez can declare the Yankees to be his daddy, the Bills might have to admit the same about the Patriots.’

‘Would it be too much to ask an offense that features Bledsoe at quarterback, Travis Henry and Willis McGahee in the backfield and Eric Moulds and Josh Reed at wide receiver to exceed the point production one would expect from an NBA sixth man?’

‘And yet, as difficult as it’s been in Buffalo, a city who’s population has dropped by about 35,000 over the last 15 years, Bills fans are proving resilient.’