Archives for September 2004

‘”You can’t help but to look at this game as a great opportunity,” said Bills safety Coy Wire. “There would be no better way for us to turn it around than against a team like New England.”‘

‘That’s the most discouraging thing about the Bills, that in a league where fortunes change so rapidly, they’re one team that seems to be standing still.’

‘He knows what makes coach Bill Belichick tick, why quarterback Tom Brady is so successful, how defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel schemes a blitz. Heck, he knows how the Patriots take their coffee. But just how important is his input this week?’

‘“We are not as familiar with them as before with them having a new coach,” Pats linebacker Roman Phifer said. “They are going to do some things different but they do have a lot of the same players. We know that they are good players and they are capable of being a good team. The couple of games they lost, they could have won. It could have gone either way, so we are not taking anything for granted.”’

‘”Every starting QB in the NFL is dangerous. All of them can beat you,” said Pats safety Rodney Harrison. “It’s just a matter of which Drew shows up. I don’t think it’s about him. It’s about us. It’s about us going out there and playing good, tight coverage against the receivers. When they catch it, we hit them and be fundamentally sound.”‘

‘The Patriots are 13-6 against the Bills in their last 19 meetings.’

Phifer still has that old touch (Boston Globe)

Patriots respect Bledsoe, 0-2 Bills (Boston Herald)

Dillon gives Pats a decisive leg up (Boston Herald)

Pats anxious to get the ball rolling again (Providence Journal)

Drew is the biggest draw when it comes to Bills (Providence Journal)

Graham moves to head of classs (Metro West Daily News)

Patriots Still Could Be Run Over (Hartford Courant)

Phifer sticks to routine (Springfield Republican)

Pats shift attention to Bills (Woonsocket Call)

Catching up with Bledsoe (Attleboro Sun Chronicle)

Bledsoe still looks lost (Quincy Patriot Ledger)

Struggling Bledsoe has fallen on tough times with the Bills (Brockton Enterprise)

One year after last loss, Patriots focus on next game (AP)

Patriots exit bye week with anxious feeling (Patriots.com)

Patriots return from bye to battle the Bills in Buffalo (Patriots.com)

Grogan’s Grade: Bye Week (PatsFans.com)

Patriots fight a losing battle in Beantown (Philadelphia Inquirer)

‘Run or pass, offensive coordinator Charlie Weis said this week — after Belichick took his gag off — that this year’s personnel is the best group he has ever had. Look for a wide-open attack as they try to get a big lead early. . . .’

‘”I’m very confident about the O line, we’re real close,” said running back Travis Henry. “We have shown in the preseason and training camp what type of football team we can be and I think we’re going to get it done.”‘

‘In four previous games against their old signal caller, the Patriots sacked Bledsoe 11 times, intercepted him seven times, held him to an average of 236 yards passing and won three times.’

‘The Bills line can’t sustain its blocks long enough and Bledsoe can’t buy any time, meaning they can’t use Evans speed to get deep.’

‘QB Drew Bledsoe has been almost as easy to sack as ex-Bill Rob Johnson, who was run out of town because of his inability to make plays under pressure. Bledsoe has been sacked 111 times in 34 games with Buffalo – an average of 3.3 per game. Johnson was sacked an average of 3.63.’

”’Putting the plate in was first and foremost the smartest thing,” Wichard said. ”This way there’s no question about the healing of the bone. … Now it’s just a question of building it up, the bone marrow, and it heals.”’

raig Feinberg (Buffalo, NY): Mr. Donahoe, how do you justify your performance as GM when you have spent two first-round picks in 4 years on a QB, already misfired on one coaching staff, misjudged a No. 4 overall draft choice. Selected only 1-Pro Bowler in 4 years, and have a 17-33 record as the Bills GM? TD: In the three plus years we’ve been in Buffalo we’ve had a lot of issues to deal with and many of the issues we have dealt with successfully. People can pick and choose what they want to talk about with regard to our record in Buffalo and ultimately we will be judged by that record. We do feel that there are a lot of positives to our organization. There are a lot of positives to our team and we’re going to continue to build on those positives. From three years ago we have a very healthy cap situation with our team we have basically transformed our roster. There are only two veteran players that still remain from the first team that we had here in Buffalo and there are a lot of positive signs things are improving. Some people see the glass as half empty and we’ve always chosen to see the glass as half full.

Matt Hagstrom (Bemus Point, NY): How long do you back Bledsoe when he just doesn’t seem to be producing? MM: I think a one-game performance is way too early to start thinking about when will I pull him or when will I not pull him. I still believe that Drew gives us the best opportunity to win. Fans may not want to hear that, but some of it goes to the old adage that the QB receives too much blame when you lose and too much credit when you win.