Archives for October 2, 2004

”’They ain’t winning 18 straight, I’ll tell you that,” defensive tackle Pat Williams said. ”I don’t care what kind of game plan they come in with, we’re going to win on Sunday. The guys are hungry around here. We ain’t settling for nothing less.”’

‘Patriots 20, Bills 10.’

‘"I think there’s a benefit absolutely," said Bills tight end Mark Campbell of playing the Raiders and Patriots back-to-back. "With the Raiders, they had the Pittsburgh Steelers (Mularkey’s former team) a week before they had us so they had a bit of a benefit. I definitely think there’s a benefit. Now instead of having one week to prepare, we’ve actually had three weeks to prepare for this style of defense."’

‘Drew Bledsoe vs. the Patriots Blitz.’

‘Bills must … Convert in the red zone – Twice Buffalo has driven inside the 15 and come away with no points … Think deep – A big play now and then from Eric Moulds or Lee Evans would be nice … Present a united front in secondary – Pats QB Tom Brady can identify a weak link back there and exploit it.’

‘"He is the next closest thing to a coach," Patriots offensive coordinator Charlie Weis said of Brady in a news briefing last month. "It has gotten to the point now, by the time he comes in and we put in the game plan, by the end of the week, he knows the plan like a coach knows the plan."’

‘"It is important that (Bledsoe) plays well for a lot of reasons," said Simms, "for himself, for his team, the coaches and even for the fans and the media. You have to do something that people go "OK, he can do it.’ " But he laughs at talk show complaints that focus on Bledsoe’s lack of mobility. "It (mobility) is just so over-talked about in the NFL," said Simms. "Is (Indianapolis quarterback) Peyton Manning the most mobile guy in the world? Kurt Warner (of the New York Giants) is not the fastest. Tom Brady (of New England) arguably could be the slowest guy in the NFL at quarterback. Bill Walsh (the legendary coach and QB guru) said all you have to do is sidestep and avoid one guy to get the next little window and throw the football. There are so many guys in the league who are not mobile."’

‘In Cincinnati, his teams went a combined 34-78 and never went to the playoffs. New England has captured two of the past three Super Bowls under coach Bill Belichick and is 42-14 since the start of 2001.’

‘Bills coach Mike Mularkey is trying to use Belichick’s comments to fire up his offensive line and quarterback, but there probably aren’t many Bills fans expecting it to be a factor. If Buffalo beats New England on Sunday, the defensive unit figures to be taking most of the bows.’

‘"If there is knowledge that you have about your opponent that would help your team win, then it definitely would be appropriate and it should be done. It should be mentioned. He should bring it up. He should be able to say, `This guy is not that fast. Everyone thinks he’s fast. But I coached him. He’s not that fast.’"’

‘“Don’t get me wrong – I want him to lose,” Law said. “I want him to play well, but I’m not rooting for those guys to win. Hell, I hope it’s a big ass-whupping this week.”’

‘While players regularly change teams and bring information with them — Bledsoe and Lawyer Milloy both have gone from the Pats to the Bills in the past two years — few people know Belichick, and how he operates, as well as Szabo.’

‘"It’s definitely a concern," Belichick said. "Steve spent a lot of time here last year and he’s a very smart guy. He graduated from the Naval Academy and was a double major, so he’s smart. He was here and did a lot of things for us on a volunteer basis and was helpful for myself, the defensive staff and the defensive linemen."’

‘“Anybody that you come across anywhere outside of the building, you have to just be careful of being influenced by comments, positive or negative,” Mularkey said. “There is too much work that goes on in here for anybody really outside to know the amount of time and effort that goes into it. It’s not like they’re going out there to try to please the crowd,” he said of his players. “That’s not their objective. They’re trying to win a football game. To me, that’s just a distraction. If you bring it up they’re going to be looking for it, so I really have not addressed it that way. I’ve just said be careful of outside sources.”’