Archives for November 15, 2004

‘The Bills received a drubbing at the hands of the New England Patriots that can be summed up in one word: embarrassing.’

‘Here’s a little statistic to enliven an otherwise dreary, depressing Monday: The Bills have played four nationally televised, Sunday night ESPN games in the Tom Donahoe era, and they’ve lost all four by a combined score of 119-18.’

‘Before I try and describe to just how far the former Patriot star has dropped off, let me just say that he does not deserve this fate. He is a decent man, a class act and a good quarterback at times. He could have easily divided the team during the 2001 season but he put his personal feelings aside for the good of the team and it brought the Patriots their first championship. But yeesh, has he become predictable or what?’

‘This baby wasn’t close at any time. Three of the first four offensive drives by the Patriots went for 81, 91, 75 and 70 yards. Three of those drives ended in very short Adam Vinatieri field goals. Normally, this practice of settling for field goals can hurt a team, and the only thing the Bills did consistently well was to stop the Patriots inside the Buffalo 10. Instead, the Patriots merely did what they do against Bledsoe, and took McGahee out of his game completely.’

‘”Just basically we wanted to stop the run, play physically and not give up any cheap balls down the field,” said safety Rodney Harrison. “And just do our job, play hard-nosed football. We knew they wanted to get McGahee going, and we were stuck on not letting him get going. And he didn’t.”‘

‘Drew. Drew. It has come to this. Eight of 19 passes completed for 76 yards. Too many times he threw to the wrong guy. Drew. Drew.’

‘In its last four night games Buffalo has now been outscored 119-18, and on this clear and frosty Massachusetts night, the only cable network the Bills belonged on was Comedy Central.’

‘Drew Bledsoe had a QB rating of 14.3. What more do you need to know?’

‘The only positive for the Bills, who had only eight first downs, converted no third downs in seven attempts, and were outgained in net yards, 428-125, was a 70-yard punt return in the third quarter by Jonathan Smith, which ruined New England’s shutout bid.’

‘And then there was the somewhat sorrowful case of Bledsoe, New England’s former franchise quarterback. Even though opposed by a severely compromised New England secondary (definition: no Ty Law and no Tyrone Poole), Bledsoe went a meager 8 for 19 with his passes and totaled but 76 yards.’

‘Last night at Gillette Stadium, the pair was reunited on a pass play that once again brought joy to the Patriots faithful, but, oh, how different the circumstances were from days gone by.’

‘Respective quarterback ratings: Brady, 102.7; Bledsoe, 7.7.’

‘The end came, for all intents and purposes, at 11:20 last night.’

‘“Drew’s a good friend of mine and I love the guy to death. But football can be bittersweet and crappy,” said kicker Adam Vinatieri [news], sounding a note of pity that permeated the Patriots’ locker room. “We tried to make it hard on him the best we could. Bill finds a way to throw a wrinkle every time that puts a little pressure on him.”’

‘Brown was lined up in the slot opposite the Bills’ best receiver, Eric Moulds, on first-and-10 from the Buffalo 38 with 14:05 to play in the fourth quarter. He dropped back in coverage, slipped in front of Moulds and made the first interception of his 13-year NFL career.’