Archives for November 16, 2004

‘But it’s not a perfect world, and Sunday night we saw Drew Bledsoe at his worst. As immobile as a statue. Making bad decisions. Throwing interceptions. Unable to generate anything. Just another quarterback in peril against the Pats’ defense, the magic all gone.’

‘The Patriots called on their three-tight end package about 10 times. Other times it was two tight ends and fullback Patrick Pass. Regardless of the power combination, the team dominated the time of possession game — 41:22 to 18:38 — accomplishing the goal of sucking life out of Adams and Williams. Adams is 6-foot-4, 335 pounds and Williams is 6-3, 317, so they’re not built to play 41 minutes, let alone 31.’

‘Clearly, Brady has played for better teams the last three seasons, but there was no escaping how good he looked and how bad Bledsoe looked Sunday night.’

‘Belichick and Romeo Crennel decided to go with more zone coverage in the secondary to take away Bledsoe’s primary options and also mixed in enough pressure up front to keep him on his toes. The coaching staff once again made it a priority to stop the run, which set the tone for the rest of the game.’

A hike in his play (Boston Globe)

A strange twist: Bruschi is intact (Boston Globe)

Pats rush to judgment

(Boston Herald)

Line draws high praise (Boston Herald)

Patriots’ thin `D’ gets fat

(Boston Herald)

Bruschi brushes off injury scare

(Boston Herald)

White lies (Boston Herald)

Patriots’ rushing attack hits a new high (Metro West Daily News)

Pats coach explains reaction to Harrison penalty (Metro West Daily News)

An imperfect world and time have made Bledsoe a has-been (Providence Journal)

Only Patriots and Eagles are consistently good (Providence Journal)

Chiefs’ Holmes is expected to miss Pats tilt (Providence Journal)

Bruschi Bends But Doesn’t Break (Hartford Courant)

No longer in same league? (Springfield Republican)

Game 9: Patriots 29, Bills 6 (Springfield Republican)

Belichick’s group stellar in picking apart Bills (Woonsocket Call)

Bruschi OK following late injury (Woonsocket Call)

Bledsoe’s best days long gone (Concord Monitor)

Two in a row and more to go? (AP)

Dillon leads Pats past Buffalo (The Sports Network)

Inside slant (CBS Sportsline)

Strategy and personnel (CBS Sportsline)

Notes, quotes (CBS Sportsline)

Offensive line steals the show (Patriots.com)

Grogan’s Grade: Week 9 (PatsFans.com)

‘Each of his interceptions were the result of poor throws or poor decisions and Mularkey admitted Bledsoe didn’t play close to what he needed to in order for Buffalo to have a shot at upsetting the Patriots (8-1). Still, he said Losman, who broke his fibula in training camp and is still not 100 percent healthy, isn’t close to being ready to assume the starting reins full time.’

‘Corey Dillon became the first individual to top 100 yards on the Bills this season, running roughshod over the Bills’ No. 3-ranked defense for 151 yards on 26 carries, a 5.8 average. The Patriots didn’t bother attacking the middle of Buffalo’s defense with Adams and Pat Williams there, so they hit the edges hard, with the majority of their runs going over undersized DE Aaron Schobel. Buffalo’s tackling was horrendous, particularly by Fletcher and SS Lawyer Milloy who took too many wrong angles for players of their stature.’

‘WR Jonathan Smith, a rookie from Georgia Tech, provided a bright spot for the Bills with a 70-yard punt return for a touchdown. Smith, a seventh-round pick last April, was one of the ACC’s top return men, averaging 12.2 yards on 39 punt returns for his college career. “We practiced all week that maybe we’d get a short kick, and Nate (Clements) was back there relaying the calls and he told me the ball was mine,” Smith said. “The blocking was great. I saw a seam and I just ran. I didn’t have to make many moves because the blocking was so good.”‘

‘I think Mularkey can coach, and Donahoe can assess talent, and many of the pieces are already in place. The sooner Losman develops, the luckier the Bills will be.’

‘Some of his decisions, including the acquisition of Bledsoe from the Patriots in exchange for a first-round draft choice, and the release of Antowain Smith in 2001, one of his first decisions after joining the Bills, rank among his top 10 disasters.’

‘Willis McGahee, with 100-yard games in each of his first three starts (all Bills’ wins), proved to be a non-factor in his Gillette Stadium debut, going for 36 yards on 11 carries in the first half when it mattered. "We were determined not to let him get 100 yards on us," said safety Rodney Harrison. "It was huge that we stopped him. We got turnovers and sacks and they didn’t score on us."’

‘Bledsoe’s evening was epitomized on the Bills’ opening offensive series in the second half. The Patriots had just scored a field goal to go up 23-0. Bledsoe’s answer? On first down, Bledsoe threw a bad incompletion about five feet in front of Moulds, who was standing still on the line of scrimmage. On second down, Willis McGahee was stuffed at the line of scrimmage for no gain. And then, on third down, another Bledsoe pass hit the ground about 10 feet in front of a running Sam Aiken.’

‘Could you please explain to me how New England’s offensive line, with an undrafted free agent and a couple of low round picks, was able to dominate our defensive line? Also, how could their secondary, with so many injuries, completely shut down our passing game? Is this bad coaching or bad drafting on our part?

TD: New England’s offensive line played well last night and we did not. It is only one game and you have to give them credit. We do like the progress our team has made over the last month and we cannot put aside the good things that we have started to do because of one sub-par performance.’

‘Why was the team so unprepared to play? It has happened over and over again this season. Is it the players or the coaching staff?

MM: It hasn’t happened a lot. That was the first game we were soundly beaten. I feel like we were prepared and so did the players.’

‘“I think it’s still too early. I haven’t wrestled with it yet because I don’t think we’re at that point yet,” Mularkey said. “There’s still seven games left. We’re not out of it. I think Drew has proven in the three wins before this game that he’s a big reason why. And we’ll go and start with Drew this week.”’