Archives for November 2004

‘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.’

‘“That’s a great defense and I’ve got a lot of respect for those guys. They play hard. I know a lot of guys over there and that’s a tough team. When you get a 100 on them, it’s well deserved. We just kept applying what we wanted to do, run the ball, get upfield, and go north and south with it, and we came up with some big plays.”’

‘“That’s the most frustrating thing, playing the way we did (last night),” said Milloy, who celebrated his 31st birthday yesterday. “We have to go back to the drawing board today and realize why we got beat. We have to go back to doing what this team does best.”’

‘“There’s not really much to say,” Bledsoe said with his usual stoicism. “We got beat. We didn’t throw it well enough, we didn’t run it well enough, and we didn’t put enough points on the board.”’

‘So thanks, Drew, for another stinker at The Razor. Come back any time – we’ll bet on the Pats and buy you dinner.’

‘But truly, the game turned in the second quarter.’