Archives for December 2005

‘There’s a lot to weigh, almost all of it on the Bills side. There’s the Moulds suspension, the weather, how the Bills respond to blowing a 21-0 lead last week, whether or not the Ralph Wilson Stadium crowd turns on Buffalo. As for the Patriots, the Bills have allowed just 10 first-quarter points in Buffalo this year, and they’ve ridden that early edge to a 4-2 home record. New England has to stop sputtering in the first half. This will be a tough place to do it, and this will be a very hard game for the Patriots to win.’

‘The second-year receiver out of Wisconsin is fast becoming quarterback J.P. Losman’s preferred target.’

‘”This team was not ready to sit and wait for a young quarterback to figure it all out,” Losman said this week during a conference call. For a few days, Losman said he felt “embarrassed and upset and furious. After those first two to three days, I realized that I don’t know why I worried about my family being disappointed in me or my family and friends thinking I failed. When you worry about all those outside distractions, you learn to say just screw it and come out to play football.”‘

‘”Even just on tape, I’m not saying it’s a different team, but sometimes they just look so much at a higher level at home,” said Bill Belichick. “That’s impressive (and) very concerning. Of course, they came in here and pretty much controlled the game for 55 minutes in October.”‘

‘Since Losman returned to the lineup, after Kelly Holcomb’s concussion against Kansas City, wide receiver Lee Evans has blossomed. It’s one of the reasons Eric Moulds was disgruntled — Losman not getting the ball to him as much as Holcomb did — and won’t play this week. Over the last four weeks, Evans has 17 catches for 297 yards and five touchdowns after catching 18 for 234 and one in the eight weeks prior. The speedy receiver is dangerous down the field, and must be accounted for, which could open up the middle for Buffalo.’

Reliable Faulk is Patriots’ third man in (Boston Globe)

Givens gets his motor restarted (Boston Globe)

Kaczur, Graham won’t play (Boston Globe)

Billed as a mismatch (Boston Globe)

Taking crowns is old hats (Boston Herald)

Injuries still a pain (Boston Herald)

Getting caught in the riptide (Boston Herald)

Bills not the same at home (Metro West Daily News)

Numbers don’t tell the story (Metro West Daily News)

Three stay back (Metro West Daily News)

4-downs (Metro West Daily News)

It pays to rehearse for the unexpected (Providence Journal)

Analysis (Providence Journal)

Rookie Ventrone a big hit on Patriots’ practice squad (Providence Journal)

Curran’s quiz (Providence Journal)

Deep-threat wideout Lee Evans… (Providence Journal)

Title time again? (Woonsocket Call)

Seymour emphasizes consistency (Springfield Republican)

High Point For Losman (Hartford Courant)

Pats shuffle off to Buffalo (Brockton Enterprise)

Truth is, Pats have to get running game going (New Bedford Standard Times)

Sportsman honor something more (New Bedford Standard Times)

A win could be a clincher (Manchester Union Leader)

Hobbs not shy, on or off field (Lowell Sun)

Fate is in their hands (Nashua Telegraph)

With his hip healed, Colvin shoulders load (Portland Press Herald)

Behind the Scenes with…Cornerback Ellis Hobbs (Patriots.com)

‘Things are crumbling in Buffalo, where it’s starting to look like General Manager Tom Donahoe’s job may be in jeopardy.’

‘Safety Troy Vincent attempted to stem the barrage of questions involving the Buffalo Bills’ crisis du jour — this time it’s receiver Eric Moulds’ status — by asking whether anyone wanted to know what he thought of the team’s next game. Oh, yeah, the Bills host AFC East rival and two-time defending champion New England on Sunday. Not that anyone could tell in Orchard Park, where Team Turmoil appears to be coming apart, a reflection of a sputtering squad that’s 4-8, has lost five of its last six and in all likelihood will miss the playoffs for the sixth straight season.’

‘The Pats have lost six defensive backs for the season due to injury, and that has hurt their effectiveness in mixing their coverages in some games. “A year ago, they would have guys play in different positions but doing the same thing, meaning a linebacker would take the place of a strong safety, for instance,” said tight end Mark Campbell. “At times it might screw up your calls or could make blocking schemes tougher. You don’t see as much of that.”‘

‘”It’s been an interesting week, I’ll say that,” says Scott Berchtold, the Bills vice president of communications who was also front and center during the team’s famed 1989 Bickering Bills season. “When you’re in this business and do what we do, there are always challenges and things that have to be addressed PR-wise. Sometimes it’s tough and sometimes not as tough. As a department, we always try to be as professional as we can be and represent our organization as best as we can.”‘

‘”When veteran players go to free agency they’re looking to see what’s out there and see what their best fit is, and if they hear about a team that is having problems with its veterans, that can come back to hurt you. Some guys won’t even make a trip if certain things are going on. To be honest, it really can (hurt you).”‘

”’There was great fan support up there [in Buffalo] and it was a fun place to play,” Flutie recalled. ”I started the foundation for my son in Buffalo. We had done the Flutie Flakes for about six months before the season even started. We decided to put the Flutie Flakes proceeds toward the foundation. I started playing up there and the timing was just total coincidence. Everything kind of fell into place for us.”‘

‘”I wouldn’t say [the Pats’ game plan] will be dramatically different” without Moulds, New England coach Bill Belichick said. “They’ve been using Parrish on a lot of deceptive-type plays, reverses and quick screens and stuff like that, so you know, and he can throw, so he can do deceptive type plays, but I would imagine they would run their regular plays that they’ve been running, maybe have a couple special things in there for him. As he’s played more they’ve used him in special ways, but I’m sure he’s learning the offense and he’s got to learn all the stuff that the ‘X’ receiver runs.”‘

‘They don’t have to worry about Eric Moulds this weekend, but the New England Patriots still need to find a way to stop Lee Evans.’

‘McGahee was impressive six weeks ago, rushing 31 times for 136 yards and almost single-handedly helping his Buffalo Bills dominate time of possession against the Patriots at Gillette Stadium. He carried 19 times on first down, piling up 90 yards.’