Archives for December 2008

‘The Bills entered the game ranked fifth in opponents’ red-zone touchdown efficiency, giving up a TD on 44.4 percent of their opponents’ visits. They begin preparations for Sunday’s finale at Ralph Wilson Stadium against New England ranked fourth in the category at 43.1 percent.’

‘The way I see it, a fan of the Patriots who intends to go to the game – and a lot of them usually show up at the Ralph – could make the drive out the Buffalo a few days early, shovel off his own seats, make some beer money and enjoy the game in comfort while Bills’ season-ticket holders wonder why their own seats are still buried in snow.’

Playoff watch comes to a head (Boston Globe)

Vrabel labeled a throwback (Boston Globe)

Richard Seymour could leave Patriots even more shorthanded (Boston Herald)

Matt Light tackles playing in pain (Boston Herald)

Junior Seau wishes tackling fan a ‘Merry Christmas’ (Boston Herald)

Everything is adding up for the Patriots (Providence Journal)

Back injury has Seymour’s status open to question for the Patriots (Providence Journal)

Pats’ power still on (Worcester Telegram and Gazette)

Patriots minding their own business (Attleboro Sun chronicle)

Bills to pay for working (Attleboro Sun Chronicle)

Attleboro veteran charged with tackling Pats linebacker Junior Seau (Attleboro Sun Chronicle)

Patriots offense still among the best (Quincy Patriot Ledger)

Duo enjoys dual roles (Quincy Patriot Ledger)

Pats ponder playoff possibilities, prep for Bills (Patriots.com)

Patriots close out regular season in Buffalo (Patriots.com)

Ask PFW: Playoffs?! (Patriots.com)

‘Significantly, many of those rushes came with option number one unavailable as an option. It would have been both easy and somewhat understandable for the coaches to junk the game plan after Marshawn Lynch was sidelined with shoulder woes, yet the freak-out never occurred. Even though Lynch received his last handoff on a play that started with 10:47 left in the third, the offense didn’t then turn exclusively to passing; instead, the Bills coolly remained committed to balance.’

‘”Obviously he hadn’t played in a while and he was little bit rusty at first,” said head coach Dick Jauron. “A very tough guy, a very resilient guy. You can see him in the pocket he’s not a person that panics and he takes some hits. He’ll stand in there and do what he has to do to help the team win.”‘

‘”We were in the red zone a lot,” Bills cornerback Terrence McGee said. “But keeping them out of the end zone was big. They help us stay in the game.”‘

‘There were a half dozen major issues facing the Bills at the start of the season: 1) Trent Edwards; 2) Dick Jauron; 3) Jason Peters; 4) second wide receiver; 5) Turk Schonert’s baptism as an offensive coordinator; 6) the pass rush. With one game left, we don’t have a definitive answer to any of them.’

‘"He’s a very tough guy, a very resilient guy," said coach Dick Jauron. "He takes some hits, he stands in there and does what he has to do to help the team win. It was good to have him back."’

‘Going 4-0 vs. the weak AFC West and being 0-5 vs. their own AFC East is all you need to know about the state of the Bills. Sunday’s outcome was way too little, way too late.’

‘”It’s hard when you go and sit on the bench for a while,” Edwards said. “It’s tough to get into a rhythm early on when you’re only in there for three plays. It’s cold, and things aren’t going that well. But we came back. We fought hard. We can play in this cold weather, and we’re probably going to get it again next week.”‘

Coaching: B-minus — He has been criticized heavily in recent weeks, but one thing Dick Jauron has been able to do down the stretch is get full effort from his team even though it is out of the playoff chase. The Bills started terribly and it looked as if the game would become an embarrassment, but they turned it around. The Bills were gouged on defense for 532 yards, but they made plays when they had to. On offense, Turk Schonert tried to use the running game to set up the play-action game, and it worked, as Edwards had some success on those plays in the second half.’

‘When Marshawn Lynch went to the sideline for good in the third quarter, the Bills did not miss a beat on offense because backup Fred Jackson stepped into the lead back role and played one of the best games of his career. Jackson had 43 yards rushing, 70 yards receiving and 47 yards in kickoff returns as he was involved in a number of critical plays that helped Buffalo win, not the least of which was his game-winning, 8-yard TD run. “What can you say about Fred Jackson?” Bills coach Dick Jauron said. “Week in and week out, whatever you ask him to do, he performs.”‘

‘The 532 yards piled up by Denver’s offense seems like the total picked up by a winning team, especially when held against the 275 Buffalo accumulated. The fact that the final score, 30-23, obviously indicated otherwise came down to the fact that Denver went far but not far enough, as the Broncos only got touchdowns on two of their six trips to the red zone.’

‘Times sure have changed since late October.’

‘There will never be a better time to reveal that Dick’s coming back.’