Archives for September 15, 2009

‘Remember the incredible way the Bills lost to Dallas two years ago on a Monday night, which in an eerie coincidence was by the identical 25-24 score? Well, this one was just as sickening. So sickening that it had tough-as-nails safety Donte Whitner in tears afterward.’

‘Bills didn’t have many answers for Randy Moss, who caught a career-high 12 passes for 141 yards, and Wes Welker did his usual damage over the middle with 12 catches for 93 yards. It got ugly in the fourth quarter as Brady shredded the defense and he finished with 39 completions for 378 yards.’

‘Maybe Turk Schonert really was the problem. The Bills got people moving across the field, not just downfield eight yards before turning around. If this is the offense the Bills put on display all season, there might be hope after all.’

‘Tops said it expects sales to remain strong with the start of the season.’

‘”It’s just hard,” said Whitner, choking on his words. “I know how hard these guys work. I know how hard I work. I know. Nobody else is there when we’re working and it’s just hard to lose like this. We did exactly what we expected to do in the first 3 1/2 quarters. And we didn’t do what we expected to do in the fourth quarter. We wanted a win, we needed a win, we had a win, and we let it go.”’

‘”It’s a tough way to lose,” Bills wide receiver Lee Evans said. “A loss is a loss, but when you let them go, that makes them tougher. There was a lot of good in that game, but we have to learn how to finish them.”‘

‘Had McKelvin taken the touchback, the Bills could have run three plays and precious time off the clock. Instead, he took it upfield, where the Patriots took it away from him.’

Patriotic rally (Boston Globe)

QB started slow, but finished fast (Boston Globe)

It brought out the best in them (Boston Globe)

Bills defenders gather no Moss (Boston Globe)

Watson had the answers (Boston Globe)

A few recent retirees get to huddle (Boston Globe)

Memories rush back to Cunningham (Boston Globe)

Mayo injures knee; status unknown (Boston Globe)

Two-minute warning: Bills give it away (Boston Globe)

Photo gallery (Boston Globe)

Tom Brady, Patriots win stunner (Boston Herald)

Elementary for Benjamin Watson (Boston Herald)

Same ol’ Patriots (Boston Herald)

Cool Tom Brady warms to task (Boston Herald)

Patriots’ ‘D’ earns passing grade (Boston Herald)

Robert Kraft loses a ‘favorite’ (Boston Herald)

Sam Cunningham rushes in (Boston Herald)

Ex-Patriot Ty Law would return (Boston Herald)

Jerod Mayo injures right knee (Boston Herald)

Best and Worst of yesterday’s Patriots game (Boston Herald)

Patriots players of the game (Boston Herald)

Play of the game (Boston Herald)

Photo gallery (Boston Herald)

Brady’s two late TD passes lift New England to victory (Providence Journal)

Forget the first 56 minutes; it was pure Brady in the final 4 (Providence Journal)

Watson catches praise from Brady (Providence Journal)

Buffalo was looking for a more positive return (Providence Journal)

For Moss, it was like old times in second half (Providence Journal)

McKelvin runs into trouble (Providence Journal)

Mayo’s injury takes shine off victory; other notes (Providence Journal)

Kraft admits it’s hard to say goodbye to players (Providence Journal)

Monday night miracle overshadows early struggles (Metro West Daily News)

Not a great start, but oh, what a finish for Brady, Pats (Brockton Enterprise)

Pats’ victory not as tasty minus Mayo (Brockton Enterprise)

Pat is back for regular-season opener (Brockton Enterprise)

Photo gallery (Brockton Enterprise)

Injury to Mayo doesn’t bode well for Patriots’ defense (Quincy Patriot ledger)

Patriots chalk talk (Quincy Patriot ledger)

Miracle whip (Worcester Telegram and Gazette)

QB still has flair for fantastic finishes (Worcester Telegram and Gazette)

Davis reveals trade’s details (Worcester Telegram and Gazette)

The gift of grab (Attleboro Sun Chronicle)

No panic in these Patriots (Attleboro Sun Chronicle)

Practice made perfect for Patriots (Attleboro Sun Chronicle)

All-Time team honored at halftime (Attleboro Sun Chronicle)

One down, 15 to go (Attleboro Sun Chronicle)

Patriots save fireworks for finish (New Bedford Standard Times)

Tom Brady uneven in much heralded return (New Bedford Standard Times)

Watson makes most of his chances (Manchester Union Leader)

Mayo’s injury a big setback (Manchester Union Leader)

Brady finds old self in crunch time (Lawrence Eagle Tribune)

Wayward Watson wins it for Pats (Lawrence Eagle Tribune)

Watson silences his many critics (Portland Press Herald)

A night of celebrations (Portland Press Herald)

The New England Patriots looked super only the near of their opener (Springfield Republican)

Patriots have final say against Bills in season opener (Lynn Daily Item)

Anatomy of a game-changing play (Lynn Daily Item)

Brady, Pats prove that 60 minutes means 60 minutes (Lynn Daily Item)

Patriots steal a victory (Nashua Telegraph)

Throwback almost goes a little too far (Nashua Telegraph)

Gift-Giving Season Begins Early (Hartford Courant)

Photo gallery (Hartford Courant)

Brady produces last-minute magic to stun Bills, 25-24 (Lowell Sun)

A furious final five (Patriots.com)

Game Notes: Patriots vs. Bills (Patriots.com)

Patriots Postgame Quotes (Patriots.com)

Photo gallery (Buffalo News)

Photo gallery (BuffaloBills.com)

‘Buffalo did a lot of things well, but got a shocking loss.’

‘Buffalo sat out wide receiver Steve Johnson, defensive backs Ellis Lankster and Drayton Florence, linebacker Ashlee Palmer, tackle Kirk Chambers, tight end Derek Fine and defensive end Chris Ellis. Gibran Hamdan was the third quarterback.’

‘”We got the fumble out on the previous kickoff, we just didn’t get it,” Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said. “It’s a situation where you’re behind you’re always looking to pull the ball out. It was a head’s up play.”‘

‘Brady tosses another touchdown pass to Ben Watson for 16 yards to take the lead 25-24. They were unsuccessful with the 2-point conversion, but left the Bills just 50 seco0nds to playcatch for the first time in the game.’

‘I have no — let me be clear, zero — problem with him taking the kick out of the end zone with his team up 24-19. There was 2:06 to go, and he could eliminate the two-minute warning. But to not go down when hit, like you’re going to break four consecutive tackles with one hand on the ball? Did Bobby April not relay the “Don’t fumble” message? You have got to be kidding me. This team continues to find ways to slice open my soul and pour battery acid into it.’

‘”That group of guys got out there and fought for sixty minutes,” said head coach Dick Jauron. “It tears my heart out that that’s the way the game ends. You’ve got to finish. You’ve got to finish games in this league particularly against teams as talented as this team is with the experience they have. You’ve got to tip your hat to them, but just an awful feeling in that locker room.”‘

‘The Bills found another way to lose in heartbreaking fashion as they lost again on Monday night by a 25-24 loss and in the same terrible fashion as they did against Dallas in 2007. The Bills had a 24-13 lead when Fred Jackson scored on a 10 yard pass with 5:32 to go. The Patriots scored two touchdowns in 1:16 seconds sandwiched between a Leodis McKelvin fumbled kick return when the Bills were looking for an onside kick.’