Archives for September 2009

‘”We had 10 days to prepare for these guys. We put all our eggs in the basket and to come up one point short is pretty disappointing. The feeling stinks.”‘

‘This is why bad teams like the Bills stay bad and lose in inexplicable ways.’

‘Evans was the target six times Monday night and Owens was the target three times. New England’s two top wide receivers – Randy Moss and Wes Welker – each were targets 16 times. T.O. couldn’t have liked that, but Mount Owens hasn’t erupted yet.’

‘Aside from Leodis McKelvin’s untimely fumble in the waning moments – and the one he dropped earlier that Nic Harris recovered – the Bills special teams units were woeful in the team’s regular-season opener, just like they were through the preseason.’

‘”Its not funny at all,” Mitchell wrote. “We have [family] at our homes to protect. If [you] show [your] face on my [property, I’ll] make sure I do [everything] to keep my [family] safe. So don’t come around thinking, oh we’ll just leave a message on his lawn or wall, [because I’m going] to take it as a threat.”‘

‘Hamburg police on Tuesday confirmed the home of a Bills player was vandalized, but declined to release details of their investigation after an obscenity and the score of Monday night’s game-a 25-24 loss to the Patriots- were painted in white on the player’s lawn in suburban Buffalo.’

‘A person familiar with the injury told The Associated Press on Tuesday that tests revealed Kelsay sustained only a deep bruise and no ligament damage in Buffalo’s 25-24 loss at New England on Monday. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because coach Dick Jauron has not released details of the player’s injury.’

‘”It tears my heart out for them,” he said of his team. “You’ve got to finish games in this league … particularly against teams as talented as them. Nobody gave us a chance and we knew that coming in … but we didn’t come here to lose. We didn’t come to play a close game. We came to win. So we’re just disappointed.”‘

‘But, alas, these are the Bills … the ones who haven’t made the playoffs since 1999 and have had only one winning season since.’

‘The victory extended the Patriots’ streak to 12 straight wins over Buffalo. New England has won 17 of the previous 18 meetings and the Bills haven’t won in Foxboro since a 16-13 overtime triumph in 2000.’

‘Edwards praised new offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt for the way he called the game. "I thought Alex called a great game," said Edwards. "He got us in some formations that I felt comfortable with and he got us in some plays I felt comfortable with. It’s a credit to him, it’s his first NFL game (as a coordinator). But one point short stinks."’

‘Dick Jauron had his team ready to play, but as has been the problem with Jauron’s teams, it just wasn’t good enough in the end to win the game.’

‘If nothing else, the folks at Monday Night Football should keep inviting the Bills back to play just for the sheer entertainment value of their games.’

‘Bills players were crushed, as they should have been. Had they not felt as bad as people felt for them, it would have enhanced the perception — and maybe reality — that they are a mess of an organization with a coach on the hot seat and players in need of direction.’

‘But there are some things coaches can’t coach, which is why you hope your players are not only athletic but smart, and its one huge factor in New England’s success over the past several years. The Bills, under the Yale-educated Jauron and COO Russ Brandon, are trying to draft players who are not only great athletes, but athletes who make smart decisions on and off the field. They’re not perfect obviously, but they’re getting there.’