Archives for December 21, 2009

‘”It wasn’t all good, but certainly it was good enough.” It always is for the Patriots.’

‘Fitzpatrick’s failings were so apparent to interim coach Perry Fewell that he actually inserted the benched Trent Edwards in the fourth quarter. And face it, Rush Limbaugh would be more likely to endorse Barack Obama than previous coach Dick Jauron would opt for such a switch.’

‘Buffalo’s only takeaway came when middle linebacker Paul Posluszny picked off a Tom Brady pass. It was Poz’s third of the season, putting him behind only safeties Jairus Byrd (9) and George Wilson (4). Posluszny became the first Bills’ linebacker to have interceptions in back-to-back games since Bryce Paup in 1995.’

‘Signed to a two-year contract by Buffalo two days after former head coach Dick Jauron was fired in November, Brohm could get the call this week when Buffalo (5-9) travels to Atlanta to play the Falcons (7-7). Both Fitzpatrick and Edwards had ankle injuries in Buffalo’s 17-10 loss to New England on Sunday.’

‘We have seen this story played out the last 12 times these two teams have played. The usual, poor offensive line play, penalties, and being out coached led to another loss to New England, 17-10.’

‘There could be a quarterback change for the Bills for their Week 16 matchup against the Falcons in Atlanta, and it won’t be due to performance. Both Trent Edwards and Ryan Fitzpatrick suffered ankle injuries in Sunday’s loss to New England. Their status is day-to-day, as the coaching staff waits to see how the two signal callers recover between now and the middle of the week.’

‘Fred Jackson is the best player on the team. I will probably keep Marshawn Lynch as a backup because the team has so many other needs. This is the easiest position to draft a player in the late rounds and find someone for the roster.’

‘”We feel like this game, we had a lot of confidence. The most confidence we’ve ever had going in to play the Patriots in the short time that I’ve been here. It’s tough.”‘

‘"When it’s like that, no matter how you twist it, no matter what happens, a win usually doesn’t come out of it. You can’t give those guys all those mistakes; they’re going to stick it to you and they did."’

‘In a season where the Bills are striving to re-define dullness, the game easily cracked the top five.’

‘Can Perry Fewell do what Dick Jauron wasn’t able to do and beat the Patriots? Nope, and Fewell’s career record against the Patriots, as Bills coach, will be 0-1 because this is likely the last game he will coach against them, at least for Buffalo. All the talk about Fewell’s candidacy for this job should be quieted because like so many Bills’ coaches before him, he had no answers for the Patriots. And doesn’t a Bills’ coach have to have answers at some point against Bill Belichick?’

‘OFFENSIVE LINE: Four penalties, including two on newcomer Richie Incognito, sabotaged plenty of drives for the offense, which went 2 for 12 on third-down conversions and finished with 241 net yards. Bills quarterbacks had no chance on numerous pass plays, getting swamped for six sacks. This kind of carnage against a New England defense missing stalwarts Ty Warren and Vince Wilford really makes for a disheartening day.’

‘The Bills couldn’t take advantage of an opponent that was missing two starters each on its offensive and defensive lines. Buffalo moved the ball along the ground early, but couldn’t mix things up by stretching the field through the air with quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick. By the second half, when New England knew the Bills had to throw the ball, the Patriots shifted their defensive personnel and came after Fitzpatrick.’

‘The Bills took the opening kickoff and held the ball for 9 minutes, 24 seconds before Lindell’s kick opened the scoring. That capped a 14-play, 69-yard drive that actually had resulted in a 2-yard touchdown run by Fred Jackson. The score, however, was wiped out by a false start penalty on rookie lineman Andre Ramsey.’