Archives for September 26, 2011

‘”Everyone from here, western New York, everybody, our saying is, ‘We’re all we’ve got,'” Bills safety Jarius Byrd said. “It’s like we’re in this together, we represent here. Everyone doesn’t even know where Buffalo is. We’ve been down for so long.”‘

‘The Pats had 31 points, 495 total yards and 30 first downs, Brady threw for 387 and Wes Welker had 217 yards receiving. But the number that meant the most was four, as in four Brady interceptions, which led directly to 24 Buffalo points.’

‘If the Bills stay on this roll for a few more weeks, they’ll be a hot candidate to appear on NBC when the Sunday night flexible scheduling Weeks 10-15 kicks in. Best-case scenario: How about Buffalo at New England for the AFC East title on NBC on Sunday, Jan. 1?’

‘But to the credit of Gailey and his staff, they kept their team believing and put players in spots to make plays. Ending a 15-game losing streak to New England and Bill Belichick was a watershed moment for the franchise. Now can it live with prosperity?’

‘As soon as the game ended, security personnel rushed to protect the goal posts. They knew those things were coming down if left unattended. Perhaps they should’ve let it happen. The fans deserved an over-the-top celebration.’

‘”I didn’t even see the ball come out. I just saw it off of the deflection,” Florence said. “I was in the right situation playing my right leverage and my right coverage and I was able to go in for the score, which I practice each and every week.”‘

‘”We have proven we are going to play until the end,” Florence added. “It’s time for those past Buffalo Bills memories to fade away. This is a new era and a new day. Everybody outside of this room is calling it an upset, but in this locker room, this is what we expect.”‘

‘”The men in this locker room have showed some great resolve and resiliency sticking together,” said Wilson.’

‘Can you picture J.P. Losman leading that drive Sunday against the one team the Bills simply can’t beat? Rob Johnson? Trent Edwards?’

‘”Now our fans can go to work on Mondays with the sweet taste of victory in their mouth. They probably won’t be getting much work done tomorrow.”‘

‘It has been so long, in fact, that the Bills big defensive end asked his head coach, Chan Gailey, to waive the team’s house rule of celebrating a win for 24 hours or less.’

‘”To force him to do some things he didn’t want to do, it shows we went out there and did our thing,” said Bills linebacker, Shawne Merriman.’

‘But that finish was something, wasn’t it?’

‘A team run by a frugal nonagenarian in a small, depressed market, with idiosyncratic hiring practices on the football side and a Harvard man at quarterback isn’t supposed to be on the verge of a return to glory.’

‘”It’s time for those past Buffalo Bills memories to fade away,” said cornerback Drayton Florence, whose fourth-quarter interception return of 27 yards for a touchdown gave the Bills their first lead, 31-24. “It’s a new era. A new day.”’