Archives for September 2011

‘”The lots open at 9 a. m.,” he said. “They don’t open at 8:30 or 8:45. And it will be like the airport. Fans have to realize they can’t queue [along] the side of the road.”‘

‘”I’m expecting a shootout,” Johnson said. “I can’t really speak for our defense. I’m just saying we have to put up numbers. If it is going to be a shootout, we have to be ready for it on the offensive side. We gotta bring it.”‘

‘Patriots 42, Bills 35.’

‘”When I was in Miami, we were able to put steady pressure on him and we had good coverage guys,” Wannstedt said. “I think you’ve got to have the combination of both to beat him. You’ve got to force a bad throw, try to create a few drops. Come up with a turnover or two. Play a little field position. You don’t beat one guy when you beat the Patriots.”‘

‘There are 14 receivers making $7.65 million a year or more. Arizona’s Larry Fitzgerald makes $16 million a year. Detroit’s Calvin Johnson ($12 million) is next, followed by San Diego’s Vincent Jackson (playing for the franchise tag of $11.4 million) and Miami’s Brandon Marshall ($11.2 million).’

‘Since Brady is in town today, everyone is thinking “pass rush.” So far the top three candidates at defensive end are also from the South: Brandon Jenkins of Florida State, Quinton Coples of North Carolina and Devin Taylor of South Carolina. Kentucky outside linebacker Danny Trevathan had 16.5 tackles for losses last season.’

‘”It’s frustrating, obviously,” said linebacker Chris Kelsay, who along with Terrence McGee, Rian Lindell and Brian Moorman are the only players on the Buffalo roster who have endured all 15 defeats. “A lot of the younger guys probably don’t grasp it as much as some of the guys who have been around for awhile.”‘

‘”They play a lot of man coverage,” he said. “They are also one of those teams that makes you earn it all the way down the field. They aren’t giving up the huge plays and that’s what has allowed them to keep people out of the end zone. Pressure is on the offense. If you’re not careful, you feel you have to score all the time because their offense is scoring so much. We have to play our game.”‘

‘Maybe I’m a sucker for teases, but the Bills are not only entertaining to watch, but this version is easy to pull for regardless of your allegiances. And besides, I’m tired of being forced to focus my rooting energies on hockey by mid-October.’

‘”To me, I take a tremendous amount of pride going to school there and graduating from Harvard,” he said. “I know that sometimes people use it as some kind of a joke or a sarcastic comment, [but] I take a tremendous amount of pride that I went to school there. I think it’s a good thing.”‘

‘”We were so young last year and we’re still very young,” he added, “but everybody has been able to play with each other for a year, being able to gain that experience, even when things weren’t going right last year. To be on the field and learn from some of the mistakes that made and to learn from those experiences and some of the tough losses that we had, I think that that has really helped us. And to be able to keep that core group of guys together going into this season puts us that much further ahead than last year.”‘

Going great guns (Boston Globe)

Scouting report: Patriots’ keys to a Week 3 victory (Boston Globe)

Haynesworth, Chung are out (Boston Globe)

The Patriots’ two one-headed monster (Boston Herald)

For Bills, Brady’s difference (Boston Herald)

Man on fire (Boston Herald)

No need to cover up for McCourty (Boston Herald)

Chung, Price join Big Al on ‘out’ list (Boston Herald)

Five things to watch with the Patriots (Boston Herald)

Buffalo’s Ryan Fitzpatrick is proud to call himself a Harvard man (Providence Journal)

Patriots’ defensive shortcomings are almost irrelevant (Providence Journal)

Keys to victory for Patriots, Bills (Providence Journal)

Well-read Waters helping Patriots turn the page following loss of Koppen (Brockton Enterprise)

Matthew Slater’s development has been special (Worcester Telegram and Gazette)

Belichick pays Bills lots of respect (Worcester Telegram and Gazette)

Faking injuries doesn’t throw off rhythm (Worcester Telegram and Gazette)

Buffalo hoping to keep swagger (Attleboro Sun Chronicle)

Albert Haynesworth, Patrick Chung and Taylor Price ruled out for Sunday’s game (Springfield Republican)

Remaining Gronk ready for big game (New Bedford Standard Times)

Last chance for Ochocinco (Lawrence Eagle Tribune)

Sizing Them Up: Patriots vs. Bills (Lawrence Eagle Tribune)

Pats will win tight one in Buffalo (Nashua Telegraph)

Which Patriots Wide Receiver Needs to Step Up Most in the Absence of Aaron Hernandez? (NESN)

Albert Haynesworth, Patrick Chung Won’t Play Sunday for Patriots Against Bills (NESN)

Tom Brady Shown Picking Apart Dolphins’ Defense in Pink UGG Boots in ‘Comfort in the Pocket’ Video (NESN)

Safety Ross Ventrone Promoted to Patriots’ Active Roster (NESN)

Haynesworth, Chung, Price out against Buffalo (CSN New England)

Pats sign safety Ventrone from practice squad (CSN New England)

Morning Walkthrough: Saturday, September 24 (CSN New England)

Ten matchups to watch Sunday afternoon (WEEI-AM)

Patriots sign S Ross Ventrone to 53-Man Roster (Patriots.com)

‘Who are Jackson and Fitzpatrick, you say?’

‘”We have a lot of confidence,” said linebacker Chris Kelsay, one of four players left on the Bills to have enjoyed a win over the Patriots. “You hear a lot about how they’ve had our number. That’s fine and dandy to the outsiders. But we have a lot of confidence with guys in this room, and we’re not going to lay down for anybody. We’re preparing to win this game.”‘

‘With starting right tackle Sebastian Vollmer missing the entire week of practice due to a back injury, he is out for this contest. That means first-round pick and rookie Nate Solder will be in the starting lineup at right tackle. While he performed well at times against Miami’s Cameron Wake in their opener, Wake was still able to get the upperhand later on in the game. If Solder is in the lineup, I think that’s a matchup that can be exploited with the likes of Shawne Merriman rushing at him. If the Bills are able to put pressure on Brady and make him feel uncomfortable in this game, they have a shot. But if they just let Brady sit back there and pick them apart like Jason Campbell did last weekend, it could be a long Sunday for the defense.’