Archives for December 29, 2011

‘”Since last week playing at the Ralph I thought about it walking on the field, walking off the field, looking around at the crowd,” he said. “It’s crazy because four years went by really fast when you’re really only playing for two years of it. Just being in this city and how they adopted me… I’ve thought about it. I don’t think I’ll be somewhere else next year. I think I’ll still be here next year, but if not it’s a pretty crazy feeling.”‘

‘The Bills say a little bit of stability has gone a long way. They are in their second season under the same offensive line coach — Joe D’Alessandris. And while they have had a bunch of injuries, six of their top seven linemen have been working together in the same system for more than a year.’

‘You expect more from the third pick in the draft. Dareus does, too. No Bill was selected to the Pro Bowl for a second year in a row. He plans to change that.’

‘For the past six years, Wilson has been a spokesperson for the Bills Play 60 Campaign, which encourages children to get at least 60 minutes of physical activity each day. He has interacted with thousands of children, encouraging them to engage in healthy lifestyles and helped introduce the program in a kickoff celebration for more than 2,700 students.’

‘Fitzpatrick (20) and Tyler Thigpen (1) have been sacked just 21 times this season, which ties for the NFL low with Tennessee. Quite a difference when you consider during the previous 11 non-playoff years, Bills quarterbacks were sacked an average of 43.8 times per season. Last year, the figure was 34.’

‘We were getting lots of turnovers early in the season and that really helped us. We were much better in the red zone earlier in the season. We have not been as good in the red zone. You have to score touchdowns in this league. You can’t just go out and kick field goals. We were fortunate last week to get by with that, but you normally can’t. Those have been our biggest problems, is not getting the turnovers that we need on a consistent basis. We seem to get them in bunches, but we haven’t been able to do it consistently. We haven’t been scoring the touchdowns that we need to score offensively whether it’s the longer variety or being good in the red zone.’

‘Anytime you lose it’s always hard. I think, for me, it was probably the way we were losing. I think other guys would probably be different but overall a loss is a loss. I think the way we were losing those games was probably the hardest part.’

Passed history (Boston Globe)

Brady out of practice (Boston Globe)

Ridley in running (Boston Herald)

Waters bridge for troubled line (Boston Herald)

Tom Brady gets a little R & R (Boston Herald)

Casino backers’ ‘next steps’ uncertain (Boston Herald)

Bumblin’ and stumblin’ (Boston Herald)

Slater humbled by first Pro Bowl selection (Providence Journal)

Fullback Polite may get new role (Providence Journal)

Super Bowl, not Pro Bowl, Brady’s goal (Attleboro Sun Chronicle)

Ventrone continues yo-yo season (Attleboro Sun Chronicle)

Why Tom Brady deserves a strong look on MVP ballots (Springfield Republican)

Patriots special teams ace Matthew Slater jubilant over Pro Bowl nod (Springfield Republican)

Tom Brady on chasing the passing yards record: ‘We’re trying to win team awards’ (Springfield Republican)

Patriots’ New Year’s resolution: A better effort against Bills (Brockton Enterprise)

Players react to calls to the Pro Bowl (Brockton Enterprise)

Matthew Slater, Patriots Pro Bowl pick, pleased to get nod (Worcester Telegram and Gazette)

Tom Brady, Patriots Pro Bowlers hope to skip game (Worcester Telegram and Gazette)

Logan Mankins, Patriots guard, will miss season finale (Worcester Telegram and Gazette)

Patriots want team wins, not individual records (Nashua Telegraph)

Pro Bowl not goal, but sure feels good (ESPN)

Pats special teamer Slater makes 1st Pro Bowl (AP)

Casino plan near Patriots’ home divides Mass. town (AP)

Win gives Patriots top seed (The Sports Xchange)

Strategy And Personnel (The Sports Xchange)

Patriots make themselves at home in playoffs (The Sports Xchange)

Tom Brady’s Absence From Patriots’ Practice Not Injury Related (NESN)

Lousaka Polite Happy to Join Patriots Despite His ‘Dinosaur Position’ (NESN)

Tom Brady Not Thinking About 5,000 Yards, Chasing Drew Brees’ Passing Record (NESN)

Brian Waters’ ‘Good Ride’ in New England Continues With Sixth Pro Bowl Nod (NESN)

Matthew Slater’s ‘Reckless Abandon and Relentless Effort’ Yield His First Pro Bowl Honor (NESN)

Tom Brady, Logan Mankins Absent from Practice (NESN)

No answers for Pats’ tight end tandem (CSN New England)

Like father, like son (WEEI-AM)

Patriots Pro Bowlers ‘honored’; Wed. notes (Patriots.com)

Lavarias and Ventrone Signed to the Practice Squad (Patriots.com)

Patriots – Bills Injury Report (Patriots.com)

C.J. Spiller Conference Call Transcript (Patriots.com)

Chan Gailey Conference Call Transcript (Patriots.com)

Rob Gronkowski Conference Call Transcript (Patriots.com)

Bill Belichick Press Conference Transcript (Patriots.com)

Tom Brady Press Conference Transcript (Patriots.com)

‘For whatever reason, Coutu has been overlooked since high school, when he was an exceptional kicker and punter at Collins Hill. I assumed he was destined for greatness at the college level and I was right. But it took him walking on at Georgia and earning a scholarship, eventually building an exceptional career with the Bulldogs. He made 53 of 66 field goals in college, making him the program’s only kicker to make more than 80 percent of his career attempts.’

‘”Well, you know, Rome wasn’t built in a day, and nothing’s going to just change overnight,” said Dareus, selected with No. 3 pick out of Alabama. “We’ve got our rookies playing. We’re contributing to the team. And we’re going to do more next year, and we’re going to try to turn this team around slowly but surely.”‘

‘The Bills did not disclose the nature of Rayner’s injury, though he’s been bothered by a sore pelvis. He missed two of six field-goal attempts in a 40-14 win over Denver last weekend.’

‘It happened midway through the fourth quarter when Tebow had the ball knocked loose by linebacker Chris Kelsay. Linebacker Spencer Johnson caught the ball in midair and returned it 17 yards for a touchdown.’

”'”It obviously feels a lot better,” said coach Chan Gailey, who rewarded his players with three days off after the victory. “It took all three phases playing well and winning each phase to win a ball game. We’re not that good of a football team yet that we can go win with just winning one or two phases.”‘

‘Taken by Seattle in the seventh round of the 2008 NFL Draft, Coutu most recently spent time on Jacksonville’s practice squad before being released December 17. He has yet to appear in an NFL game.’

‘”You’d be able to win two in a row going into next year which is always good,” he said of what’s on his mind after his team snapped its losing streak with a spirited 40-14 victory over Denver last Saturday. “You are able to beat a good football team, which is another good thing if you can get that done. I don’t worry about streaks. I don’t worry about history. I worry more about the present and future than I do that.”‘