Two Bills Drive

‘”When we went to the Super Bowl everything was great, you’re a genius,” he said of the Giants’ 34-7 loss to the Baltimore Ravens in the title game three seasons back.’

‘Mitchell’s punt-return average of 4.1 yards is the poorest in the league, and his kickoff-return average of 20.5 yards is 18th in the National Football Conference among 20 returners.’

‘”Theoretically it’s supposed to be a home-field advantage, it just hasn’t been that way,” Toomer said. “But not because we don’t deserve it. We haven’t been playing to our expectations.”‘

‘”It’s the worst to play when you’re losing, period,” Toomer said. “I wouldn’t say the other one. I would say it’s just the worst place to play when you’re losing.”‘

‘All Mitchell would say yesterday was, “I’ve said all I have to say.” Monday night he complained of “too much uncertainty around this locker room” and how “nobody talks, nobody communicates.” He also accused the staff of making him a “scapegoat,” even though “I’ve been the hardest-working player all year.”‘

‘”They’re not going to be real excited to see us and they’re not going to be the most patient people if things don’t go right in the first quarter,” receiver Amani Toomer said of the fans, who have endured four losses in five Giant home games. “We know that. Once you know what you have to deal with it’s not going to shock anybody around here.”‘

‘The most frustrating part for Amani Toomer was that when he looked at the Buccaneers’ defense, he did not see the same dominant unit that made opposing offenses shudder.’

‘”I don’t want that going on and we don’t need that,” Fassel said he told Mitchell. “I said, ‘The comment you said in the paper? That these things should not be aired in the newspapers? OK, it shouldn’t be aired in the newspapers.'”‘

‘How bad has it gotten for the Giants? Two words have seeped into talk radio chatter: Jesse Palmer. Here is a two-word response: Forget it.’

‘”Winning is a great deodorant,” Fassel said. “I know that when you get into a situation like this, there are things that arise that don’t usually arise and that’s my job to manage those things. That’s the way it is.”‘

‘”In our world, it’s very easy to get wrapped up in wins and losses, but you’ve always got to try to remember what’s really important,” Collins said. “Obviously, being in the position I’m in, I’m able to do these kinds of things and I feel like it’s important to do, especially around the holidays.”‘

‘”These guys are very good professionals,” he said. “They understand that 24 hours after the ballgame you have to spit out the bitter taste and get on to the next opponent; and we are working very hard on getting ready for the Giants.”‘

‘Donahoe doesn’t want to turn this final stretch into a glorified tryout process for 2004 but would like to see the Bills iron out some of their problems so there’s a positive feeling going into the off-season. “We’ll evaluate everything when the season is over,” he said. “We still have five games to play and this team has shown it has a lot of fight. There’s no reason to think that’s going to change.”‘

‘The Giants were a playoff team a year ago but are reeling for a lot of reasons, No. 1 being a sudden inability to protect the football. In Jim Fassel’s first six seasons, the Giants were a plus-23 in turnover differential, but this season they are a minus-8. Consider Buffalo’s minus-11 and this game easily comes down to what team makes the fewest mistakes. The Bills and Giants have a combined 22 lost fumbles. The Bills have been horrendous on the road protecting the football, committing 31 turnovers against only five for their opponents during their 1-8 road record dating back to last season. The Giants are giving up 328 yards per game so Buffalo should be able to move the football, but it absolutely can’t stop itself with mistakes and hope to win. Defensively, the Bills match their No. 4 pass defense against New York’s No. 4 passing offense and can win this battle with pressure on the inconsistent Kerry Collins.’

’17 — Number of runs of 10 yards or more than Travis Henry has had in his last five games.’