Two Bills Drive

‘Q: How much of a factor was the Bills home crowd noise in helping the Bills defense and confusing the Patriots offense last Sunday? – Buck Smith (Amherst, NY) Spikes: It was big. (Tom) Brady couldn’t get some of the checks out that he wanted to. At the same time he was kind of prefixed as far as where he wanted to go. So that right there, along with the home field crowd advantage making that much noise, kind of threw them off a bit.’

‘The Buffalo Bills have been featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated Magazine 12 times since 1969…".

‘Henry is also an able receiver, catching three balls for 37 yards against New England. Fumbling is his kryptonite. Henry lost a league-high eight fumbles last year and lost another versus the Patriots.’

‘"It was tough not playing my first year, but I just tried to be patient and work to get better every day," Pucillo said. "The offseason workouts were very important, of course. I prepared myself and waited for the opportunity. When it came, I just went out and tried to do the best I could."’

‘The Bills certainly don’t think Brunell is fading. "From what we saw on film, it doesn’t look like Brunell has lost anything," free safety Pierson Prioleau said. "In my opinion, he’s still one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL."’

‘"They are just the next opponent," Shaw said. "You have to prepare the same no matter who you’re playing. Once the game is over, if we come out on top, then bragging rights with old buddies will kick in. But during the game you have to have the same preparation."’

‘” I want to win in anything I do and be competitive in anything I do,” said Del Rio, who coaches with the same intensity he played linebacker in the NFL for 11 seasons with. ” I wasn’t forced to make those decisions to get rid of those guys. We’re doing what we think we can to be competitive.”‘

‘”I’m not proclaiming to be the best linebacker to ever play the game,” said Spikes, the 6-foot-2, 245-pound hulking specimen that toiled in relative obscurity for five seasons with the Bengals. “But I really don’t think the city of Buffalo knew what they were getting when they got me. And it’s real … it’s real.”‘

‘”He’s shown that you can go through some difficult times and still have things work out great for you,” Brunell said.’

‘Minuses: The Bills averaged just 3.2 yards on 33 rushing attempts against New England. … Henry fumbled again on Sunday, raising his total to 16 over the past three seasons.’

‘The Buffalo Bills, who visit Alltel Stadium, have played only 10 games in their history — including preseason games — in temperatures above 87 degrees.’

‘With more than 8,100 tickets unsold, the Jaguars didn’t even wait until the 72-hour deadline at 1 p.m. yesterday to make the blackout official for Sunday’s game against the Buffalo Bills at Alltel Stadium.’

‘The thing that kills me is that not only do we not get the Jags game, but they won’t show any other game. Instead we get re-runs of "Joanie loves Chaci."’

‘”I know I could do it,” the former Jay and Texas Tech standout said. “Over the past few years, I’ve learned a lot about how to prepare physically (for the season) and how to take care of my (6-foot, 220-pound) body. I’ve also improved as a runner since my rookie season.”‘