Two Bills Drive

‘The Patriots came out with a surprising lack of emotion, considering it was opening day, against a division rival, with Milloy and Drew Bledsoe on the opposing team. “There wasn’t really a lot for us to build on and that is because we didn’t make enough plays for us to build positively on,” Belichick said. “I think it is hard to be emotionally positive when things aren’t going well and they certainly didn’t go well early in that game and that is our fault.”‘

‘Even when the Patriots were down 21-0 to the Buffalo Bills at halftime on Sunday, linebacker Rosevelt Colvin was convinced his team could erase the deficit.’

‘Patriots coach Bill Belichick said the club does not intend to pursue allegations of personnel tampering by the Washington Redskins in their pursuit of strong safety Lawyer Milloy.’

‘QUARTERBACK — F-minus. Bad! Bad! Very bad!’

‘”He got something off his back by proving that he can go out there and he’s still the same player he’s always been and even better,” Law said. “If you put anybody in the right situation, they can make plays. Lawyer’s one of those types of guys. He proved to everyone that he has not lost a step. He makes plays. Everyone will have a down year. Hall of Famers have down years.”‘

‘But Law agreed with his teammates that it was foolish to believe that Milloy joining the Bills led to the Patriots’ loss. “It was a distraction early in the [previous] week,” Patriots defensive end Richard Seymour said. “But it had nothing to do with [losing] 31-0. People got to come, people got to go. That’s a part of life. You’re still a professional athlete. If someone lets that affect them, that’s their fault.”‘

‘Truth is, the Pats may go 15-1, 1-15 or 8-8, and we’ll never know what the events of Sept. 2 had to do with any of it. Milloy may be a big part of the Bills winning the division. Or we may find out he’s lost a step, that his overall game has slipped, which the Pats hinted at. Six, eight, 10 weeks from now, with a lot of football played, we’ll know a lot more about the Patriots and Bills, and the true meaning of Lawyer Milloy being up there instead of down here. In the meantime, only this matters. Bills 1-0, Pats 0-1.’

‘It’s impossible to conclude that everything that went wrong against the Bills can be traced directly back to Tuesday when Belichick cut Milloy, though everyone has the right to make an educated guess. It is, however, entirely possible that the Bills were simply a better-prepared team. Or perhaps they’re just the better team.’

‘Two days before the NFL blackout deadline, there are still 9,871 tickets to be sold to avoid the first television blackout of a home opener.’

‘Doman was drafted by San Francisco in the fifth round of the 2002 Draft out of BYU and was the 49ers third quarterback for every game last season. He was in the Niners 2003 training camp but was released prior to the start of the regular season.’

‘The 31-point margin of victory tied the 12th largest in team history and was Buffalo’s largest since 10/30/94 when the Bills defeated the Chiefs, 44-10.’

‘”The Houston comeback game will never be duplicated,” said Miller. Quite possibly, neither will Van Miller.’

‘”I have the same attitude today as I had yesterday. It was a nice win but it’s only week 1 and the first one. We’ve got a lot to work on.”‘

‘”Well, I’ll tell you, it’s better than the stock market,” team owner Ralph Wilson said of his hefty investment in his defense.’

‘Last year the Bills tied a team futility mark with just 10 interceptions. Sunday they picked off four Tom Brady passes and Sam Adams, the hulking defensive tackle, returned one 37 yards for a touchdown.’