Two Bills Drive

The Buffalo Bills have concluded the home portion of the NFL schedule and as the losses mounted, attendance fell. The attendance figures are the lowest for the Bills since 1987 (437,187), a season which was interrupted by a strike by NFL players.

‘"I’m glad to be on the field any time," he said. "I just want to help the team win some games."’

‘"Just to say the ball is dead because he’s asleep on the sideline, I don’t understand that."’

‘"I’m not worried about the crowds," he said. "We’re going to really get better over the next two or three years with Tom (Donahoe) and our drafting crew. I’m very optimistic. "I’m not just saying this. We have some good young players that’ll improve, some that won’t and they’ll be gone. But with another draft and maybe two, we’re going to get much better."’

‘"We understand the interpretation and how it was interpreted, but the thing is there’s a lot of interpretation in that rule, it’s tough in the possession part of it," Williams said. "There will be a lot of discussion the rest of the season and into the off-season on that type of thing."’

‘"Sometimes when we think the breaks are going to go our way, there’s always something. They come out with a rule like this to take it away from us. It just takes the breath out of your team."’

The controversy arose with the game tied at 9-9 and 5:05 into overtime, as David Patten was hit along the sideline by Keion Carpenter after making a 13-yard catch at the Buffalo 42, and apparently fumbled the football with Nate Clements recovering. However, after a lengthy review, the referees ruled after watching the replay that Patten’s helmet hit out of bounds, nullifying the fumble, and allowing New England to keep possession, which eventually led to the game-winning 23-yard field goal by Adam Vinatieri with 5:45 gone in overtime.

All week, we?re going to hear on talk radio how the NFL officials are out to get the Buffalo Bills. We?re going to hear that pro sports leagues hate small-market Buffalo. That?s why the Sabres lost the Stanley Cup. That?s why the Bills have so many tough calls against them.

‘They didn’t surrender a touchdown, they forced two turnovers and they logged five sacks. But the controversial takeaway they didn’t get and what may have been an ill-considered decision not to challenge a potential touchdown conspired to hand the Bills a 12-9 overtime loss to the New England Patriots before 45,527 curious observers.’

‘But luck is only half the story in this world. Luck only opens the door, presents an opportunity. It’s your job to do the rest, to walk through and take advantage of your good fortune.’

‘One minute, it looked as if the Buffalo Bills were on their way to a rare highlight in a dismal season — a win over a legitimate playoff contender. But one loooong replay review and one broken tackle later, the Bills left the field shaking their heads for the 11th time in 13 games. Nate Clements’ apparent recovery of New England wide receiver David Patten’s fumble seemed to give Buffalo the ball at its own 42-yard line with 9:50 remaining in overtime. After consulting the replay monitor and huddling with his crew, though, referee Mike Carey ruled that because Patten’s head was out of bounds and the ball touched his leg before Clements grabbed the ball, the Patriots kept possession. On the next play, former Buffalo running back Antowain Smith broke out of Bills linebacker Jay Foreman’s arms in the backfield, cut to the right and sprinted down the sideline. Antoine Winfield’s tackle saved a touchdown, but one play later, Adam Vinatieri’s 23-yard field goal, his fourth of the game, gave New England a 12-9 win. Rule 3, Section C, Article 2, Paragraph C of the National Football League rule book reads: “The ball is out of bounds when … a loose ball touches a boundary line or anything on or outside such line.” No one aside from the officials knew of that clause after Carey made the call.’

‘"For some reason, the ball doesn’t bounce your way as many times when you have the kind of record we have," said fullback Larry Centers.’

‘But Sunday’s loss will be harder to take than the others because it was the result of a rule no one had ever seen or heard of.’

‘"I feel very fortunate to sneak out of here with a win, especially with the call on the field going in our favor. We’ve got to have a little luck somewhere along the way."’

‘Maybe it’s the holiday spirit, but can’t there be times in a 2-11 season when you have positive feelings after a loss?’