Archives for October 29, 2002

‘”We have to focus on beating the Buffalo Bills. It doesn’t matter who their quarterback is,” Pats receiver Troy Brown said.’

‘It is most likely already over for the Patriots. They’ll probably need to win at least seven and maybe eight of their remaining nine games just to sneak into the playoffs.’

‘This could be a rallying point, but it seems the last thing Belichick would do at this point is invoke Bledsoe as a means of motivating his team. That might not work anyway, given the strong ties many of his players have to their former teammate.’

‘”You’ve got to get pressure on him,” said Patriots linebacker Mike Vrabel, who pledges to help make his friend Bledsoe’s answering machine overflow with messages this week. “Every play I’ve seen on the highlight films, he’s able to step up in the pocket and throw the ball downfield.”‘

‘That hasn’t stopped local radio stations from referring to this as ”Bledsoe Week,” or a number of Boston media outlets from sending reporters to Buffalo for the game against Detroit. Bills fans have had this game circled on their calendars since Buffalo acquired Bledsoe in a trade last April, a move that prompted immediate lineups at the ticket windows. And it’s a game that has even more meaning now that Bledsoe has rejuvenated the Bills, erasing the memories of last year’s dreadful 3-13 finish.’

”’We had some chances to make some big plays in the game that we were close on but we just didn’t make them.”’

‘”We’re a solid team, but we have to continue to improve. By no means are we one of the best teams in the National Football League right now.”‘

‘”They played better than us,” Harrington said. “I can’t give you an exact answer, I only know what I feel, and I feel like we couldn’t move the ball. I feel like we were on the verge of clicking. But it didn’t happen. It just didn’t click.”‘

‘”It just didn’t happen for me to catch the ball, but the good news is we came away with a win.”‘

‘The Buffalo Bills placed defensive tackle Tyrone Robertson on the reserve/non-football illness list Monday after he completed a four-game NFL suspension for violating the league’s substance abuse policy.’