Archives for December 8, 2002

‘One of the keys for Bledsoe today will be avoiding the big mistake. When the teams met on Nov. 3 in a 38-7 Patriots victory, New England attacked him. Today, they’re more likely to rush three linemen and drop eight men in coverage. That will force Bledsoe to throw into tighter spots, with the Patriots gambling he’ll make a mistake.’

‘Williams serves as more than a space-eater in front of superb linebacker London Fletcher. He collapses pockets and greets running backs in the backfield on a regular basis. Even without penetration, he makes it very difficult for offensive linemen to get blocks on the mobile Fletcher.’

‘Boo Drew? Who? Why?’

‘This is a premium game; a first-rate, top-drawer — and top-dollar — attraction.’

‘The biggest bump in production has been tight end. Through 12 games last season, Jermaine Wiggins and Rod Rutledge had combined for 14 catches, 99 yards and 3 scores. Fauria, Cleeland and Graham have racked up 49 catches for 440 yards and 8 scores. That’s a bump of 35 catches, 341 yards and 5 TDs.’

‘A 6-foot, 210-pound strong safety who likes to remind you that he fears no one, Milloy, 29, loves to play close to the line of scrimmage, in the box, where he can smash running backs and attack quarterbacks. But because the Patriots pass defense was being beaten deep too often earlier this season, Milloy was dispatched to play far off the line, in a deep zone, as a last line of defense.’

‘”It’s Buffalo against New England for us,” Belichick said.’

‘Today will be a homecoming of sorts for the Patriots’ former prodigal son, but outside of the obvious subplot, this game will have a significant impact on the division standings, which makes it even that much more interesting.’

‘The boos and cat-calls will be divided today. This one is bound to break up a few households. Brother vs. Sister. Husband vs. Wife. Father vs. Son. Brady-backers vs. Drew’s Disciples.’

‘”It’s the same old thing as when I was there, though,” said Bledsoe. “You never know whether they’re saying ‘Drew’ or they’re booing.”‘

‘”It’s a lot different,” Donahoe said. “It’s certainly more challenging. I’m fortunate here in Buffalo where we have a very good structure. I have a series of vice presidents who handle a lot of different areas for me. I sort of oversee it. I’ve gotten much more involved in the ticket area of the business, the marketing, overseeing public relations and overseeing the business aspect of it. Really the frustrating thing for me is I seem to get less and less time to do football.”‘

‘Dave Wannstedt’s game-altering, go-for-it decision last weekend at Buffalo was the wrong one, period. Why? Because we know how it turned out.’

‘You say Wannstedt gift-wrapped the game’s turning point for Buffalo? No, he didn’t. Buffalo took the lead into halftime, but Miami immediately took it back in the third quarter. Wannstedt’s decision briefly swung momentum, giving Buffalo a field-goal lead, but Miami was playing for an 11-point lead there. Question the play call if you like, especially on a day Ricky Williams was rushing for more yards than any Dolphin ever, but not the decision to go for it.’

‘”I do know I have a lot of fans there and a lot of people who appreciate what I did while I was there,” said Bledsoe, dealt to the Bills in the off-season. “So it will probably be a mixed reaction.”‘

The more you watch Tedy Bruschi, the more you realize how important he is to the Patriots defense. In the Kansas City game that he missed, the Chiefs were able to score at will and part of the reason is because the Patriots were lacking Bruschi’s fire in the middle of the field.

Bruschi was scheduled to be out of this weekend’s Buffalo game, and this is a huge loss for the Patriots. Bruschi makes up in pure desire and adrenaline wheat he lacks in physical size. That adrenaline is contagious to the rest of his defensive teammates. It will be interesting to see whether the Patriots defense struggles without that presence in the middle.