Archives for September 7, 2003

‘Belichick not only lost a productive player, he may have lost his locker room. Bad move.’

‘Tom Brady sure didn’t recognize this defense for the Buffalo Bills.’

‘Bledsoe and Milloy combined to stick it their former team, the New England Patriots, sparking the Bills to a dominating 31-0 victory in their opener.’

‘Though he won’t be calling the games next season, Miller won’t be a stranger in the press box at Ralph Wilson Stadium. The team is expected to try to keep him involved somehow in next year’s broadcasts.’

‘Regardless, until Bledsoe proves otherwise, Belichick has his number.’

‘This is the autumn when Williams must prove he can be a successful head coach in the NFL. Throughout his third season with the Bills, he will be on trial with his bosses and the fans.’

‘Of course, expectations are huge for the entire team. Upgrades on defense have players and fans alike expecting a trip to the playoffs. ” We know what’s there, we know the talent’s there,” Williams said.’

‘Q: When you came to training camp, did you think special teams would be the way you could turn heads with the Bills? A: ” I was pleased they invited me to mini-camp, then to training camp, and I just went out every day and tried to do the little things right.’

‘FS: How many phrases have you created? VM: Only a few: “Fasten your seat belts,” “It’s fandemonium,” “Do you believe it?” Those were pretty spontaneous. On HBO, they use it a lot, especially in those Super Bowl years. I’ve done some voice stuff for the Hall of Fame in Canton. A lot of people tell me they turn the sound down on the TV and turn the radio on, but maybe they tell me that to make me feel good.’

‘"It’s an important game for us, there’s no question, it’s a division game," said Bills quarterback Drew Bledsoe. "It’s the first one out of the blocks. It’s a huge game, there is no other way I can put it. If we win this game that’s not going to put us in the playoffs, but it’s a big game. We are going to do everything we can to win the ball game."’

‘So the stage is set for one of the most important AFC East games of the season.’

‘Bledsoe and the Bills finally end the Belichick hex with a 27-24 victory.’

‘"I love the teaching part of it, passing on stories and techniques and that stuff, but I want to win," he said. "I want to win the Super Bowl. There’s no second. I’ve been second, and it’s not good enough. I’m not a second guy. I want to be first."’

‘What you want is balance. But what is a balanced attack nowadays? Is it passing 56 percent of the time, as opposed to the 63 percent that Buffalo threw it a year ago? Maybe he got a little carried away last year, but is Gilbride supposed to apologize for an offense that set a team record for passing yards and amassed the second most first downs in Bills history? "Circumstances dictated what we had to do," Gilbride said. "A lot of times we were behind. There wasn’t enough time to focus on getting X amount of runs. We were struggling to stop people."’

‘Here’s a ranking of the Bills’ all-time enemies.’