Archives for September 2003

‘Milloy threw up a hand in front of Patten’s face (he could have been called for face-guarding, but wasn’t).’

‘”I don’t have too much to say,” Belichick said. “They outplayed us in every phase of the game. They beat us every way they could. We just didn’t play well, coach well or do anything well. They deserved to beat us. And they deserved to beat us by the score they did.”‘

‘Drew Bledsoe, a former Patriots teammate who lobbied for the Bills to sign Milloy, said they studied film of the Pats defense together. Nothing like having a spy on your side.’

‘It may be possible for the New England Patriots to play worse than they did yesterday, but it would probably require extensive game planning toward that end.’

‘”I couldn’t have come to a better place, the 29-year-old safety said. “I’m just going to come out here and fight hard for these guys. They have a lot of talent, they fight hard and they want me here.”‘

‘Their vaunted pass rush, which was so solid in the preseason, failed to apply much pressure on Bledsoe. They couldn’t stop running back Travis Henry, who carried 28 times for 86 yards and two touchdowns, and their new-look secondary got exposed on numerous occasions — most notably on a 49-yard bomb from Bledsoe to Eric Moulds that prompted cornerback Ty Law to chew out replacement Antwan Harris in front of 73,262 fans.’

‘”After what I experienced in Boston, and then coming here and hearing my name get called, it was great,” Milloy said. “This is football. This is what football is about. I was around fans who really appreciate football.”‘

‘The win was sweet, but the best part, Spikes said, will be watching the nightly news without hearing people criticize his team. He came from the Cincinnati Bengals, who have long been the laughing stock of the NFL, so playing for a contender is a refreshing change. “This is the first time I’ll be able to go home and watch the NFL live on ESPN and not have to hear [sports commentator] Chris Berman kill us like he used to,” Spikes said. “I’m recording it, too. I’ve got my VCR ready, TiVo and everything.”‘

‘Belichick did say that his team was “outplayed in every area” and by every Bills player. “They beat us every way they could beat us,” Belichick said.’

‘”The Patriots are not flat,” Limbaugh argued, downplaying the impact of Milloy playing against the Bills. “They’re professionals. They’re going to win today.”‘

‘Peter King, who reported the story for SI.com, said he stands by his story.’

‘”I didn’t speak to [agent Carl Poston] about [Milloy] before Tuesday,” said Cerrato, who added he found out about the safety’s release online Tuesday. “I didn’t call him, and he didn’t call me.”‘

‘”We’re aware of the situation, and we’ll look into it,” NFL spokesman Greg Aeillo said last night by telephone. However, a source who works in the league said it will be extremely difficult to prove any wrongdoing.’

‘”It didn’t happen,” said Vinny Cerrato, Redskins vice president of football operations.’

“It felt good, but more a positive kind of good, not a personal vendetta kind of good,” Milloy said. “It didn’t dawn on me until maybe the second series or so, and I thought, ‘Hey, I’m on a good team.’ The way things happened during the weeks, with the ups and the downs and all the stuff I had to think about, that hadn’t occurred to me.”