Archives for December 24, 2003

‘“Something bad might happen, carry over to next year, so I’m going to stay healthy,” McGahee said. “I’m looking forward to next year. You never look back in the past, always look forward.”’

‘At 30 years old, the Washington product had to take steps to secure a quality life. With two trips to the Super Bowl under his belts and one championship ring could he blamed for looking out for No. 1? Of course not. And surely, the New England players will one day accept that. Just not this Saturday.’

‘”We want to go out and redeem ourselves.”‘

”’It’s familiar, it’s quite intimate. It invites you in. He is the neighbor next door,” Smith said. ”You never tired of Van Miller. He could go on for another 50 years and people would still be saying, ‘More.””

‘Bills guard Ruben Brown missed his second straight practice on Wednesday, excused for what coach Gregg Williams called personal reasons. Brown is not on the team’s injury report and the team would not provide further details. The Bills are preparing for their season finale at New England on Saturday.’

‘”I don’t have any prediction with that, really,” Williams said of the chances of being back in Buffalo for the 2004 season. “Next week is next week. We’ll sit down as soon as possible. We’ll talk. We do that every year. We’ll start two days after the season, tearing everything down. We’ll go through every phase of it. [GM Tom Donahoe] and I have done that every year.”‘

‘”It’s very ironic,” Patriots strong safety Rodney Harrison said, “but it’s the perfect setting. We’re at home for the last game and it’s a climactic game. There will be a lot of physical play and emotion.”‘

‘Here’s your chance to ask the long-time voice of the Bills a question!’

‘Colvin was supposed to inject life into the Pats’ pass rush. Yet without him, Mike Vrabel (9.5 sacks), Richard Seymour (8) and Willie McGinest (5.5) have thrived. Colvin was supposed to shore up the run defense that had sagged in 2002. Yet without him the Patriots rank fourth in the league and have allowed only one 100-yard back all season. If this defense is that good without him, logic says it would be downright scary with him.’

‘Saturday will be ”Military Appreciation Day” at Gillette Stadium, honoring personnel representing the U.S. Army, Air Force, Navy, Marines and Coast Guard, plus Massachusetts Army National Guard and Air Guard. Four military A-10 jets will conduct a pregame fly-over, and Army Sergeant First Class David Ainslie, a Purple Heart recipient from the war in Iraq, will participate in the coin toss.’

‘”I feel good. It’s not going to be a game of revenge. You guys know I’m going to fly around, and any eventual rage is going to be because I respect all of my (former) teammates over there. Anybody who gains my respect on any opposing team, they know they can expect my best. And hopefully, the way I approach this week, especially with the situation here, my teammates (in Buffalo) can see this is still football, we have a chance to be the No. 1 defense.”‘

‘”You’ve got to give the players credit for making the plays that they’ve made,” New England coach Bill Belichick said Tuesday. “We’ve had a lot of different people step up and make big plays at key times in the game on offense, defense and special teams.”‘

‘Williams has a sprained right knee and Van Pelt has a sprained wrist. Both did not practice Tuesday, although Bills coach Gregg Williams said he is hopeful that Mike Williams will return to practice today. “He’s done better,” Gregg Williams said. “We hope that he will be able to progress throughout the course of the week.”‘

‘”He played pretty well in our game. That’s what I’m going on,” he said. “He played very well against us, the entire team played well. Drew certainly had an outstanding day. We have a lot of respect for Drew. I have a lot of respect for him personally. When you get beat 31-0 you better respect the team that beat you, I can tell you that.”‘

‘It’s believed that Williams was offered three-, four- and five-year deals when he signed with Buffalo in 2001 and elected to take three. When the Bills offered an extension with an option last off-season, Williams declined, believing – it now appears – that if he had coached a playoff team he’d have more leverage and options open to him.’