Archives for September 10, 2006

We all wanted the Bills to play well in this game and they did but a gutsy call may have cost them the game. With the Bills leading 17-7 and moving the football on the opening drive of the second half the game changed. On a fourth and one at the 6 they decided to go for a knockout blow and failed.

‘The fourth quarter was dominated by New England as Stephen Gostkowski kicked a 32-yard field goal to tie the game once again 17-17. Twenty seconds later, Losman was sacked by Ty Warren for a safety to take the lead and win, 19-17.’

‘The turning point in the game came with 9:24 left in the third quarter. Bills head coach Dick Jauron elected to go for it on a fourth-and-one from the Patriots seven-yard line. But Willis McGahee was stopped for no gain as the Bills turned it over on downs.’

‘Unfortunately for Spikes and the Bills, he left the game with an apparent hamstring pull during the next series.’

‘The Patriots handled the pressure a lot better than J.P. Losman.’

‘Ty Warren’s sack of J.P. Losman in the end zone propelled the New England Patriots to a come-from-behind 19-17 win at Gillette Stadium.’

‘The stoutness of the Bills’ inside run defense is suspect. The Bills ranked 31st against the run last year and have a smallish front seven. One would expect the Bills’ run defense to be good on the perimeter, because they have speedy outside linebackers, mobile defensive ends and two hard-tackling cornerbacks. How well the Bills’ defense contains New England’s attack will be the primary key to Buffalo’s success in the debut of Bills coach Dick Jauron.’

‘He isn’t alone, of course. For Spikes, who had missed just one game in his eight-year NFL career before the injury – for the death of his father – it’s the first game of a comeback, a chance to answer the questions about his ability to come back as the same dynamic player.’

‘The New England Patriots will give the Buffalo Bills headaches today with their two-tight end formation. The two-tight end set – known as the Ace formation – has become an increasingly attractive option for NFL offenses. It’s not really a new trend, but it’s a continuing trend in the NFL.’

‘”I can always go back and work on the garbage truck,” Fewell said. “In our profession, you want to be in this position. Every game you coach and every film you watch, you analyze it. Even if you’re not making the call, you put yourself in that position. I’ve done that for 20 years. Whether I make the right call or not, I’ve done my homework.”‘

‘New England, 23-16.’

‘As it turned out, on cut-down day on Sept. 2, DiGiorgio never did get a call and so suffered all afternoon without knowing — for sure. He was in the hotel lobby when he saw several players packing to leave after having received their pink slips. Still, DiGiorgio wanted to know. Since at 4 p.m. the ax had not fallen, he called his agent to make sure. It was about 4:30 p.m. when the agent called back to say, indeed, he was a Bill.’

‘After Wilson complained loud and bitter about the plight of the NFL’s small-market teams, the Bills were given the small-market treatment. All 16 games are 1 p.m. starts as the league schedule makers clearly believe they are nowhere near ready for prime time. Worse still, four of their first six games are on the road leaving four of their last six at home.’

‘If this were a comic strip, Belichick would have had one of those cloud balloons above his head to simulate his inner thoughts with the words, "Hey Bills, who’s your daddy?"’

‘"I didn’t anticipate this happening and neither did Marv, but the more I thought about it, the more I knew it was perfect for him," Fran says. "He had become restless, and although he had done quite a bit since retiring from coaching, I knew he really missed the game."’