Archives for October 2006

‘In support of National Breast Cancer Awareness month, the Bills created a line of pink “Billieve” t-shirts and hats.’

‘Wilson will meet with the NFL Commissioner, Roger Goodell, on November 2 to discuss the problems Wilson has with the March 2006 agreement. Wilson feels the new CBA is too costly and player-friendly. Wilson fears the Bills might not survive financially under its terms – despite the league’s salary cap – without an increase in league-generated revenue sharing. Goodell recently sent a memo to all 32 owners outlining his view of a revenuesharing formula. The owners will review the Goodell plan and then pass it along to an eight-member committee of owners, which includes Wilson.’

‘"We’d like to get him anywhere from 20 to 30 touches a game, run and pass, that’s what our goal is," Bills coach Dick Jauron said of his workhorse weapon. "Willis is right up near the top of the league in carries per game. . . . We think a lot of him, and he’s responded really well to us."’

‘”What I got out of this is it’s a business and you’ve got to put yourself first,” Hargrove said. “You can’t get caught up in situations like this when you get traded to a new city. You’ve got to leave your house, your two dogs, your car and your fiancee at home and just come to a new city. But it makes me more of a man, to come more into my adulthood and it’s just a learning experience. Nothing is given to you. You just have to take your punches and just roll.”‘

‘”Yeah, it’s frustrating when you think ‘we’re going to stop them right here’ and then you see the mistake and you think ‘Jeez, why did he do that?'” Fewell said Wednesday afternoon.’

‘Bills coach Dick Jauron said he checked out the incident thoroughly and is satisfied that Hargrove doesn’t have character issues. Because Hargrove is in game shape and knows Buffalo’s defensive terminology, having played in the same system in St. Louis, he’s got a good chance of playing Sunday against New England, Jauron said.’

‘”I remember running off the field and saying, ‘That’s a hell of a way to start the season,’ ” Brady said. “I knew what went wrong the second I felt the guy hit me in the back. It was just a poor decision by me in terms of our protection. I wasn’t as aware on the first play of the season as I would have liked, and I paid the price for it.”‘

‘Jauron said his young team needs to learn how to handle adversity like the veteran Patriots, who are generally considered the standard-bearers. “What we’re looking for is the consistency that the top programs have,” he said. “The Patriots have shown over the years that they can win consistently week in and week out and stay playing at that level. That’s what we’re trying to achieve.”‘

‘The Bills have floundered pretty much since that failed play, finding ways to lose close, defensive struggles more times than not.’

‘The Bills haven’t had it easy this year. They have a lot of new players, and their inconsistency is something most coaches in the NFL have to live with. But Jauron won’t use it as an excuse. “I guess I’d like to not lean on that,” he said. “You have to find ways to win (games) and we just haven’t. We haven’t done that. Clearly, he said, “we’ve got to get it started, but this will be a very tough week for us because we all know how good the Patriots are.”‘

‘The turnover resulted in a touchdown for the Bills on the first play of the season just five seconds into the game. The Patriots have reviewed the play several times this week to make sure it won’t happen again in Sunday’s rematch at Buffalo.’

‘The Bills carried momentum into the third quarter and were leading 17-7 when linebacker Don Davis stopped running back Willis McGahee on a fourth-and-one play at the Patriots 7-yard line. Belichick explained the play on Wednesday, saying, “The defensive line, Vince [Wilfork] and Mike Wright did a good job of penetrating and tying up the offensive linemen and Don was able to scrape unblocked and make the tackle.”‘

Brady won’t pass protection blame (Boston Globe)

He’s no dirty, little secret (Boston Globe)

Dirty deed (Boston Herald)

Rodney’s greatest hits (Boston Herald)

Dishing dirt on Tom (Boston Herald)

Spikes sack not on Brady’s hit list (Boston Herald)

Buffalo gets lost in shuffle (Boston Herald)

Vrabel excels at end game (Mtero West Daily News)

Miller’s been a constant positive (Providence Journal)

Belichick most confident in current coaching staff (Providence Journal)

Pats keeping it balanced (Woonsocket Call)

Brady learned lesson from season opener against Bills (Woonsocket Call)

It’s An Up-Front Effort (Hartford Courant)

Different directions (Springfield Republican)

Hobbs is key on ‘D’ (Worcester Telegram and Gazette)

Hardly a bye for Ty (Attleboro Sun Chronicle)

Squeaky-clean Brady is dirty? (Attleboro Sun Chronicle)

Inside the Patriots (New Bedford Standard Times)

Pats linemen getting grizzly (Manchester Union Leader)

In the NFL, one big play can make or break a season (Portland Press Herald)

For passing game, problem a deep one (Nashua Telegraph)

Patriots are big thinkers (Brockton Enterprise)

Rodney gets dirty vote, and so does Brady (Quincy Patriot Ledger)

Brady, receivers working hard on passing game (Quincy Patriot Ledger)

Vrabel still a TD threat (Quincy Patriot Ledger)

Patriots QB faces team that ruined his first play (AP)

Inside slant (The Sports Xchange)

Strategy and personnel (The Sports Xchange)

Notes, quotes (The Sports Xchange)

Pats looking for a better start in rematch (Patriots.com)

Patriots – Bills Injury Report (Patriots.com)

Lee Evans Conference Call (Patriots.com)

Dick Jauron Conference Call (Patriots.com)

Tom Brady Press Conference (Patriots.com)

Belichick Press Conference (Patriots.com)

‘”I think that when you watch the video of the game, there are areas where we do (show progress),” Jauron said. “It’s just not overall and it’s just not consistent enough. There are a number of reasons. We’re all involved. I have to prepare them better. They have to execute better. We need more attention to detail on the field in their execution and part of that is me, too. We’ve got guys who are learning with different schemes than they’ve been involved with. It takes time.”‘

‘The move to obtain DE Anthony Hargrove from the St. Louis Rams a day before the NFL trade deadline wasn’t made because the Bills were necessarily unhappy with the play of Aaron Schobel, Chris Kelsay and Ryan Denney, who have a combined 10 sacks through six games. But it was a sign that Buffalo’s roster is still a work in progress.’