Archives for December 29, 2008

‘Coaching: F: How many colossal coaching blunders will it take to get Jauron fired? Over his head (0 for 6) in matchups with Belichick.’

‘”It was a disappointing end to what has turned out to be a disappointing year for us,” said coach Dick Jauron. What else is new, right, for a franchise that hasn’t made the playoffs in nine years and shows almost no signs of ever being able to compete with the NFL’s upper echelon.’

‘Could things be any more bleak for our beloved Bills? I think not.’

‘Will the embarrassment of finishing 0-6 against the AFC East Division spark a front-office shakeup, where a leader with a solid football background is much needed?’

‘Play of the game: Jarvis Green’s sack of Trent Edwards early in the third quarter that forced Edwards to fumble the ball. New England’s Mike Vrabel fell on it at the Bills 43, and it was the beginning of the end for the Bills. Leading just 3-0 at the time, the Patriots proceeded to march into the wind to Lamont Jordan’s 2-yard touchdown run that put the game away.’

Coaching – F – Play calling and clock management were again called into question. The botched clock management at the end of the first half was only partly Dick Jauron’s fault, but a microcosm of a very poor game-day coaching staff. Only the wind kept this score respectable. That’s 0-6 vs. the division, 11 losses in a row to Bill Belichick, a third consecutive 7-9 finish and nine years out of the playoffs.’

‘You know every guy cleaning out his closet in Orchard Park today believes if the teams stayed the same and the coaching staffs switched sides, Belichick’s team would win nine out of 10. To a man they think that.’

‘Winds gusting up to 75 mph tore a strip off the Buffalo Bills’ fieldhouse and tilted both goal posts inside Ralph Wilson Stadium on Sunday before the game against the New England Patriots. Though the blustery conditions didn’t delay the start of the game, work crews used ropes and a forklift to re-secure and re-center the goal posts, which shook heavily in the wind.’

‘Patriots kicker Stephen Gostkowski maybe had the most eventful day with the wind. In the second quarter, Gostkowski attempted a 26-yard field goal. As the ball journeyed towards the uprights, it abruptly sailed right after a gust of wind carried the ball wide to keep the score, 3-0.’

‘”A disappointing end to what turned out to be a disappointing season,” said Jauron.’

‘”The bottom line is we need to win. We’re 7-9 and we left at least four games out there.”‘

‘By the time Gostkowski hit his second field goal, from 23 yards in the fourth quarter, thousands of seats were empty. The Bills (7-9) had squandered a 5-1 start to their season, extending a streak of playoff absences that began in 2000.’

‘”In football, things always happen; you get emotional, and you start tussling,” he said. “It was one of those things that worked in our favor, and their guys did a poor job of clock management.”‘

‘Fred Jackson, RB On the possibility of a new coaching staff: I would love to be with this staff. I love every one of our coaches. I think that would make it easier on a lot of guys if we know we are coming back and we have the same coaching staff, we have the same kind of schemes to work on. I definitely would love for the coaching staff to return. It would make my offseason a lot easier knowing that I could just go watch film and correct the things that we did this past season knowing that’s what we are going to work on. If I had a choice or a say in it I would definitely want the same coaching staff here.’

Shut out (Boston Globe)

Sack carried them (Boston Globe)

A win from the ground up (Boston Globe)

Bubbly about uncorked kick (Boston Globe)

Not enough — but they gave plenty (Boston Globe)

Brady’s rehab progressing as expected (Boston Globe)

Photo gallery (Boston Globe)

Patriots win, but miss playoffs (Boston Herald)

No playoffs not reason for Patriots to hang heads (Boston Herald)

Matt Cassel beats odds (Boston Herald)

Stephen Gostkowski, kicking game shines (Boston Herald)

Jarvis Green fills large void (Boston Herald)

Report: Tom Brady’s rehab well behind schedule (Boston Herald)

Best and Worst of the Patriots/ Bills game (Boston Herald)

A long-winded statement (Boston Herald)

Patriots sing a sad song after beating the Bills but falling short of playoffs (Providence Journal)

Patriots rose above windy conditions by staying close to the ground (Providence Journal)

Cassel does it all in the final game of his remarkable season (Providence Journal)

Bills lost their cool, and their chance to score, before halftime (Providence Journal)

Patriots deserve praise, not criticism, after this season (Providence Journal)

Patriots-Bills postgame analysis (Providence Journal)

Report on Brady’s knee could mean Cassel sticks around (Providence Journal)

Patriots hold their heads high (Brockton Enterprise)

Patriots have no one to blame but themselves (Brockton Enterprise)

Pats have issues to address in offseason (Quincy Patriot Ledger)

A big Jet letdown (Metro West Daily News)

Gone with the wind (Attleboro Sun Chronicle)

Despite win, Patriots home for the playoffs (Attleboro Sun Chronicle)

After 11-5 season, Pats on the outside looking in (Attleboro Sun Chronicle)

Decision was a breeze (Attleboro Sun Chronicle)

Tales of two quarterbacks (Attleboro Sun Chronicle)

Shut-out Patriots stoic upon return (Attleboro Sun Chronicle)

Cassel adds punting to resume (Attleboro Sun Chronicle)

Helpless (Worcester Telegram and Gazette)

Cassel did admirable job filling big shoes (Worcester Telegram and Gazette)

It’s unsatisfying that the Patriots are the best 11-victory team not to make the playoffs (Springfield Republican)

Photo gallery (Hartford Courant)

Fate blocks Patriots (New Bedford Standard Times)

Wait ’til next year (Manchester Union Leader)

Non-playoff-bound Pats end regular season with dignity (Lawrence Eagle Tribune)

The other franchise QB (Lawrence Eagle Tribune)

Two-Minute Drill (Lawrence Eagle Tribune)

No postseason for Pats; time to reflect and reevaluate (Lynn Daily Item)

Patriots get gust-win, 13-0 over Bills (Patriots.com)

Bill Belichick Postgame Presser – 12/28/2008 (Patriots.com)

Matt Cassel Postgame Presser – 12/28/2008 (Patriots.com)

Game Notes (Patriots.com)

Patriots Postgame Quotes (Patriots.com)

Bills Postgame Quotes (Patriots.com)

One wild, final ride (Patriots.com)

Patriots comment on end of 2008 season (Patriots.com)

Photo gallery (Patriots.com)