Archives for September 2009

‘His job as the head coach of this team is to have his team in a position to win the game. He did. And for 58 minutes his players executed. But they play 60.’

‘A beautiful gameplan put together by Dick Jauron and his coaching staff puts the Bills on the brink of a upset victory, but yet again on Monday night, the Bills found a way to lose. The team will have to put this one behind them as they get ready for the home opener in Orchard Park against the Tampa Bay Bucs.’

‘Let’s face it, folks, this series is the NFL version of Groundhog Day, with the Patriots finding ways to win and the Bills inventing ways to lose.’

‘Eventually, it became vintage Tom Brady – and vintage Buffalo Bills.’

‘The Bills were downtrodden after the loss, but certainly have a reason to be hopeful. Everyone expected a blowout and they were a fumbled-kickoff return away from the win. The offensive line, which was a national joke after they cut left tackle Langston Walker last week, was a big surprise. Second-year left tackle Demetrius Bell and rookie guards Eric Wood and Andy Levitre performed surprisingly well in their first starts. You could see the offense grow more confident as the game continued and a 62-yard touchdown drive in the fourth quarter was nearly perfect.’

‘Until the last Buffalo drive of the game, the Patriots’ pass-rush was similarly anemic. Super Bowl favorites? The Patriots will be lucky to be the second wild card, playing the way they played for 55 minutes.’

‘”He’s obviously a big-time weapon in our offense and we need to keep getting him the ball,” Bills quarterback Trent Edwards(notes) said. “He’s a competitor; I’ve said that all along. And that’s rubbing off on the rest of us. That’s why we’re competing for four quarters there and having a guy like that in the locker room, on the field with us, frustrated or not, he’s still raising the level of our game. We need to feed off that.”‘

‘The Bills lost two solid defensive players, linebacker Paul Posluszny and end Chris Kelsay, both in the third quarter. Posluszny, who had six tackles, broke his arm and there was no timetable for his return, coach Dick Jauron said. Kelsay injured a knee. No details were announced.’

‘”We didn’t play well at first. But when it counted we played good situational football at the end. They played well. We just made the plays when we had to.”‘

‘”We had them.” Yes, they did. And then they choked.’

‘Buffalo’s early years as a pro football town will be discussed by Daniel P. Starr at 7 p. m. today in the Buffalo & Erie County Historical Society auditorium, 25 Nottingham Court.’

‘Not only did the Bills start three offensive linemen who never had taken a snap in an NFL game, they also gave extensive playing time to 6-foot-5 rookie tight end Shawn Nelson.’

‘Schobel whipped Pats left tackle Matt Light with a quick outside move. But then Schobel stopped in his tracks, recognizing a screen pass play. Schobel leaped and picked Tom Brady’s pass out of the air with one hand. Then he rumbled 26 yards up the middle for a touchdown to give the Bills a 14-7 lead. It was the first touchdown by a Bills defensive lineman since Chris Kelsay scored against Dallas in 2007.’

‘It took 40 minutes before the Bills’ new marquee weapon finally got his first catch.’

‘Maybe McKelvin should have stayed in the end zone with the Pats’ kickoff, which went 2 yards deep. Maybe he should have gone down to the ground when he took an initial hit on the return. Whatever, he should not have fumbled.’