Archives for December 17, 2009

‘The struggles have been surprising for a team that was an NFL-best 38-10 away from home from 2003-08. That mark includes wins in New England’s last five visits to Orchard Park, N.Y. by a combined score of 163-40, helping to extend its overall winning streak against the Bills to 12.’

‘”They’re still the New England Patriots,” Fewell said. “They still lead our division, they still have Tom Brady, they still have Wes Welker and Randy Moss. They’re still very potent offensively and they still have a solid defense in my opinion. They play good football and it’s a huge challenge for us to go out and play our best football and win that game.”‘

‘Normally, a team would like to shut a team down on the ground and force it to pass, but the Bills are dealing with Tom Brady this week. In its 25-24 loss in Week 1, Buffalo had one of its better games stopping the run (73 yards), only to watch Brady go wild with 53 passes for 378 yards and two scores. Is Buffalo’s secondary, leading the NFL with 25 interceptions, up the challenge? Collecting takeaways is the only sure way to slow Brady down and keep the game close; New England’s three turnovers helped Carolina hang around in a 20-10 loss last Sunday.’

‘The Bills’ nearly three-year steak of sellouts at Ralph Wilson Stadium is in jeopardy with 2,000 tickets left for the Patriots game and 5,000 left for the Jan. 3 game against Indianapolis. If the Colts come to town 15-0 with a chance to cap an undefeated season, that game should sell out, but QB Peyton Manning and other starters could be resting for the playoffs. Indianapolis has already clinched home-field advantage. Colts president Bill Polian, the ex-Bills general manager, told NBC Sports: “Our number one priority … is to get players who are playing hurt as healthy as they can be for the playoffs. That will be our first consideration. After that it’s, who needs playing time among the injured group? After that, everything else falls in line.”‘

‘”I don’t know if I was nervous; I was excited more than being nervous,” Fewell said. “I’ve often wanted to be a head football coach, so I tried to prepare myself for the opportunity. The way the situation occurred was out of my control, but probably more excited than nervous.”‘

‘On what’s been the biggest challenge for him since he’s taken over at QB: I think the moving parts. The fact that we’ve had guys shuffling in and out of the lineup; just being able to develop that continuity, the consistency that goes along with playing with each other, but the thing is that we’ve battled every week. It’s a fun group of guys to play with because you know that they’re going to give you everything they have. But I would say just the continuity which has probably affected our consistency a little bit.’

‘A starter since his second season, Incognito’s fiery style of play eventually got him into trouble. The last straw for the Rams came Sunday, when Incognito was benched in the second half of a 47-7 loss to Tennessee after the guard drew two personal foul penalties for head-butting.’