Archives for December 20, 2009

‘Right when I was convincing Alex Van Pelt wasn’t to blame all that much for the Bills woes, he spends another week ignoring the fact that his running backs were gashing the opposition. I feel like Fred Jackson’s stat line sat at 11 carries for 73 yards for almost a full quarter.’

‘It was the type of low scoring, ugly, boring game I expected to see. Unfortunately, the outcome was exactly what I expected as well another Bills loss. What was disheartning about it was that the Bills seemed to take many steps back with more penalties, sacks, poor execution, and lack of passion. They were never really in the game in the second half despite winning the battle in the stat game. This does drive the point even further that they do need a full house cleaning on January 4th.’

‘Trent Edwards took over for Buffalo early in the fourth quarter, but his relief stint was a brief one, lasting only four plays. To make matters worse, the former starting quarterback appeared to sustain an ankle injury while being wrapped up by Patriots linebacker Tully Banta-Cain.’

‘Fred Jackson was the lone bright spot for the Bills, as the runningback ran 15 times for 80 yards. He also caught four passes for 32 yards, and had 108 kick-return yards. Ryan Fitzpatrick completed 17 of his 25 passes for 178 yards, a touchdown, and an interception.’

‘Eight first half penalties, including a pair of pass interference calls that handed New England’s offense 1st-and-goal at the Bills one-yard line twice, gave the Patriots all the points they needed in a 17-10 win over Buffalo at Ralph Wilson Stadium.’

‘The Bills (5-9) were undone by 11 penalties for 124 yards, including a pair of pass-interference calls that set up New England’s first two scores.’

‘Newly acquired offensive lineman Richie Incognito started at right guard for Buffalo. Incognito, who was fined $50,000 by the NFL on Friday for two unnecessary roughness fouls against Tennessee, signed with the Bills on Wednesday.’

‘When Bill Belichick and his Patriots invade Ralph Wilson Stadium this chilly afternoon, they bring a record of 17-2 against Buffalo in the 2000s including an active 12-game winning streak, and the Bills of today have a sense of what their predecessors of the 1970s felt like.’

‘The fact that Fitzpatrick hasn’t reached 100 yards in each of the past two games borders on the absurd in this day and age, but then again, nothing should surprise us with the Bills.’

‘Welcome to Woe for the ’00s.’

‘Patriots, 27-16.’

‘With the decade nearing a close, I decided to pick the 10 worst losses to New England over that time. It was hard to cut to 10, like ranking Tiger Woods’ girlfriends. You forget some of the slapstick moments, the marginal players, the unremitting chronicle of coaching blunders. Almost every game has a dubious, distinctive quality that set it apart in your memory.’

‘Remember that the Patriots spent many years as transients, playing in every venue in the Boston area short of the Callahan Tunnel. They once held their team meetings in a neighborhood ice rink, sharing space with pre-teen Dorothy Hamill. They even won a regular-season AFL game with the aid of a civilian who took unofficial part in the contest clad in a raincoat and fedora.’

‘Patriots 27, Bills 14.’

‘”He has hands like glue,” Aliotti said of Byrd. “When the ball touches his hands, Jairus catches it. Safety was always his natural position. We just put him at corner because he was one of our better players — and he did quite well. I think his experience at corner has probably helped him overall because he had to play in space.”‘