Archives for December 2009

‘The 5-8 Buffalo Bills come in to this one with the odds stacked against them. New England (8-5) has a lot to play for, only leading the AFC East by one game. With a plethora of injuries and a hearty losing streak to the Patriots, it doesn’t look as though that the Bills have much of a chance to buck the recent six year trend of losing to New England.’

‘Buffalo’s run game found some life last week rolling up 200 yards on the ground. New England’s run defense is not what is used to be and with Vince Wilfork and Ty Warren not 100 percent healthy, Buffalo’s tandem of Fred Jackson and Marshawn Lynch should have respectable success. The two backs must be the chief means by which the Bills move the chains if they’re to control time of possession and sustain drives long enough to get into scoring territory.’

‘"Since I’ve known him, he’s never pouted, never complained, never said, ‘I’m not going to do it,’" safety Donte Whitner said. "Those are guys you want, guys that sacrifice self for the good of the team."’

‘"Nobody gives us any credit," said safety Donte Whitner. "In all the key categories our secondary is up there with the best. But it really doesn’t get any light shined on it because of our record. So we feel we have something to prove. So Sunday is a chance for us to show what we think we are, and that’s a good secondary."’

‘Named the NFL’s dirtiest player by The Sporting News earlier this season, Incognito has accrued more than $100,000 in fines for repeated on-field violations during his five-year career.’

‘”We’ve been in a lot of games in the fourth quarter and for one reason or another haven’t been able to pull them out,” he said, “I just think that that’s been difficult this year to not have the same guys out there all of the time, but we switched offensive coordinators in the beginning of the year, and obviously we switched coaches during the midway, so there’s been a lot of change. But that being said, the guys are still fighting and we’re still playing hard and going out there and trying to get wins.”‘

Maroney reads a lot into chats with coach (Boston Globe)

Taylor steps closer to the playing field (Boston Globe)

Tayloring to Patriots’ needs (Boston Herald)

Years of work pay off for Titus Adams (Boston Herald)

Defensive line in limbo (Boston Herald)

Tom Brady’s bride says ‘Benjamin is a blessing’ (Boston Herald)

Patriots’ Taylor hoping for swift return (Metro West Daily News)

Patriots may look more to the ground game against Buffalo (Providence Journal)

Brady continues on pace for second-best season (Providence Journal)

Pats, Bills seeking common ground (Brockton Enterprise)

Injury bug takes bite out of Pats (Brockton Enterprise)

Harvard grad Fitzpatrick made the smart choice (Attleboro Sun Chronicle)

It’s on Mayo (Lawrence Eagle Tribune)

Taylor focusing on ‘smart’ decision; Fri notes (Patriots.com)

Friday Out-Takes: Waiting for Vizzini (Patriots.com)

Patriots Locker Room Quotes (Patriots.com)

‘Two things stand out about it. One, it’s a perfect bathroom book. That is to say, it contains 36 easy-to-read chapters on the most famous plays in franchise history and they can be perused in any order. And, every chapter has a sidebar – mostly on a player – involved in each story plus the game details, including team records, score by quarters, and scoring plays. Two, the photos – and there are over 80 on the 154 pages – are outstanding and cover every era of Bills’ history.’

‘The Bills’ team record for players on IR is 17, set in 2007. Simmons became the sixth offensive lineman this year to be placed on the list.’

‘Playing last Sunday in the St. Louis Rams’ 47-7 loss to the Tennessee Titans, Incognito head-butted Sen’Derrick Marks in the first half. He did the same thing to Vincent Fuller later in the half, then was benched by coach Steve Spagnuolo.’

‘It wasn’t the cold that kept Terrell Owens off the practice field late this week, it was an illness. Owens missed practice on Thursday and Friday, and it’s left him questionable for Sunday’s game against New England.’

‘Bills guard Richie Incognito, two days after Buffalo claimed him off waivers from St. Louis, has been fined $50,000 for two unnecessary roughness penalties from last week’s Rams-Titans game, sources told ESPN senior NFL analyst Chris Mortensen.’

‘The eight-year NFL veteran had started the past three games after signing in late November to help an offensive line devastated by injuries. He becomes the Bills’ fifth offensive lineman put on season-ending IR.’

‘Simmons suffered the injury in last week’s win over Kansas City and has been unable to practice all week. Though the team has indicated otherwise, the injury is what likely prompted the Bills to submit a waiver claim for Richie Incognito Wednesday.’

‘That being said when you’re shorthanded on the offensive line due to injuries it compromises the effectiveness of Ryan Fitzpatrick. He’s dropping back and he doesn’t have an opportunity to read defensive coverages because his focus is drawn more to the defender that may not be blocked. As a quarterback you have to focus on the coverage, but when you don’t have time to do that it makes it real tough and your confidence level can take a hit.’