Archives for December 26, 2010

‘Buffalo’s four wins have come against fellow bottom-feeders Detroit, Cincinnati and Cleveland, and the underachieving Dolphins, teams with a combined record of 18-38. Any win is a good win in the NFL, but until the Bills can start winning games that they aren’t supposed to be able to win, they recognize that they’re not going to gain any ground in their attempt to climb out of the dark hole in which they’ve resided for 11 years.’

‘The other Bills expected to become unrestricted free agents are: linebackers Paul Posluszny, Akin Ayodele, Shawne Merriman and Keith Ellison; defensive backs Drayton Florence, George Wilson and Ashton Youboty; offensive tackle Mansfield Wrotto; defensive tackle John McCargo; and running back Quinton Ganther. The top two players on that list are Whitner and Posluszny.’

‘That’s what all the great ones do. When you think they’ve reached the pinnacle, they find a higher mountain to climb. Magic Johnson works on his hook shot. Sidney Crosby gets better on faceoffs. Tiger Woods tinkers with his swing. Brady polishes his mechanics.’

‘Patriots 24, Bills 10.’

‘”There is a kind of motivation in that to look forward to and they know that, so they’ll prepare knowing that we’re going to come out and give them our best shot. We still have to give the fans something to be proud of and something for them to look forward to going into next season. If we can go out and get a win in front of our home crowd against New England, it’s something they’ll be able to hang their hats on. So, we’ll go out there, play and see what happens.”‘

‘”I had some great friends – great teammates, guys you call your brothers – over in New England,” Woods said. “I’m still in the AFC East, and that’s a great thing, being in the same division. It’s great football, great players. All you can do is roll with the punches.”‘

‘Patriots, 31-20.’

‘New England 31, Buffalo 17.’

Defensive line is fluid yet solid (Boston Globe)

At Christmas time, focus is on present (Boston Globe)

Injury list gets worse (Boston Globe)

Patriots at Bills (Boston Globe)

Ammunition should have Patriots firing (Boston Herald)

Bills find reasons to upend Patriots (Boston Herald)

New side line of work for Pierre Woods (Boston Herald)

Four starters to miss out to injury (Boston Herald)

Five Things to look for in today’s Patriots game (Boston Herald)

Tom Brady has been a master at foiling opponents’ best-laid plans (Providence Journal)

Patriots Difference-Maker (Providence Journal)

Both Brady, Vick are worthy MVP candidates, so who is most worthy? (Providence Journal)

Patriots-Bills pregame analysis (Providence Journal)

Unsung heroes, like big-name players, have contributed to Patriots’ success story (Brockton Enterprise)

Pats thinking home-field advantage (Attleboro Sun Chronicle)

Patriots’ season not about giving (Worcester Telegram and Gazette)

Title, playoff perks on line for Patriots (Worcester Telegram and Gazette)

A win in Buffalo is all the Patriots want for Christmas (Springfield Republican)

Aaron Hernanez, Dan Connolly among six players downgraded to out for Sunday’s game (Springfield Republican)

What to watch for: Patriots at Bills (Springfield Republican)

Pats should tend to business today (Nashua Telegraph)

Lucky and good? Brady has those bases covered (Lowell Sun)

Time to make a defensive stand (Lawrence Eagle Tribune)

Trio of Ryan Fitzpatrick, Fred Jackson, Steve Johnson Means Patriots Can’t Take Revitalized Bills Lightly (NESN.com)

‘”We all didn’t play together in the beginning,” Jackson said. “I think that’s something that had to do with the slow start. I don’t think I played where I was the starter until Week 5, and then Fitz (quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick) came in, and his first start wasn’t until Week 3.”‘

‘”If you look at the matchup on paper, obviously, they’re a lot better team than we are in terms of everything they’ve done this year, their record, they’re in the playoffs, and everything we haven’t done,” Fitzpatrick said. “But we’re looking forward to the challenge. All we can do is go out there and play, and hopefully it’s good enough.”‘

‘New England 36, Buffalo 23.’