Archives for September 24, 2011

‘With starting right tackle Sebastian Vollmer missing the entire week of practice due to a back injury, he is out for this contest. That means first-round pick and rookie Nate Solder will be in the starting lineup at right tackle. While he performed well at times against Miami’s Cameron Wake in their opener, Wake was still able to get the upperhand later on in the game. If Solder is in the lineup, I think that’s a matchup that can be exploited with the likes of Shawne Merriman rushing at him. If the Bills are able to put pressure on Brady and make him feel uncomfortable in this game, they have a shot. But if they just let Brady sit back there and pick them apart like Jason Campbell did last weekend, it could be a long Sunday for the defense.’

‘”The overall sense is, ‘I’m from Buffalo, I’m surrounded by people from Buffalo, and I’m here to celebrate my Buffalo heritage,” Miller said. “I don’t know anyone from Buffalo who’s not proud to be from Buffalo.”‘

‘"We’ve always taken the approach as a football team to do the things that give us the best chance to match up against each individual opponent and changes from week to week," Belichick said. "A lot of our game planning has to do with who we have available, who’s on our team and how they match up against our opponent. It changes from week to week and nobody really knows how it’s going to turn out until we get into the game and see how it goes."’

‘”Darryl is family,” Smith said. “I just have so much respect and admiration for [him] and what he’s accomplished, in not only his NFL career, but his college career.”‘

‘”These guys need me to make plays,” Merriman said, “and I’m taking the challenge upon myself. My job since I’ve been in the league has been to be an impact player.”‘

‘New England 31, Buffalo 24. Buffalo will be better and it’ll be New England’s toughest test so far this year, but the Bills aren’t ready to take down the Patriots.’

‘Buffalo – along with Detroit and Cleveland – are treated like the illegitimate children of the league. They’re there, but everyone seems embarrassed by them and just wishes they would go away and leave the game to teams in glitzier, more prosperous cities.’

‘”I remember his freshman year we put him in a game against Dartmouth we were losing, 21-0, in the third quarter. We won, 31-21, and that was an undefeated season. His senior year he was a captain. We were losing, 28-7, at Brown in the third quarter. We went on to win, 35-34, and that was another perfect season. The kid never lost his poise.”‘

‘”He’s better this year, but I felt he made a lot of really good plays last year, too,” McCourty said. “I think he’s just steady improving his game.”‘

He has special knack (Boston Globe)

Hernandez, Wright, Vollmer out vs. Bills (Boston Globe)

Anyone for punt duty? (Boston Herald)

Shaun Ellis had up-close look at history (Boston Herald)

Pats’ depth takes a hit (Boston Herald)

Patriots wait and see on Zoltan Mesko (Providence Journal)

Andre Carter fined for hit, but says he won’t change (Providence Journal)

Harvard man (Brockton Enterprise)

Vollmer’s back suffers a setback (Brockton Enterprise)

Sergio Brown steps into spotlight (Worcester Telegram and Gazette)

Patriots’ Vince Wilfork cherishes his interception (Worcester Telegram and Gazette)

Patriots must play through injuries (Attleboro Sun Chronicle)

Can the Patriots keep it going with tight end Aaron Hernandez injured? (Springfield Republican)

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

A decade ago today, the New England Patriots’ future was changed forever (Springfield Republican)

The Patriots are weighing all of their options at punter with Zoltan Mesko battling a knee injury (Springfield Republican)

Patriots release TE Dan Gronkowski, brother of Rob (AP)

Patriots areas of interest vs. Bills (ESPN)

Aaron Hernandez Ruled Out Against Bills, Albert Haynesworth, Patrick Chung Listed As Questionable (NESN)

Pressure Shifts to Josh Barrett, Sergio Brown If Patrick Chung Can’t Play for Patriots (NESN)

Kevin Faulk, Patriots Reflect on 10th Anniversary of Mo Lewis’ Hit on Drew Bledsoe (NESN)

Andre Carter Receives $15,000 Fine for Hit on Philip Rivers (NESN)

Patriots prepare to face Fitzpatrick (CSN New England)

Mesko optimistic about playing Sunday (CSN New England)

Patriots release TE Dan Gronkowski (CSN New England)

Haynesworth listed as questionable for Sunday (CSN New England)

Bills Friday Six-Pack (Patriots.com)

Patriots release TE Dan Gronkowski (Patriots.com)

Friday is decision day for Mesko; Fri. notes (Patriots.com)

Bill Belichick Press Conference Transcript – 9/23/2011 (Patriots.com)

‘Are the Bills going to turn the page on this dismal chapter in the team’s history on Sunday? As a nine-point underdog, few are betting on it. But if the team somehow pulls off the upset, don’t be surprised if Bills fans pour onto the field and take out years of frustration on the goalposts.’

‘”I just think that a lot of it is I’m getting some pretty good match-ups down there, a lot of man-to-man coverage and I’m able to use my body to body up DBs,’ Chandler said. “We have guys like Stevie Johnson and David Nelson who have made a lot of plays and they’re paying a lot of attention to those guys. They’ve been leaving me some good match-ups.”‘

‘”This year we’re all about changing the attitude. We have to go into this knowing that we’re capable of winning this ballgame,” Bills receiver David Nelson told the AFC East blog. “We have to know that we have the capability on offense to move the ball, and on defense to stop them and on special teams to make big plays. That’s all we can control. We can’t control what other people think about us.”‘

‘Defensive linemen Spencer Johnson (hip) and Torell Troup (back) are also both probable. Troup has missed the first two games because of his injury. Backup linebacker Kirk Morrison won’t play because of a hamstring injury, and cornerback Terrence McGee will miss his second straight game because of a hamstring injury.

‘”If we want to change things around here, this is where we’ve got to start,” Johnson said. “We know that they’re the team above, but we feel like we can go out there and beat these guys.”‘