Two Bills Drive

‘Most lasting memory: “You’d have to go back to the ’64-65 AFL championship teams,” he says. “That’s the last time a major league team from Western New York or Buffalo ever won the last game of the season.”‘

‘”I knew that they were going to be a good team,” he said. “They are putting a lot of responsibilities on the corners, and the corners are really stepping up this year.”‘

‘”I don’t have any prediction with that, really,” Williams said of the chances of being back in Buffalo for the 2004 season. “Next week is next week. We’ll sit down as soon as possible. We’ll talk. We do that every year. We’ll start two days after the season, tearing everything down. We’ll go through every phase of it. [GM Tom Donahoe] and I have done that every year.”‘

‘”I think the depth on your team is important,” New England head coach Bill Belichick said. “You never know when you are going to need it. It is kind of like when you buy insurance, you never know if you are going to have to use it or not, but if you have it and you need it, it is a good thing to have.”‘

‘”I’m envious of anybody that has a chance to go and win a Super Bowl,” he said. “It’s not because the New England Patriots are my ex-buddies. It’s just because they are winning ball games. That’s what it’s all about for me.”‘

‘Brady is even more popular now than he was after leading the Pats to an unlikely Super Bowl win two years ago. He is Boston’s most celebrated bachelor. He has a part in “Stuck on You,” the new comedy by the Farrelly brothers. A national magazine recently compared him to Jimmy Stewart in “It’s A Wonderful Life.” He is the offensive leader for a team that takes an 11-game winning streak and 13-2 record into Saturday’s regular-season finale against the Bills.’

‘McGahee also is looking forward to teaming with Travis Henry in what could be one of the NFL’s most formidable backfields. “It will be exciting,” McGahee said. “We have a great team. We feel we can make a run.”‘

‘Still, the Bills should have dumped off to Henry a lot more and found more ways to get him one-on-one in space. Even if defenses keyed on him and he averaged 3 yards a catch it would help Bledsoe and be better than the negative plays the Bills have had in the pass offense. The fact is Kevin Gilbride’s offense is a wideout-oriented attack. Take this to the bank: Passes to the backs will figure much more prominently in the offense next year.’

‘Brown is undeniably one of the organization’s finest reclamation projects because as he was barreling through puberty, the Salvation Army literally provided salvation for an impressionable teenager who could have easily strayed down a dangerous path littered with trouble every step of the way.’

‘His teammates are even losing patience. Moulds called Bledsoe’s 12-for-24, 114-yard, no-touchdown, two-turnover performance Sunday “the worst I’ve seen him play.” After one sack late in the first half, one on which Bledsoe pump-faked and took an elongated stride, Ruben Brown went ballistic and shouted toward the sideline, though it was unclear whether his frustration was directed at Bledsoe. Brown went off again on the sideline. The bottom line: Bledsoe has been sacked 100 times in two seasons as a Bill (the same number of times he was brought down in 1999 and 2000, his last full seasons as a starter for the Patriots) and they weren’t all on the line.’

‘Though certainly more are nursing injuries after 19 games (including preseason), only two New England players appeared on the injury report for Saturday’s game against the Bills at Gillette Stadium.’

‘The good news is that Brady hasn’t committed a turnover the past three games. That must continue through January.’

‘The latest injury report was released yesterday and only two names were on it – backup safety Chris Akins (leg) and guard Joe Andruzzi (foot). Both are listed as questionable for Saturday’s game against Buffalo. Andruzzi was the only player to sit out practice, with Akins returning to action for the first time in three weeks.’

‘Even as he says he’s moved on, one can sense lingering bitterness over the way he feels he was used last season and the way his release went down.’

‘Milloy swears this isn’t about revenge against his former teammates. He just wants to win. “I am going to go out there and I am going to fly around and it is not going to be a vengeful range,” Milloy said. “It is going to be because I respect all of my teammates over there and anybody that gains my respect on any opposing team, they can expect my best.”‘