Two Bills Drive

‘Fassel’s teams have made the playoffs three times in his six previous seasons. In 2000, after consecutive losses and a 7-4 start, he guaranteed the Giants would make the playoffs. New York reeled off five straight victories and didn’t lose again until Baltimore beat the Giants in Super Bowl XXXV. Last week, before falling to Tampa Bay, he promised that people would never see him sweat. “It’s guaranteed,” he said.’

‘”I never really had any headaches,” Bledsoe said. “I just felt dizzy and nauseated. I felt OK today. I’m still a little fuzzy, but I’m going to play.”‘

‘It was surprising Monday afternoon to hear WNSA-FM news reader Ricky Jay preface a Donahoe sound bite by saying that the Bills general manager didn’t feel he deserved any of the blame for the Bills’ season. Then he played a sound bite of Donahoe saying, “It has nothing to do with me, it has to do with the team, the coaches, Mr. Wilson and the fans.” WNSA listeners never heard the question that led to the sound bite. If they had, they would have heard Donahoe responding to a question from Channel 2’s Stu Boyar about how disappointed he was, not if he deserved any blame. Jay’s packaging was totally misleading, lazy and journalistically unsound.’

‘”That was two games, in our division, and it cost us, and you never know the ripple effect,” Fassel said. “That really shook the foundation of our confidence, took the wind out of our sails, and you don’t know how that affects another game and another game.”‘

‘Haslett was the Coach of the Year in 2000, but his critics point out the team’s late-season folding acts in 2001 (0-4 after a 7-5 start) and 2002 (0-3 after a 9-4 start). He also made an untimely decision early in last week’s 33-20 loss at Philadelphia and was subjected to a level of media and fan criticism that generally is reserved for coaches on their way out.’

‘In two games since, the Giants have lost two road games and are not expecting the words “happy” and “homecoming” to be associated with their game against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday at Giants Stadium. To listen to a few Giants players, most notably receiver Amani Toomer, they are expecting surliness befitting a street mob.’

‘”We know that is the business and I think how we conduct ourselves when we go through that is very, very important. Not only for yourself, but for the integrity of the National Football League and what you stand for as a football coach, because that is part of the deal and we know that.”‘

‘”William has to show me that he can play better,” Giants coach Jim Fassel said after benching the rookie in favor of recently re-signed Frank Ferrara in Monday’s loss to the Bucs. “He just hasn’t had the production in the game. You always need to relate it to how many plays (because) you can’t compare production if one guy played nine plays and the other played 59. But those nine plays, you need to do some things – tackles and things like that.”‘

‘Shockey didn’t even attend practice, staying inside to get treatment on his left knee, which he reinjured in his ill-advised pregame warmup Monday night. Giants coach Jim Fassel said Shockey has “a chance to play – we’ll just have to take it day by day.” He said it’s possible he could rule Shockey out if he’s not able to practice today.’

‘Fassel chalked up Shockey’s bonehead move to the 23-year-old’s personality. “I told him [on Monday], ‘Just don’t do much,’ ” Fassel said. “‘Just relax and go out and stretch out a little bit and jog around a little bit.'”‘

‘”When you’re going through some bad times, they get you,” Edwards said. “That’s the way it is. People are going to take shots at you for everything you did bad, and they forget about all the good things you did. They do it to everyone. They’re going to do it to me, they’ve done it to all of them.”‘

‘The most startling entry, though, is not a zero. It is the one for Monday’s game against the Buccaneers: INA. That’s short for inactive. That was not what the Giants had in mind when they used the 25th overall pick on Joseph, a defensive tackle who was to give them depth in the front four and be groomed to replace Keith Hamilton.’

‘”You can’t take what people say personally,” Edwards said, “because if you do, it will eat at you … You can’t let people back you into a corner and start getting out of character, and I don’t think Jim will do that. He is a good football coach, and he will coach again. Whether it is with the Giants or whoever it may be, he will coach again.”‘

‘”I’d be upset, too, if my team wasn’t winning and wasn’t performing and I had to pay all that money for seats — not (including) food or parking. They got something to make noise about.”‘

‘”Everyone wants to be a champion, every city wants to have a champion,” said Edwards, whose 4-7 team plays host to 9-2 Tennessee in a Monday night game at Giants Stadium. “People get upset, but as a ball coach you know that and that’s why for a football coach we are a weird lot.”‘