Two Bills Drive

‘"How he handled last year," Bills coach Gregg Williams said yesterday, "was a very large determining factor in us wanting to pursue a deal for Drew as aggressively as we did."’

‘Now, Bledsoe’s career has been reborn in Buffalo, as if he went through Football Hell and came out better for the journey. And the lesson for Brady? It’s all about overcoming adversity. That’s what Bledsoe has learned; it’s what Brady has yet to learn.’

‘"I think they know me pretty well," he said. "And I think they know just how frustrated I get and how much I want to win. After a half-hour of talking, I don’t think that everything you’ve built over the last two years is destroyed by the way it was interpreted. They know the way it’s interpreted by the way I play and the way I try to get ready to play. And I know them, too."’

‘Hayes signed a two-year contract worth more than $2 million after catching 56 passes for Carolina last season. He’s caught 11 passes for 124 yards and a touchdown so far this season. He told The Boston Globe two weeks ago that he was having trouble fathoming the Patriots’ intricate offensive system.’

‘When a team has lost four in a row and has developed the alarming habit of playing lousy football and falling behind early, when some of its members wonder if the team has lost its competitive edge, the last thing it wants is another distraction, like the Bledsoe Bowl.’

‘And while Bledsoe undoubtedly remains much the same man, he is playing like a different quarterback than he did his final seasons in New England. He is certainly surrounded by more talent than perhaps ever before – running back Travis Henry, receivers Peerless Price and Eric Moulds and so on – but he also seems to be throwing the ball with greater accuracy and playing with ummatched gusto.’

‘Drew Bledsoe would like to be able to tell you that Sunday is just another game, but he’d have a hard time keeping a straight face.’

‘"I’m just extremely frustrated," Brady said. "Frustrated that we’re not getting the job done and I think we work on so many things in practice and, as we’ve said before, I think guys practice hard and the guys are energized."

‘"I think a lot of it might have been, not that I can blame you guys for misinterpreting me, but I think sometimes things are said and maybe don’t come off as clarified as I would have liked," Brady said.’

Even so, the Patriots still had some offensive problems with Brady. But they were masked by winning. Remember, with just three postseason offensive touchdowns, New England arguably was the weakest offensive team to win the Super Bowl.

”’We had an agreement that he wouldn’t do anything with anybody in the division, and he does it the week before the game,” Wannstedt said. “I don’t know what people’s motives are. But it was disappointing for me, and it was disappointing for our players.”’

‘Thomas, who is ninth on the all-time rushing list (12,074 yards) behind Smith (16,743) and Sanders (15,269), said there’s no doubt in his mind they were the best three backs of their time in the NFL.’

‘Allen is a first-time nominee, joining running back Herschel Walker, quarterback Boomer Esiason, special teams player/wide receiver Steve Tasker, tight end Brent Jones, offensive lineman Gary Zimmerman, defensive lineman Richard Dent and linebacker Sam Mills.’

‘It was my first time at a professional football game, and thank the maker, I finally have the answer to the question that’s been dogging me lo these many years – "Are you, Chuck Schading, ready for some football?" The answer? Apparently not.’

‘I never was and still am not a real rah-rah guy, but I have made an effort here to be a little more vocal, to take a little more of a vocal role on the field. But, as far as the meetings and that kind of stuff that we’ve done, that’s something that I’ve done for a long time. It was something that we did in New England for a number of years.’