Two Bills Drive

‘Now, New England (7-5) and Buffalo (6-6) both desperately need a victory to stay hot on the playoff trail. The Bills, who are 3-6 in conference play, probably need it even more than the Patriots.’

‘The Bills never seem to have much trouble matching up Centers against a linebacker because teams are so concerned with wide receivers Peerless Price and Eric Moulds. “You can’t double everyone,” New England coach Bill Belichick said.’

‘Drew Bledsoe and the Bills represent phase one of the Patriots’ four-step march to the playoffs. This is the first game of a favorable stretch for the Patriots in which three of their final four games are at home. It will also be Bledsoe’s first game at brand-new Gillette Stadium, but considering the important of this game in the standings, his homecoming shouldn’t feature as much fanfare. The real story behind this game is that it could help decide who comes out on top in one of the closest AFC East races ever.’

‘Of course, neither side is naive enough to believe that the fans in Foxboro — some still loyal to the former Patriots’ quarterback — won’t come up with some catchy phrases to scribble on their signs or blurt out something clever to say during the game.’

‘Williams, the massive lineman from the university and state of Texas who’d never before played in the snow, became an honorary Western New Yorker that day. On Sunday he witnessed and experienced the prideful bond the region’s weather forges among its residents. On Monday he went out and bought a four-wheel drive vehicle and a snowmobile.’

‘Q: What kind of runner is Travis Henry? How would you characterize him? BB: I think Travis Henry has a lot of strengths as a runner. He’s got real good balance, he’s got good power, and he’s got good speed. He likes to bounce the ball out and cut it back a lot. He doesn’t always hit into the hole, not that he won’t hit into the hole because he does, but he’s also a threat to take the ball outside and send it back to the weak side of the formation, or the weak side of the way the play is designed to go. He’s a guy that can really hit you on all fronts. He’s been nothing but impressive. I talked about him before the first game about how impressed I was with his running skills, his ability to break tackles, make yards after the first hit, and outrun people as well as be strong and run over them. I think he’s got a real good set of skills there to run the ball, and he’s also catching the ball coming out of the back field, and of course turning into a good runner in those spots too. He makes some big plays for them consistently. He’s had a real productive year.’

‘Q: In scouting the Patriots, in a lot of games this year, Antowain Smith has not been a big factor, yet every time he plays you guys, he’s a major factor. How do you approach that? GW: Obviously, he’s a focal point and, as we want to be able to establish each week, that you have to make sure you’re able to play the running game strong and he’s done a very good job in improving himself in the pass game and they’re doing a good job of utilizing him and we need to make sure we take the necessary steps to make sure that we can minimize the gains when he’s in the ballgame.’

‘Price’s first five seasons in Buffalo were under general manager John Butler, who became the Chargers GM in January 2001. Butler has signed several ex-Bills the last two seasons, including defensive end Marcellus Wiley and quarterback Doug Flutie, the backup to Drew Brees.’

”’On a personal level, I feel bad for” Bruschi, said Drew Bledsoe, anticipating his first game in Foxboro since his offseason trade. ”But on a professional level, I’d be really happy to see him standing over there in street clothes because he is very tough to play against.”’

”’We can’t worry about winning one for The Gipper,” guard Ruben Brown said Wednesday. ”We’ve got to win one for the Bills.”’

‘To make room for Seals, the Bills released receiver Rodney Wright from their practice squad.’

With his 5th 100-yard game of the season (21st of his career), the former 1st Round Draft pick by the Bills also went over 1,000 receiving yards for the season to give him his third career 1,000-yard campaign. In addition, he extended his franchise-record streak of games with a catch to 77 games.

Now is your chance to ask the two-time Pro Bowl wide receiver a question!

Orchard Park, NY – The Bills today announced that the team has added defensive tackle Richard Seals to it practice squad. Seals (6-3, 305) was drafted by the New York Jets in the seventh round of the 2000 Draft out of Utah. After being released by the Jets at the end of the preseason he then spent part of the 2000 season on Jacksonville’s practice squad. To make room for Seals…

‘So while Belichick will obviously be preparing for Bledsoe as a key Bills weapon, that is not the story of the game. Patriots and Bills matchups are always exciting affairs, and with both teams still clinging to playoff hopes the real story will unfold between the first and last whistle. Bledsoe Bowl II talk makes for enjoyable fodder, but a competitive matchup is even better.’

‘Left end Kendrick Office is questionable for the Patriots game with a sprained wrist. He’s the only Bill on the injury list. The unfortunate part is that Office was just getting comfortable, having battled a number of injuries since early training camp.’