Two Bills Drive

‘“They didn’t expect me to catch (any) screen passes, that’s why (Brady) threw me the ball,” said Smith.’

‘The Patriots cornerback again won his individual duel with Buffalo’s premier wide receiver yesterday. Covering Moulds most of the game, Law limited the Bills deep threat to five catches for 68 yards in New England’s 38-7 rout. Law also stepped in front of Moulds to intercept a Drew Bledsoe pass late in the fourth quarter, the game’s only turnover.’

‘The key to the Patriots’ success was long sustained drives, not big plays. By rushing for 111 yards on 29 carries, tailback Antowain Smith allowed Brady the luxury of using play-action fakes. That gave Brady extra time to set up, while forcing the Bills’ linebackers and secondary to stay at home.’

‘“I wasn’t exactly sure where we were coming from at times, but whatever we did worked,” said Johnson, stressing the defense’s need to come up with big plays on third down. “We got some pressure on Drew, and that’s what we need to do. We needed to get off to a fast start, and that’s what we did.”’

‘“That was basically our train of thought going in there, have the tight ends and backs make some big plays,” said the fourth-year Patriot from LSU.’

‘What it comes down to is this: Bill Belichick was right . . . and pretty much everyone else was wrong.’

‘“When you’re able to run the ball and have control of the game, you can really do what you want,” Brady said. “When you make your reads and don’t throw the ball to the other team, good things happen.”’

‘Despite a weeklong buildup that dominated two cities and brought the national media flocking from every corner of the country, the Bledsoe Bowl was, in dramatic terms, a flop.’

‘The boisterous Buffalo crowd is known as the Bills’ 12th man. But the Patriots offensive line removed the fans from the formula by being effective on first down. By giving quarterback Tom Brady a surplus of second-and-5 situations to work with, it allowed the Patriots to mount long sustained scoring drives. The Patriots’ efficiency on first down eliminated the Bills’ home-field advantage.’

‘“It caused a lot of confusion in their blocking,” Jones said. “We had the lead (24-7 at the time) and we knew they had to pass. Their offensive line is big and we saw in other games that they had trouble with speed. We couldn’t let (Bledsoe) step up and make his throws. We had to keep him on one leg and scrambling. If you let him stand there, he’ll kill you. The idea was to cause trouble with their assignments.”’

‘The result was a 38-7 Patriots romp at Ralph Wilson Stadium before a sellout crowd of 73,448 that seemed to include about 10,000 rowdy Patriots fans.’

‘Prior to the game, dozens of Patriots approached Bledsoe to exchange handshakes and hugs. The first was Tom Brady, who chatted with Bledsoe for around 10 minutes. Bledsoe also met with Pats owner Robert Kraft, offensive coordinator Charlie Weis and about a dozen players. Bledsoe also played a little catch with Pats linebacker Mike Vrabel.’

‘Anyone who would dare put a wager on these Patriots as 3-point underdogs had to be near-delirious, or a Republican cutting taxes.’

‘Rendering Bledsoe a non-factor sufficed to silence all of those second-quessers around New England who were poised to cluck “I told you so!” But beating Bledsoe was a severe afterthought for these 4-4 Patriots, had dropped four straight coming in.’

‘It looked a lot like last season.’