Two Bills Drive

‘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.’

‘"To say that this is just another game, I’d be laying and you guys would know I was lying," Bledsoe said. "So yeah, it’s a special game for me. I’m playing against a bunch of guys that I went to war with for a long time and a lot of guys that I have tremendous respect for. I’ve used the analogy for a while now that it’s like playing against your brother. You go out and play against somebody that you respect and somebody that you’re friends with and you want to win that one bad because you’re going to have to hear about it for the of the year if you don’t win."’

‘It’s not hotcakes, but the hot ticket of the week. A Bills-Patriots ticket is going for 275 dollars a pop on E-Bay. The rivalry between Bills Quarterback Drew Bledsoe and his ex-teammates and nemesis coach Bill Belichick is driving up the price. That figure is also in the ballpark for tickets advertised in the Buffalo News. A News 4 staffer checked out prices Wednesday, “The end zone are starting at 200 dollars, U.S. per ticket.”‘

‘If Bledsoe was unhappy with Bill Belichick’s decision to stick with Brady last season, he’s now crediting his former coach for doing him a favor by sending him to Buffalo in exchange for a first-round pick in next year’s draft. “I can’t imagine or look at another team in the league and say, ‘There’s another team that would be a better fit for me than where I am,”’ Bledsoe said.’

‘While he still has respect and admiration for quarterback Drew Bledsoe, it doesn’t matter to Brady that his former mentor is leading the Buffalo Bills (5-3). ”We’re in a tougher situation than he’s in,” Brady said. ”We’re the ones who are looking up at him.”’

‘After the team’s fourth consecutive loss, Brady appeared to question the commitment of some of his teammates. On Wednesday, he said those comments were misinterpreted.’

‘And now, some six months since the trade, and with the two teams scheduled to meet for the first time Sunday, there is growing concern in New England that perhaps the Patriots traded the wrong quarterback.’