Two Bills Drive

It was a loss that Bills players have to deal with but in the 12-9 “Rule Book” game, some positive signs emerged – mostly with the defense. and especially in the secondary. There is no use getting into that ‘obscure rule-book’ thing because everyone now knows what happened and will be waiting while the NFL’s competition committee will take that embarrassment out when they meet early next year.

‘Schobel recorded a pair of sacks on the Patriots’ Tom Brady, bringing his season total to 6.5, tying Bruce Smith’s 1985 mark as a rookie for second-best in franchise history. With three games left to play, Schobel has a chance to break Cornelius Bennett’s 1987 mark of 8.5 sacks before finishing his rookie campaign.’

‘The Bills will wrap up their 2001 season with three straight road games to finish the campaign, starting this Sunday with their first visit to Atlanta’s Georgia Dome since 1994, and with a chance to play spoiler down the stretch.’

‘Buffalo Bills offensive lineman Jerry Ostroski was recognized by his teammates for his sportsmanship and commitment to football.’

‘Voted the team’s Ed Block Courage award winner Tuesday, Ostroski was noted for his charitable efforts and perseverance in returning to the Bills lineup after breaking his leg last August.’

‘You want a hosing against the Pats, recall the 1998 season when Buffalo had seemingly secured a key win in the final seconds at Foxboro only to have the officiating crew award a first down to Pats’ wide receiver Shawn Jefferson, even though both feet were out of bounds on the catch … and he was short of the marker.’

The Buffalo Bills have concluded the home portion of the NFL schedule and as the losses mounted, attendance fell. The attendance figures are the lowest for the Bills since 1987 (437,187), a season which was interrupted by a strike by NFL players.

‘"I’m glad to be on the field any time," he said. "I just want to help the team win some games."’

‘"Just to say the ball is dead because he’s asleep on the sideline, I don’t understand that."’

‘"I’m not worried about the crowds," he said. "We’re going to really get better over the next two or three years with Tom (Donahoe) and our drafting crew. I’m very optimistic. "I’m not just saying this. We have some good young players that’ll improve, some that won’t and they’ll be gone. But with another draft and maybe two, we’re going to get much better."’

‘"We understand the interpretation and how it was interpreted, but the thing is there’s a lot of interpretation in that rule, it’s tough in the possession part of it," Williams said. "There will be a lot of discussion the rest of the season and into the off-season on that type of thing."’

‘"Sometimes when we think the breaks are going to go our way, there’s always something. They come out with a rule like this to take it away from us. It just takes the breath out of your team."’

The controversy arose with the game tied at 9-9 and 5:05 into overtime, as David Patten was hit along the sideline by Keion Carpenter after making a 13-yard catch at the Buffalo 42, and apparently fumbled the football with Nate Clements recovering. However, after a lengthy review, the referees ruled after watching the replay that Patten’s helmet hit out of bounds, nullifying the fumble, and allowing New England to keep possession, which eventually led to the game-winning 23-yard field goal by Adam Vinatieri with 5:45 gone in overtime.

All week, we?re going to hear on talk radio how the NFL officials are out to get the Buffalo Bills. We?re going to hear that pro sports leagues hate small-market Buffalo. That?s why the Sabres lost the Stanley Cup. That?s why the Bills have so many tough calls against them.

‘They didn’t surrender a touchdown, they forced two turnovers and they logged five sacks. But the controversial takeaway they didn’t get and what may have been an ill-considered decision not to challenge a potential touchdown conspired to hand the Bills a 12-9 overtime loss to the New England Patriots before 45,527 curious observers.’