Two Bills Drive

‘So, it’s come to this: Patriots fans leaving Foxboro Stadium yesterday after New England’s 21-11 triumph over Buffalo were overheard complaining about how ugly a win it was. Ah, remember the good old days? Remember when Pats fans were happy with a win, no matter its beauty? Hard to believe it’s been, what, two months?’

‘It’s been 27 games since the Patriots have had a winning record.’

‘"He was very excited," Patriots quarterback Tom Brady said. "You could tell this morning when he walked in. It was good to hear some words out of his mouth. He really wanted to make an impression."’

‘The Patriots beat the Bills 21-11, and it was a messy, ugly game that has become typical when these division rivals meet. Tom Brady was sacked seven times, fumbled twice and was intercepted once. The young quarterback, who appeared so poised before the team left for three games on the road, now looked like a young quarterback playing in only his seventh game in the NFL. Which, of course, is exactly what Tom Brady is.’

‘Q: What did your former teammates say to you after the game? AS: They wished me luck. ‘Good game, stay healthy,’ and they’ll see me when we come to Buffalo. Q: It was all vanilla? AS: Yeah, because I had a good relationship with the players on the team. We always bonded. So they wished me well and I wished them well and stay healthy for the rest of the season and I’ll see them in Buffalo.’

‘In fact, if one looks closely, the Bills look very much like the Patriots – last season’s Patriots, that is.’

‘"I feel good," said Smith, who played four seasons with Buffalo before signing with New England in the off-season. "We got the win, that’s the main thing. It also helped that I had a pretty good performance out there."’

‘They aren’t the Marv Levy-Jim Kelly Buffalo Bills. They aren’t even the Wade Phillips-Doug Flutie Buffalo Bills. Even so, the team that squared off against the New England Patriots yesterday at Foxboro Stadium proved just as blue-collar tough as those more successful Buffalo teams of recent times.’

‘Should have, could have, would have. That has been the ongoing story of this dreadful season for the Bills.’

‘If Rob Johnson’s right clavicle is indeed broken, he will not be playing football for the Buffalo Bills the rest of the season. Now the question is, will he ever play for the Bills again? If it were my call, the answer would be no.’

‘"The defense played well enough to keep us in this ballgame, but we need to play better as a TEAM," coach Gregg Williams said. "We find new ways each week to (lose)."’

‘Another uninspiring effort by Rob Johnson, who converted just 2 of 12 third downs against Bill Belichick’s defense and was sacked five times (most his fault). Left the game with a serious shoulder injury with 4:17 left so you win the office pool if you picked eight starts as the number of games he would last. D+’

”’We got lucky today,” said Patriots receiver Troy Brown. ”That’s a pretty good football team.” Brown’s comments may be a stretch, because the Bills are far from good. And the Patriots weren’t ”lucky” all the time, at times they were good.”

”’He was very excited. You could tell this morning when he walked in,” said Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, who handed the ball to Smith 20 times and watched as he gained 100 yards, the final 42 of which locked up a 21-11 victory at Foxboro Stadium. ”He really wanted to make an impression. He came out and ran hard – he always runs hard – even there at the end, he was real excited to break that one off.”’

‘He lost the ball, he lost great gulps of yardage, he lost a bushel of points from his quarterback rating yesterday at Foxboro Stadium. But he didn’t lose the game.’