Ickybaluky
09-30-2004, 12:32 PM
... from the local papers that you may not have seen:
http://www.projo.com/patriots/content/projo_20040930_30pats.18eb7b.html
http://www.eagletribune.com/news/stories/20040929/SP_001.htm
The first one requires registration, so I'll post it here:
BY TOM E. CURRAN
Journal Sports Writer
FOXBORO -- The potency of the patrons is powerful in the NFL. Last season, home teams went 157-99 during the regular season. With a few exceptions, those home teams were enjoying the support of their fans.
But in times of turmoil, home can be the hardest place for a team to play. When a club is struggling to meet expectations, the patience of the fans has a tendency to run out quickly.
Patience is at a premium in Buffalo right now. And with the 2-0 Super Bowl-champion Patriots visiting the 0-2 Bills Sunday, the potential for game-altering, home-crowd ugliness is very real.
The Bills have been a disappointment since the midway point of the 2002 season. They've gone 9-17 since then, and that nosedive cost head coach Gregg Williams and offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride their jobs.
The team hauled in new head coach Mike Mularkey, offensive coordinator Tom Clements, offensive line coach Jim McNally and quarterbacks coach Sam Wyche in an effort to get Buffalo's offense untracked. But in two games, Buffalo has scored two touchdowns. Columns skewering quarterback Drew Bledsoe are frequent.
"The people here are fed up with the offense," said Sal Maiorana, who covers the team for The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. "It's not two games, it's two years. It's gotten to the point where they're frustrated with Bledsoe. He can't move or make a play. The offensive line can't protect him and they can't run-block. The expectations are higher with [the coaching changes. The expectation was that they'd be better, and they haven't done anything. People are at wits' end. There is some pressure for the Bills to perform, and they know it. Their season is close to going down the drain three games in.
"If they get off to a bad start and New England scores early and Buffalo stumbles -- especially against New England with [Tom] Brady and [Bill] Belichick -- I can see [booing] happening pretty quickly."
Buffalo fans have shown their ability to impact games. With newly signed Patriots exile Lawyer Milloy in their lineup, they were at a fever pitch for last season's opener against the Pats. Buoyed by that, linebacker Takeo Spikes ended the Patriots' first drive with a thunderous hit on Kevin Faulk. Buffalo scored on its first two possessions, ratcheting up the crowd even further, and the game was effectively over by halftime.
It's ironic that, a season later, the Bills are hoping to keep their crowd pacified. Mularkey said any negativity is a concern.
"[We have talked) about outside influences, starting with the media, to the fan support," he said. "Anybody that you come across anywhere outside of the building, you have to just be careful of being influenced by comments, positive or negative. There is too much work that goes on in here for anybody really outside to know the amount of time and effort that goes into it. It's not like they're going out there to try to please the crowd. That's not their objective. They're trying to win a football game. To me, that's just a distraction. If you bring it up, they're going to be looking for it, so I really have not addressed it that way. I've just said be careful of outside sources."
Bledsoe doesn't need a Ph.D to take the pulse of the fans and know what he and his offense are up against.
"We need to score points," he said. "We need to put the ball in the end zone, and that is what we haven't done through the first three weeks. This is a unique setting, I will say that. The loyalty of the fans here in Buffalo to this team is tremendous, and I know that they will be behind us. But at the same time, we have high expectations for this team, and we know our fans have high expectations for this team. We do need to come out and show them that we are better than what we have done in the first couple of weeks, and we intend to do that."
That will be an uphill fight. Save for that season opener last year, Bledsoe has struggled mightily against the Patriots. The Pats' defensive schemes have seemed intricate in some of those games, but their ultimate goal hasn't been. They intend to bring heat right up the middle, blocking Bledsoe's vision and making him either backpedal or drift.
As a precursor to this game, the Bills faced Oakland two weeks ago. The Raiders' new defensive coordinator, Rob Ryan, was the Pats' linebackers coach the last three seasons. Oakland brought the heat and Bledsoe was sacked seven times.
"In this league, whether it is success or failure that you are dealing with, you have to have a short memory," Bledsoe said. "My attitude, and the attitude of this team, is that we are going forward, and we are going to do everything we can to get a win this week."
If they don't, more than 78,000 fans in Buffalo will be there to let them know about it.
http://www.projo.com/patriots/content/projo_20040930_30pats.18eb7b.html
http://www.eagletribune.com/news/stories/20040929/SP_001.htm
The first one requires registration, so I'll post it here:
BY TOM E. CURRAN
Journal Sports Writer
FOXBORO -- The potency of the patrons is powerful in the NFL. Last season, home teams went 157-99 during the regular season. With a few exceptions, those home teams were enjoying the support of their fans.
But in times of turmoil, home can be the hardest place for a team to play. When a club is struggling to meet expectations, the patience of the fans has a tendency to run out quickly.
Patience is at a premium in Buffalo right now. And with the 2-0 Super Bowl-champion Patriots visiting the 0-2 Bills Sunday, the potential for game-altering, home-crowd ugliness is very real.
The Bills have been a disappointment since the midway point of the 2002 season. They've gone 9-17 since then, and that nosedive cost head coach Gregg Williams and offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride their jobs.
The team hauled in new head coach Mike Mularkey, offensive coordinator Tom Clements, offensive line coach Jim McNally and quarterbacks coach Sam Wyche in an effort to get Buffalo's offense untracked. But in two games, Buffalo has scored two touchdowns. Columns skewering quarterback Drew Bledsoe are frequent.
"The people here are fed up with the offense," said Sal Maiorana, who covers the team for The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. "It's not two games, it's two years. It's gotten to the point where they're frustrated with Bledsoe. He can't move or make a play. The offensive line can't protect him and they can't run-block. The expectations are higher with [the coaching changes. The expectation was that they'd be better, and they haven't done anything. People are at wits' end. There is some pressure for the Bills to perform, and they know it. Their season is close to going down the drain three games in.
"If they get off to a bad start and New England scores early and Buffalo stumbles -- especially against New England with [Tom] Brady and [Bill] Belichick -- I can see [booing] happening pretty quickly."
Buffalo fans have shown their ability to impact games. With newly signed Patriots exile Lawyer Milloy in their lineup, they were at a fever pitch for last season's opener against the Pats. Buoyed by that, linebacker Takeo Spikes ended the Patriots' first drive with a thunderous hit on Kevin Faulk. Buffalo scored on its first two possessions, ratcheting up the crowd even further, and the game was effectively over by halftime.
It's ironic that, a season later, the Bills are hoping to keep their crowd pacified. Mularkey said any negativity is a concern.
"[We have talked) about outside influences, starting with the media, to the fan support," he said. "Anybody that you come across anywhere outside of the building, you have to just be careful of being influenced by comments, positive or negative. There is too much work that goes on in here for anybody really outside to know the amount of time and effort that goes into it. It's not like they're going out there to try to please the crowd. That's not their objective. They're trying to win a football game. To me, that's just a distraction. If you bring it up, they're going to be looking for it, so I really have not addressed it that way. I've just said be careful of outside sources."
Bledsoe doesn't need a Ph.D to take the pulse of the fans and know what he and his offense are up against.
"We need to score points," he said. "We need to put the ball in the end zone, and that is what we haven't done through the first three weeks. This is a unique setting, I will say that. The loyalty of the fans here in Buffalo to this team is tremendous, and I know that they will be behind us. But at the same time, we have high expectations for this team, and we know our fans have high expectations for this team. We do need to come out and show them that we are better than what we have done in the first couple of weeks, and we intend to do that."
That will be an uphill fight. Save for that season opener last year, Bledsoe has struggled mightily against the Patriots. The Pats' defensive schemes have seemed intricate in some of those games, but their ultimate goal hasn't been. They intend to bring heat right up the middle, blocking Bledsoe's vision and making him either backpedal or drift.
As a precursor to this game, the Bills faced Oakland two weeks ago. The Raiders' new defensive coordinator, Rob Ryan, was the Pats' linebackers coach the last three seasons. Oakland brought the heat and Bledsoe was sacked seven times.
"In this league, whether it is success or failure that you are dealing with, you have to have a short memory," Bledsoe said. "My attitude, and the attitude of this team, is that we are going forward, and we are going to do everything we can to get a win this week."
If they don't, more than 78,000 fans in Buffalo will be there to let them know about it.