Belichick checkmates Bledsoe again

By Rick Anderson

Bills quarterback Drew Bledsoe felt the heat all day from his ex-teammates. Here Richard Seymour comes in on the Bills quarterback, forcing Bledsoe to throw one of his 4 interceptions.

[AP Photo/Elise Amendola]

Bill Belichick didn't think twice about Drew Bledsoe coming back and haunting him twice a year when he traded his quarterback to the Buffalo Bills. He knew that he could devise schemes to keep him in check and also knew that he had a way of getting into opposing quarterbacks' heads. Belichick was the one who devised schemes to stop Doug Flutie after he had taken the league by storm. Now he has put Bledsoe in checkmate in two meetings this year between the Bills and the New England Patriots.

The Patriots routed the Bills in Bledsoe's Boston homecoming, 27-17. It could have been worse if the Pats didn't have 3 touchdowns called back because of penalties. As it was, Belichick once again was in Bledsoe's head as the Bills quarterback had a miserable day despite his impressive 328 yards. The Pats picked off 4 of Bledsoe's passes and ripped the ball from Bills receiver Peerless Price on another occasion for a 5th turnover. The turnovers were the difference in this game.

Tom Brady, the Pats quarterback who replaced Bledsoe last year and led them to the Super Bowl, once again out-dueled his former mentor. Brady and Bledsoe both threw for two scores, but Brady was perfect where turnovers were concerned. Brady completed only 15 out of 27 passes for 183 yards.

Bledsoe miserable homecoming

Bledsoe went out with his former teammates the night before the contest. His former comrades wined and dined Drew and Bledsoe's play was haphazard the next day. Certainly it wasn't the result of the evening before, but Bledsoe just couldn't find the desire for revenge from the first embarrassing loss to the Pats in the first game. Instead, Bledsoe threw it up 4 times for grabs and the Pats came up with it.

"Every game I've ever played I've taken personally, this one more than most,'' admitted Bledsoe. "With the turnovers, it falls heavily on my shoulders.''

The Pats attacked Bledsoe ferociously, coming at it from all sides. He was sacked twice, but the constant pressure forced Bledsoe to rush some passes. Four of them he wished he could have back.

"We figured we could put pressure in his face instead of around the edges,'' said Patriots cornerback Otis Smith, who took away the ball from Peerless Price on one crucial play.

Brady Bowl II

Brady had much better control of the game than Bledsoe. Like in the first meeting of the two former teammates and competitors for the Pats QB job, Brady was the calm and collected field general. On the very first play of the game, he aired it out to Deion Branch for 41 yards. That set up a 39-yard Adam Vinatieri field goal.

Brady led the Pats down the field the next time they had the ball again. His short passes along with runs by former Bill Antowain Smith led the way to a 10-yard pass from Brady to David Patten, making it 10-0.

Then Bledsoe had his first pass picked off and the Pats were in business again. Anthony Pleasant got his hands on a Bledsoe pass and Richard Seymour picked it off returning it down to the Bills 9. Brady hit Donald Hayes in the endzone and the Pats were up 17-0.

Brady's Patriots dominated the Bills defense so much that they scored on all 4 of their first half drives. If it weren't for two penalties on touchdown passes, the Pats would have had a 28-0 halftime lead.

Three killer plays

Play of the Game! Patriots cornerback Otis Smith rips the ball f rom the grasp of Peerless Price, giving the Pats the ball on the Bills 28. New England went on to score, taking a 27-10 lead.

[AP Photo/Stephan Savoia]

Let's start in the second quarter with Bad call Number 1. The Bills are down 17-0, but have a second and goal on the Patriot 1 yard line. Travis Henry had fumbled the play before, but it was recovered by Mike Williams. The Bills send in a play that calls for Bledsoe to roll out. Bad mistake. Bledsoe is not an accurate passer while on the run. That should have been obvious from previous games when he threw interceptions while avoiding being sacked.

Bledsoe takes the snap and rolls right. He is chased backwards by the blitzing Pats and quickly throws a dart into the endzone. With no Bills receiver in sight, it went straight into the hands of the waiting Tebucky Jones, who then went down for the touchback.

"That's the way we had it planned," put in Bledsoe about the decision to roll out and pass, "and so that's what we did."

"It's a bootleg designed for me to get outside a little bit," continued Bledsoe. "Dave was covered, and Phil was covered in the flat. At one point during practice, I'd throw that to Dave where he'd come back (for the ball). I tried to make that play, but I was too deep and didn't get enough on the ball. It ended up being a really ugly play. I should have just thrown it out of the end zone."

Bad call Number 2. In the third quarter, the Bills got into the redzone again, but had a 4th and 1 at the Patriots 9. Being down 20-0, you go for it, right? Wrong. Bills coach Gregg Williams has not had the guts to make such a call recently. He went for the safe 3 points, when a touchdown would have gotten the Bills within 2 strikes of taking the lead.

Blunder Number 3. The fumble occurred just after the fourth quarter began with the Pats up 20-10 and the Bills looking like they might make a game of it. Bledsoe made a nice pass to Price up the middle at the Buffalo 28. As Price was going down, Otis Smith ripped the ball from Price's grasp and the Pats had it deep in the Bills zone. A few plays later and the Pats scored their final touchdown and the rest was history.

Bills stage mini comeback

The Bills did stage a comeback in the second half when Bledsoe hit Eric Moulds on a 12-yard touchdown pass, making it 20-10. But then Price had his timely fumble and the Pats made it 27-10 before the Bills scored very late in the game when Moulds made a sensational one-handed grab in the corner of the endzone. It appeared as if Moulds gloves had velcro on them as he leaped high and brought it down with one hand.

"We came out with some spirit and fire in the second half, but we weren't able to make up for our mistakes,'' said Bills coach Gregg Williams.

Once again the Bills fell right into the Belichick trap. On defense, Brady and the Pats tore apart the Bills secondary in the first half when the Pats went for the long ball instead of the swing passes like they had in the first game. The Bills could not get any pressure on Brady, who was not sacked once and he had all the time in the world to find his receivers.

Belichick defensed the Bills by having two defensive backs deep, dictating a short aerial game for Bledsoe. Then they turned up the heat on Bledsoe with the blitz and Belichick's plan worked as well as it did in game 1. Buckley admitted that the Pats were running the same exact plays the Bills ran in their mock practice of the Bills offense. Predicting what the Bills will do has become a science that Belichick has mastered and employed on Buffalo since January 1991.

Bills Talk

Bledsoe had circled the calendar with a bright red magic marker when he found out the Bills schedule earlier this year. The two games with the Patriots were his Number 1 priority in his football career. The only thing was that Belichick circled the same dates and he circled the wagons on Bledsoe, time and time again.

Terrell Buckley steps in front of Peerless Price, who is being hit by Lawyer Milloy (36), during the 4th quarter.

[AP Photo/Stephan Savoia]

"Every game I've ever played I've taken personally, this one more than most,'' admitted Bledsoe. "With the turnovers, it falls heavily on my shoulders.''

Bledsoe got a big welcome back from the fans prior to the game. But he would have preferred giving them some displeasure during the game.

"It's frustrating," said Bledsoe. "It's nice to be appreciated back here, but certainly not the way I envisioned it. I wanted to walk off that field victorious."

Bledsoe's teammates also were feeling crestfallen that they couldn't get Drew at least one win against his former team.

"I feel sorry for Drew because it turned out like this, but we all reaped the outcome," put in Bills offensive guard Marques Sullivan.

Bledsoe went to Larry Centers 5 times for 42 yards. It may have been wise to employ both Centers and Henry more than they did.

"I'm a little surprised he struggled so much," suggested Centers. "But we're not the Buffalo Bledsoes. It's not a one-man show. Any time in any team sport, when one area is sagging the other areas have to step it up. We didn't get it done as a team."

The Patriot who Bledsoe took all his snaps from for years found it strange to see Bledsoe playing against him.

"It feels weird,'' said Pats center Damien Woody. "I think the trade worked out well for both teams. It certainly worked out for us.''

Brady didn't want to gloat over beating his former teacher about beating him twice this season.

"Once the game starts, I don't even think about it,'' articulated Brady. "I am always enjoying when the team is picking the other quarterback over.''

Copyright © 2002 Bills Thunder & Rick Anderson, all rights reserved.