A forgettable Bills decade is coming to a sad conclusion

ORCHARD PARK - Following Sunday’s 17-10 loss to New England at the Ralph, Bills wide receiver Terrell Owens told us: “This is not the brand of Buffalo Bills football that I think these fans are used to.’’

Au contraire, T.O.

Au contraire.

Owens has only been here for one mediocre season, so he can be forgiven for not knowing that Bills fans are intimately familiar with this lousy brand of football – and have been for a decade.

This defeat – the 13th straight vs. the Patriots and 18th in 19 games in the series – dropped the Bills to 5-9 and officially eliminated them from playoff contention, meaning that for the first time in the franchise’s 50-year history Buffalo will have gone an entire decade without a playoff appearance. That’s right. They are zero-for-the-aughts – and the 21st century.

The Patriots team that took the field Sunday did not play like the jaugernaut Bills fans had grown accustomed to seeing for much of this decade. Riddled by injuries and lacking the swagger and experience they possessed while winning three Super Bowls, Tom Brady’s bunch looked vulnerable, ready to be had. But even during a transition year like this one, New England showed it’s good enough to continue beating Buffalo the way the Harlem Globetrotters used to beat the Washington Generals. Like a drum.

Brady didn’t play like the quarterback who has a bust awaiting him in Canton. He came to town with a 14-1 record, 32 touchdowns, just 11 interceptions and a 102.6 pass efficiency rating vs. Buffalo. He left the two-thirds-full Ralph with a 15-1 record against the Bills, but his numbers – 11-for-23, 115 yards, 1 TD, 1 pick, a 59.1 rating – were very Fitzpatrick-like. In fact, Ryan Fitzpatrick, who should be a permanent backup, tallied better numbers than Tom Terrific, completing 17-of-25 passes for 178 yards, a score, an interception and an 85.1 rating.

The Bills, obviously in a holiday mood, gave the Patriots two big gifts. Both of New England’s touchdowns were set up by pass interference penalties – a 43-yarder vs. safety Donte Whitner that led to Randy Moss’ 13-yard scoring reception with 2:22 left into the second quarter and a 21-yarder vs. Drayton Florence that paved the way for Laurence Maroney’s 1-yard scoring run with 24 seconds left in the half. Interestingly, on both interference calls, Brady, who’s been nursing sore ribs and a sore finger on his throwing hand, under threw his targets.

Buffalo kept the officials busy throughout the day, drawing 11 flags for 124 yards. The Bills started their eighth different offensive line combo of the season, and it showed as the Patriots – despite missing nose tackle Vince Wilfork and defensive end Ty Warren – sacked Bills quarterbacks six times. Rich Incognito, who practiced with the team for the first time Thursday was supposed to add some toughness to the O-line, was nabbed for two holding calls in his Bills debut.

Once again, Buffalo’s offense had difficulties sustaining drives. The Bills converted just 2-of-12 third downs. Both of those occurred on the Bills first drive, which was capped by Rian Lindell’s 25-yard field goal. They are now 6-for-35 on third-down conversions the past three games, solidifying their standing as worst in the league in that all-important category.

Owens’ grasp of the football wasn’t much better than his grasp of Bills history. He managed just two receptions for 20 yards, leaving him two shy of 1,000 receptions for his career. And he lost the duel of the diva receivers to Moss. A week after snatching just one pass and being accused by some Carolina Panther players of quitting during the game, Moss caught five passes for 70 yards and one score. It was hardly a Hall-of-Fame performance, but you would have thought so listening to Moss’ bluster at his post-game news conference. “These shoulders I have on my body, you could put the earth on it,’’ Moss said. “Just to let you know, I bounce back. I appreciate it.’’ And with that, he bolted out of the room without taking any questions.

Though he put up better numbers than he had the previous two weeks when he failed to pass for 100 yards in either game, Fitzpatrick showed once more that he isn’t the answer. The offense was so inept after the opening drive that interim coach Perry Fewell put deposed starter Trent Edwards into the game with 13:14 left in the fourth quarter. The results were disastrous. Edwards was sacked on his first play for a 10-yard loss. Fortunately, for him, the play was nullified by a facemask penalty. Edwards proceeded to throw a pass to Shawn Nelson for a loss of one. He then threw an incomplete pass and was sacked for a 9-yard loss, forcing the Bills to punt. Fitzpatrick was back in for the next series.

Which begs once again the question: Why isn’t Brian Brohm playing? Now that the Bills have officially been eliminated, it’s time to put the quarterback in there and see what he has. And it’s time to play receivers James Hardy and Steve Johnson. Evaluations for next season need to be made.

New coach "Fewells'' Bills victory vs. Dolphins

ORCHARD PARK – I’m not ready to call off the Bills’ head-coaching search.

I’m not ready to remove the “interim’’ tag from the front of Perry Fewell’s title after just two games.

But I do like what I see from the new guy so far.

And apparently so do his players, who rapidly have become a reflection of their new coach.

Just as the Bills of the past three-years-and-change took on Dick Jauron’s play-not-to-lose, ultra-conservative personality, the Bills of the past two weeks have wholeheartedly adopted Fewell’s enthusiastic, let’s-play-to-win personality.

It didn’t quite work out for them in their fourth-quarter fade last Sunday against Jacksonville, but it worked out marvelously in Sunday’s 31-14 victory against the Miami Dolphins at the Ralph.

This win – which was iced with a 24-0 finishing kick in the final 15 minutes – emphatically, underscored the stark contrast between Fewell and his predecessor.

With 3:35 to go and the score knotted at 14, Fewell rolled the dice. Eschewing the punt (the safe decision; the one that Jauron would have made), Fewell sent in Rian Lindell to attempt a 56-yard field goal. He had missed a 44-yarder earlier in the game, but his coach had faith. And, yes, he knew the repercussions of a miss – the Dolphins would have new life and the ball on their 48-yard-line.

“It was on the cusp of his range,’’ Fewell explained. “He had missed the one earlier and I said to him, ‘Rian, we’re going to need you again.’ It was a gut feeling. I had confidence in him.’’

Confidence no doubt bolstered by watching Lindell connect consistently from that distance in pre-game warm-ups.

Lindell rewarded his coach’s faith with the longest field goal of his career.

“I knew the ramifications,’’ Fewell said. “But I thought at that point in time we could turn the tide.’’

That wasn’t the end of Fewell’s risk-taking.

On the Dolphins next possession, Bills cornerback Drayton Florence intercepted a Chad Henne pass returning it seven yards to Buffalo’s 49 with 2:31 remaining. Most coaches would have run the ball in an attempt to milk the clock. Not Fewell. He had preached aggressiveness all week to his players. If there was an opportunity to make a big play, he wanted them to take it.

On the first play following Florence’s pick, Bills quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick noticed that Terrell Owens was being single-covered. Fitzpatrick immediately audibled and lofted a 51-yard touchdown pass down the right sidelines to T.O.

Buffalo 24, Miami 14.

Ballgame.

Donte Whitner picked off another Henne pass on the Dolphins next possession, and the Bills added a seven-yard touchdown run by Fred Jackson to complete the scoring, but the knockout blow clearly was Fitzpatrick’s bomb to Owens.

“I loved it,’’ Fewell said. “I told (Ryan) you have some big gonads, and I told him as long as he keeps hitting them, keep throwing them.’’

Fewell, 47, spent 29 years focusing on defense. He played defensive back in college and has coached on that side of the ball during his 13 seasons at the college level and his 12 seasons in the NFL, the past five with Buffalo.

So, you might expect him to play it close to the vest offensively, so as not to put his injury-riddled defense in tough situations. But Fewell has proven to have some big, um, guts, too, when it comes to going for it. And although his specialty is defense, he realizes as the head guy, he needs to coach the entire team, not just part of it.

“I told those guys (on offense) that I have confidence in them,’’ he said. “I’ve been over there in the huddle with them in practice. I look them in the eye. I believe in them, and so we’re just working together right now. I think we have good skilled players on the outside (T.O. and fellow wide receiver Lee Evans) and I think that if we get our playmakers the ball then we have the opportunity to score points, so that’s what we’re doing right now.’’

It’s no coincidence that T.O. has 14 catches for 293 yards and two long scores in the past two games after making just 26 receptions for 366 yards and 1 touchdown in his first 9 games.

T.O.’s revival has much to do with the change at quarterback and the change in philosophy – each attributable to the new head coach.

Fitzpatrick isn’t the Bills quarterback of the future, but he is a noticeable improvement over the skittish Trent Edwards. The guy from Harvard completed 17-of-26 passes for 246 yards and a score, and also gained 50 yards on seven carries, one of his totes resulting in a 31-yard touchdown, the longest TD ramble ever by a Bills QB. And don’t forget, Fitzpatrick achieved this playing behind a patch-work offensive line that did a weak job protecting him – yielding six sacks and numerous pressures.

Fewell also deserves credit for the decision to make Jackson, not Marshawn Lynch, the featured back. Like Lindell, T.O., Fitzpatrick and a bunch of other Bills, Jackson rewarded his coach’s belief in him with a solid all-around game Sunday – 15 carries, 73 yards, 2 scores; 5 receptions, 43 yards, and 20.3 yards on three kickoff returns.

Again, I’m not calling for Ralph Wilson to cancel the search. I’d still like to see the Bills owner bring in a head coach with a proven track record.

But I’m beginning to think that Fewell may have the leadership skills and the intestinal fortitude necessary to be a head coach in this league. And that’s “head coach” without the interim tag.

It's time for Bills to force the issue and go deep

I've grown tired listening to Trent Edwards and Lee Evans and Dick Jauron and everybody else at One Bills Drive drone on about the limited number of opportunities they've had to throw the ball deep. Hey, sometimes you have to make your own opportunities and do the dictating rather than allowing the defense to dictate what you do. Both Evans and Terrell Owens are receiving a king's ransom to be playmakers. So chuck the freaking football down the field a few more times a game and see if they can make plays the way other receivers in this league do.

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At this anemic pace, the Bills not-so-dynamic-duo of Owens and Evans will finish with a combined total of 70 receptions for 992 yards and 10 touchdowns.

Contrast that with last season when T.O. had 69 receptions for 1,052 yards and 10 scores for the Dallas Cowboys, while Evans had 63 receptions for 1,017 yards and 3 TDs for Buffalo.

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I get the feeling that the volcano that is Owens isn't going to remain dormant much longer. Another reception-less game might just result in a sea of lava-like invective - either in the post-game news conference or on Twitter.

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If I were Owens, I would have been ticked to see my consecutive-games receiving streak end the way it did last week. And how dumb was that of Trent to say he wasn't aware of the streak? There's obviously little chemistry between these two.

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Could someone please tell me why Jauron decided to punt on fourth down with less than a minute to go and his team trailing the Chargers by 20? You can't tell me punter Brian Moorman needed the work.

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I love Chicago and would love to see the 2016 Olympics staged in the Windy City, but I think Rio de Janeiro should be awarded the Games. After all, South America has never hosted the Olympics, and we have numerous times. The rings on the Olympic flag symbolize the continents, so I think it's about time the southern hemisphere gets to strut its stuff.

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I thought that was really cool of the Lions' players to return to the field and high-five their long-suffering fans after ending their 19-game losing streak.

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I'm not making this up: Several members of the Nippon Hamfighters of the Japanese Baseball League have come down with the swine flu.

Owens certainly knows how to create a stir

Got my first taste of T.O. mania last night at St. John Fisher College, and I must admit it was a sight to see - and hear.

The instant Terrell Owens emerged from the locker room (surprise, surprise - he was the last Bills player to make his way onto the field), a cereal-box waving, liquored-up group of college-aged students began chanting his name.

One of them held up a sign reading: THE PANDEMONIUM THEOREM - T.E. + T.O. = TD. (Intepretation, Trent Edwards to you-know-who equals six points.)

Owens grinned and soaked it all in as he sauntered across the turf oh, so slowly.

He made a point of doing his stretching not far from his adoring fans, which included three bare-chested teenage boys, who had painted the letters "T'' "O'' "U'' on their respective torsos.

One of the leather lungs, obviously auditioning for time on Owen's reality show, bellowed that he had eaten his T.O. cereal for breakfast, lunch and dinner and added that "they were delicious!''

I couldn't help but notice the narcissistic synergy between star athlete and the vocal cheering session. I don't know who was seeking more attention - the player or the fans.

Cynicism aside, I can honestly say that in 10 years of journeying to Bills training camp at Fisher I've never seen a player create a buzz quite like this. Even Doug Flutie, the original cereal inspirer, didn't evoke a response this crazy. (It should, though, be pointed out, that nothing equals the hysteria surrounding Jim Kelly's arrival at Fredonia back in the summer of 1986.)

Of course, we'll see how long this mutual narcissism society lasts. Bills fans must hope that pandemonium theorem is valid.

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New York Daily News pro football columnist and former SU classmate Gary Myers doesn't think much of the Bills-Owens connection. In his Sunday column he wrote:

"T.O. will be absolutely miserable in Buffalo despite the chicken wings at the Anchor Bar. Here's why Owens is in Buffalo: Nobody else wanted him. Can't wait to see him standing by himself on the sidelines at The Ralph in mid-November with the Bills hopelessly out of the playoffs and icicles forming on Owens' nose as the wind whips at 40 mph. It's not going to be pretty.''

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So, I ask you: Is Brett "Flip-Flop'' Favre retired for good, or just for today?

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I think the Michael Vick-New England Patriots connection makes sense because Bill Belichick doesn't cater to stars (except, of course, his meal ticket, Tom Brady). He'd demand that Vick be on the straight and narrow, and he'd have no problem showing him the door if he's not.

And Belichick, always the innovator, undoubtedly would find creative ways to utilize Vick's unique football skills.

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It's hard to fathom how Chicago White Sox pitcher Mark Buehrle could follow up a perfect game with six more perfect innings last night. For him to retire a major-league record 45 batters in a row is mind-boggling.

But Buehrle wasn't able to celebrate his achievement because the Minnesota Twins wound ruining his bid for an unprecedented second straight perfect game and saddling him with a loss.

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A huge "thank you'' to my hometown of Rome (New York, not Italy) for inducting me into its sports hall of fame last weekend. They included us in their "Honor America Days'' parade on Saturday (they had more bands and floats than the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade) and they staged a plaque-hanging ceremony at their museum on Sunday and a banquet later in the day.

Rome boasts the only municipal sports museum in the state, and it's very impressive. I highly recommend it for any sports or museum buffs out there. It's located on the west side of the city, next door to the Erie Canal Village, which you also should check out. (Rome was where construction of America's most famous canal began back in 1817.)

As I said in my acceptance speech, "I may have left Rome long ago, but the values of Rome never left me.'' I'll always have a special place in my heart for my hometown.

I'm taking a time out from T.O.'s show

Perhaps it’s a sign of aging and the crankiness that accompanies it, but I opted for retrospectives rather than the so-called new “reality’’ on Tuesday evening.

I chose to watch replays of man landing on the moon 40 years ago instead of the launching of Terrell Owens’ new show on VH-1.

And from what friends, colleagues and total strangers have told me, I made the right television decision.

Yes, I know T.O. has created a buzz among playoff-starved Bills fans, and that’s a good thing. And I was on board with the signing of the receiver with the penchant for self-promotion and catching touchdown passes.

But I really have little interest in watching another self-indulgent athlete profess he is “The Eighth Wonder of the World’’ or that “There’s not much that doesn’t look good on me.’’

And as one of the seven million Americans who lost his job in the past year, I can do without scenes of an athlete spending $137,000 on some diamond-studded earrings. More power to you, Terrell. Go knock yourself out. But those of us struggling to make mortgage and tuition payments don’t need to have it flaunted in our faces.

I’m told that the two beautiful women assigned to keep T.O. on the straight and narrow said they were using the show to rebuild Terrell’s image. Puhlease. This is all about building bank accounts, not images.

Of course, the media and fan frenzy is expected to reach a fever pitch Friday when the Eighth Wonder shows up for the opening of Bills training camp at St. John Fisher College.

Sadly, ESPN, that self-important organization which fancies itself as the be-all and end-all in sports journalism, will be following T.O.’s every move this season, as if, somehow, his decision to put marmalade on his English muffin was somehow as important as Obama’s decisions about health care reform and the war in Afghanistan.

It’s times like these, when I’m happy I’m no longer a full-fledged sportswriter. It’s times like these when I realize how silly our society can be.

New reality?

Let’s be real.