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Bills Postgame Quotes - 12/26/2010

Buffalo Bills players comment on their 34-3 loss to the New England Patriots on Sunday, December 26, 2010.

RYAN FITZPATRICK, QB

On the impact of the number of turnovers in today's game:
They (the turnovers) killed us. I killed the team today by turning the ball over. You can't do that on any day when you play a team that is that good and that efficient on offense, it hurts you that much more. They killed us whether it was trying to get a couple yards and fumble, or trying to do too much and fumble, plus the interceptions; you just can't have them and I really hurt our football team today.

On today's loss:
It is very disappointing. It is obviously not the way we thought things would go. Not the way we hoped or expected this would go. For me it is especially tough because we had guys out there fighting, making plays and like I said too many turnovers to give us a chance today. It is going to be a tough one for me to swallow but I know everybody in there has my back just like I have theirs. We have one more week to prove we are a good football team. We still think we are but today was not our day.

On the Bills running game:
They made some adjustments in what they were doing and with their personnel defensively so we adjusted a little bit as well. We came out and ran the ball real well. I wish we would have got a touchdown on that drive rather than a field goal. Then we fell behind at the end. I mean second half we were behind enough where we had to throw. They made some adjustments personnel wise.

On coming out in the second half and pressing:
I don't know that we were pressing. The first interception I had in the second half was a bad throw. The decision was fine I just had to put it five yards outside. When you get down like and when the score gets out of hand you start pressing a little bit. We still had guys out there making plays. (WR) Naaman (Roosevelt) had a couple nice catches. (WR) David (Nelson) went down so we had to shuffle some guys around a little bit but the turnovers were the story of the game.

On the first interception (to Naaman Roosevelt):
Miscommunication between us and that is going to happen. We will look at the film to see but I thought he was doing one thing and he did another. That is on me as a quarterback to get that right and to know what he is doing and to communicate with him what I want him to do. Those things are going to happen and from there I need to rebound better and play better.

On the first fumble:
We had a bootleg called and the end didn't bite on it, ran up field, I dipped underneath the end and instead of making a one yard gain I decided to flip it out to (FB) Corey (McIntyre) but somebody hit me from behind. That is a play, just be smart, take a one yard gain and move on.

On the injury to WR David Nelson and going with three receivers:
The hardest part was that we went down to three. (WR) Donald (Jones) got dinged up on the catch he had on the sideline and we thought we were going to be down to two for a second but he ended up toughing it out and coming back to the game. That made it more difficult for us but that was obviously not the difference in the game.

On Tom Brady's streak of no interceptions:
It is a great streak. It is an amazing amount of throws and games and he is a great quarterback for a reason.

DONTE WHITNER, S

On if the Bills wanted to measure themselves against a possible Super Bowl contender:
Yeah, it wasn't even really about measuring ourselves; it was about coming out and wanting to get a win. We were feeling pretty good all week. We felt like we did the things that our coaches wanted us to do and we could come out and really get a win. We couldn't stop the run on defense, we couldn't stop the pass, we couldn't do anything on offense and we can't turn the ball over on special teams. All three phases when you do that against a good team like New England, the results are 34-3 and that's what happened. We have to bounce back and we have to go in and come out and get a win against the Jets.

On how disappointing it is to lose again to the Patriots, especially now that his contract status is up in the air:
It's very disappointing, not even worried about the contract or any of that. It was just very disappointing that we came out here and we lost. Actually, coming out and losing the way we did is very disappointing, but the men in this room will bounce back. We understand it's the last week of the season but we understand that we're trying to build something here. We have to go out and get a win. It will feel good to get at least two divisional wins this year. We have one against Miami and we can come out and get one against the Jets next week, but we're not going to get it if we come out playing the way we played today.

On if he felt that the Bills defense had to be perfect with the Patriots having no turnovers in the past six games:
I would probably say yes. It's a cat and mouse game. If you try and disguise out there against Tom Brady he understands what defense we're in as soon as a guy takes a false step he's out there checking and different things. As soon as we align in a different formation he's out there checking different things. Once they got that ground game going this is what happened. When they can run the football, use play action and throw the football, you're in for a long day on the defensive side of the football. Today we couldn't stop them in any phase and that's what happened. They did what they wanted to do.

On if he still wants to be a Buffalo Bill next season following a disappointing loss like today's:
It doesn't change anything. It's about the entire body of work. It's about the guys that I come to work with everyday; it's about the coaching staff. It's just about being around good people and I understand good people and I understand the direction that this franchise is moving under Coach Gailey. It's about the things that he preaches and the things that we do throughout the week to make me feel like this is going to be a good football team in the near future and I want to be a part of it. There is always a business side to it but I continuously state that I want to be a Buffalo Bill, I still want to be a Buffalo Bill even after today. There are some things out there that happened but one game, a few plays don't change the way I feel about wanting to stay here. I do want to stay here.

On not sending the hometown fans off with a good effort:
It wasn't even close to a good effort. It was a bad effort. We wanted to send the fans home with a great Christmas gift and we didn't do that. We actually were embarrassed today, similar to Minnesota, but the good football teams find a way to win football games and they find a way to beat good football teams and find a way to bounce back from losses. That's what we want to be. We want to be a good football team. I really, really believe that we're going to be a good football team really soon, so just hold on, we'll see.

PAUL POSLUSZNY, LB

On the Patriots not committing turnovers:
That's why they're so successful, protecting the ball the way that they do. They don't fumble and (Tom) Brady doesn't throw interceptions so it's tough to force turnovers against them.

On Patriots RB Danny Woodhead:
He's got great burst. He's able to make cuts quickly, like on that first touchdown. We gave him a little bit of room, he took off and the next thing you know, you can't catch him.

On Patriots QB Tom Brady calling audibles at the line:
A little bit of both. Especially any time they would shift in motion, whenever he would get a better idea of what kind of coverage he was in, he'd change things around. He's a veteran quarterback, a very intelligent guy and he's well-coached. So that's just something we'll have to deal with.

NAAMAN ROOSEVELT, WR

On turnovers being a problem during the game:
We need to talk about turnovers and how they can't happen, it's just a bad situation. It was what really messed up the game for us but we're going to come back next week. We just have to get ready for next week.

On if playing for the team in front of a home crowd has sunk in yet:
No. The loss sunk in, though. We were out there practicing hard all week, the guys all practiced hard and we were definitely motivated and excited for this week. So to come out like this, we gave it our all but we came out on the bad end of it. We're definitely hurting.

On if he thinks he's proving himself in the league:
I just want to do anything to help the team out. Making plays at wide receiver or on special teams, anything to help the team out. You have to stay confident, especially in this league, you have to stay confident. If you're not confident, you're not going to make plays. So, just stay confident and continue to get better and help the team out.

On bouncing back after dropping a pass early in the game:
It definitely hurt, not getting that play. I just wanted to keep my head up, stay focused and remember that it's a long game and get it out of your mind and just play football.

On if anything felt different about his play today:
Not really, I just wanted to make plays. If I get a chance to make a play, I try to do it.

KYLE WILLIAMS, NT

On the Patriots run game:
The past couple weeks we've played teams that are power teams that come right at you. Today, these guys (the Patriots) mixed that in, but it was a lot of that zone, trying to get you running so they can find a lane and cut back. That's what they did and they killed us with it.

On why the Patriots were able to be so successful on the ground:
They've got good vision. They're good at finding the lane. When they get you up and running, they're good at finding the cut back lane or staying outside and running it out. The thing with (Danny) Woodhead, he can sneak back in there and he's tough to find. And Tom (Brady) does a good job of recognizing what he thinks we're going to do and he'll change the play. He'll change the play where he thinks we're going to be short a man or wherever he thinks the weakness in the defense is.

On if he's disappointed with the outcome of the game:
Absolutely. I didn't think it would be like that. When you play those guys, you have to be prepared to play. And to beat those guys, it takes a little bit more. I didn't think it would be like that. You can chalk it up to turnovers but if we didn't get turnovers and we let them run all over the place, we're not going to win any games.

On what he thinks the game today says about the team:
I think it shows we have a ways to go. But I'm not scared of the work that's ahead of us. It just stunk. Every time you throw a stinker like that, it's bad.

On if the Patriots offensive line used an unusual amount of double teams today:
Not necessarily. In that zone scheme, they are just trying to get you up and running and cut if off the back of you if you're in your gap. When they're running that stuff, it just takes one of us to be in the wrong spot and they'll crease you. And they did. They did a good job of running the play action off of it and letting him (Brady) throw the ball when they needed to.

On Patriots LG Logan Mankins:
I think he's a good player. You don't get on that team and win Super Bowls and Pro Bowls without being a good player. So, I think with him there, he definitely brings something to the table for them as far as leadership and just being a good player.

C.J. SPILLER, RB

On if the multiple turnovers cost the Bills the game:
Oh without a doubt. You can't win any games turning the ball over. That was probably my worst game that I've ever played. Putting the ball on the ground three times, losing two of them, putting the team in bad situations. It was a tough day out there today.

On if the weather was a factor today, especially on the fumbled punt:
No, (I) just dropped the ball. It kind of fell a little shorter on me than what I thought. The saying is if it hits your hands you've got to catch it, and it touched my finger tips and I just put it down and saw them recover it.

On if he was excited about the game plan knowing that he'd be featured as a receiver:
Not just me, the whole offense. The coaches did a good job of putting the game plan together and we were excited about how we could execute and the things we could take advantage of. We just shot ourselves in the foot.

On if he is taking this loss hard:
Without a doubt. I put my team in bad situations. Coming off some good games I really thought today, especially in special teams, that we could take advantage of them, considering what happened the first time we played them. There were some good things (that game) and we just didn't do it.

On if being a high first round draft pick adds pressure to how he performs:
Well yeah, you know I've gotten a couple of hatred emails throughout this week, but that's part of it. Right now it's just some growing pains for me, but it's all about how you respond. I'll come in tomorrow, ready to go and look at the film, there won't be too much positive stuff to look at from my stand point. (Then) move on to the Jets and get ready for this last game.

On how the difficult it was to handle punts with the weather today:
It was kind of tougher than what I thought it was going to be. The wind played a huge factor, but that's something that I knew. I knew going into the game that the wind was going to play a factor into it. There were a lot of times that I made the fair catch signal but I didn't catch the ball because of how the wind was carrying it. The one that I dropped, there is no excuse for that one. I really thought we had a good return set up and just put it down.

On getting hate emails:
Oh yeah, I get a couple. I always do after a bad game.

On if people are expecting too much being that he is a rookie:
Maybe so but (when) you're a football player you can't get caught up in that. This is my first year. We played, what, 15 games now so I'm accustomed to the NFL. Like I said this is probably the worst game I've ever played in, me personally that I've played.

STEVE JOHNSON. WR

On how important it is for the Bills to end their season on a high note by beating the Jets:
We're looking to win, period. I mean you can call it a championship game (for us), we know it's not but we're still going down there to spoil their season also. We have had a bad (season) and if they do lose (today), yeah we'll be looking to play the spoiler.

On if playing the spoiler role is motivation:
Yeah definitely, not even just playing the spoiler but just what we showed out here with our home fans. (It's) just motivation to go out there and show them that that's not the last you'll see of your Buffalo Bills. We want to come out stronger than that.

On if the Patriots surprised the Bills offense with any different coverages:
No, they actually did everything that we thought they would do. We watched film on them and they did everything that we thought, so it was nothing different. We just kept shooting ourselves in the foot.

On how proud he is to have accomplished 1,000 yards receiving this season:
Individually, just looking back on the season, it's pretty cool, that you can get 1,000 yards; any receiver would love to have 1,000, so I think that's pretty cool. That's all individual though. We all know that this is a team game and you couldn't do it without anybody else, without the line, running backs, without the defense getting to balls. It's a good thing individually but overall we didn't get the win so it's not too good for me.

On if today's loss is a step back:
I mean it hurts. I don't want to say that it's a step back, because we know the team that we have and I still don't think (the Patriots) stopped us, we stopped ourselves. That's pretty much how it is. We still have this one last game and we can still show our fans what the Bills are all about.

FRED JACKSON, RB

On if it's frustrating to watch a team that has a good offense:
It is. Especially when you feel like you can move the ball against them. Any time you leave your defense on the field, you're playing right into the hands of a great offense like that. We didn't do enough to help our defense with turnovers and killing drives with penalties. On offense we felt like we didn't get stopped by them, we felt like we stopped ourselves. And anytime you do that, you're not helping your cause when you're playing a team like the Patriots.

On what changed during the game to limit the amount of running plays called:
The score. Any time you get down by 14 or 21 points, you know you're not going to run the ball as much. I think that played a primary role in that more than anything. We can't get down like that, have turnovers and put ourselves in bad situations like that.

On if he's sick of losing to the Patriots:
You're definitely not where you want to be if you're losing to someone 15 games in a row. It's something that we're not going to hang our season on it but we have to be able to beat them if we want to win the division. We're aware of it and we have to go in, correct the mistakes and stop hurting ourselves.

On if it was frustrating to miss out on an opportunity to prove what the team is capable of:
More than anything. That's exactly what it is. We felt like this was a good chance for us to go out and show everybody what we've been doing – then we got out there and played like that. More than anything, we have to use it as self-motivation and not come out and play like this next week. We're playing another good team and it's another good opportunity to come out and show what we can do. We don't want to lose like this two weeks in a row.

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