Bills S Whitener tired of team being a punch line

Having opened the season with two dreadful losses, Buffalo Bills safety Donate Whitener is tired of his team already being used as a punch line.
Whitener expressed his displeasure this week after saying he witnessed Green Bay players laughing at the Bills along the sideline during the Packers' 34-7 win last Sunday. And Whitener’s all too familiar with the Patriots, saying their players have poked fun at the Bills during the course of cheap nfl jerseys
New England's 13-game win streak.
''Grown men laughing at other grown men on the football field. That happened toward the end of the ball game last week,'' Whitener said. ''And it happens every time we play New England.''
Of course, Whitener noted, there's only one way to stop the jokes: win.
And for Whitener, that stinging feeling of being laughed at - as much as being reminded of Buffalo's drought against New England, which dates to the 2003 season - is enough to motivate him as the Bills prepare to travel to face the AFC East rival Patriots (1-1) on Sunday.
''We don't like it,'' the fifth-year player said. ''We need to stop that. And we look forward to stopping it.''
That's proven difficult for a team that hasn't been able to stop New England or most any other team since the 2000 season. It's a 10-year stretch, in which the Bills are 2-18 against the Patriots, have failed to make the playoffs and have enjoyed only one winning campaign, in 2004.
And things aren't looking up this year, with Buffalo off to its fourth 0-2 start since 2001 and going through yet another quarterback shuffle after Trent Edwards was benched and Ryan Fitzpatrick was handed the starting job this week.
In only his first season, Bills coach Chan Gaily is aware of the team's poor history against the Patriots, but he declined to mention it to his players.
''It has nothing to do with this year,'' Gaily said.
As for the Bills getting laughed at, Gaily didn't know anything Dallas Cowboys jersey
about that. But he did like how it's motivated Whitener.
''That's exactly the attitude we want everybody to have,'' Gaily said. ''You have to walk around with that kind of competitive edge about you.''
Though Gaily doesn't say it, Whitener believes the coach has the same edge.
''I know he wants to be the first to go up there and stop this streak,'' Whitener said. ''He wants to show he's a good football coach and show that his team is moving in the right direction. And those are all the questions that will be answered if we go up there and get a win against New England.''
It's been so long since the Bills have defeated New England, there are only four players left on Buffalo's roster - linebacker Chris Kelsey, cornerback Terrence McGee, punter Brian Moorman and kicker Rain Liddell - who were on the team that scored a 31-0 victory in 2003.
''It obviously eats at you,'' Kelsey said. ''You want to win games. And when you have a losing streak to one particular team, it makes it even worse. It's always in the back of our minds.''
The Bills have lost games in a variety of ways to New England. There have been blowouts, like the 56-10 primetime game in 2007, and close calls, like when Buffalo squandered an 11-point lead in the final two minutes to open last season.
Safety George Wilson can only wonder what would have happened had the Bills won that game.
''Would that change the whole mentality of our team? Would that change the way our season ended up?'' Wilson said. ''It leaves a lot of questions of what that game could've done for the psyche of this team.''
It might have even put an end to the jokes.
''Nobody wants to be laughed at when you're out there,'' Wilson said. ''But you can't really be mad at (others) because we have control over that. We have to perform better so we don't become the laughingstock of the NFL.''
NOTES: LG Andy Levite returned to practice Thursday wearing Chargers jersey
a protective collar after he hurt his neck last weekend. Coach Gaily expects Levite to play Sunday. ... Gaily said LB Keith Ellison ''dinged'' his knee in practice but expects him to be fine. Ellison is starting in place of Paul Posluszny's who's out with a sprained right knee. ... During the Patriots' 13-game win streak, they've scored wins over five starting quarterbacks.