ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- Having opened the season with two dreadful losses, Buffalo Bills safety Donte Whitner is tired of his team already being used as a punchline.
Whitner 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 Whitner's all too familiar with the Patriots, saying their players have poked fun at the Bills during the course of 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," Whitner said. "And it happens every time we play New England."
Of course, Whitner noted, there's only one way to stop the jokes: win.
And for Whitner, 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.
