Archives for November 25, 2008

‘”He’s our best offensive playmaker,” said Bills quarterback Trent Edwards. “We need to get him the ball to get our offense to go.”‘

‘”Coming in, they said, ‘Look, it’s Devin Hester,’ ” McKelvin said. “I was the number-one corner drafted. They expected me to come in and probably take over the starting job. I came in here, I was learning, I came in and played. The other guys, they stepped it up, they did their job… I feel like I was just going to learn from the things I do on the field and then what they do on the field, and just continue my growth.”‘

‘The other proud moment came after a play, not during, it, although it began with some confusion over the issue: Oblivious of the whistle, Lynch did spring up and try to gain more yards after being ruled down about five minutes into the fourth, leading to safety Bernard Pollard’s unnecessary roughness penalty as he accordingly hit the prominent rusher. That’s when center Duke Preston earned the approval of every Bills fans everywhere. Preston responded by mildly freaking out, initiating physical contact with the Kansas City safety and speaking to him forcefully, likely about his questionable personal character or maybe his ancestry.’

‘There is no official statistic for running backs gaining yards after contact, but if there were, Lynch and Jackson would be among the leaders.’

‘Why would they expose Edwards to potential injury in a blowout?’

‘”We haven’t won too many games [recently],” Edwards said after the game. “It’s nice when it comes to the fourth quarter, and we can sit back and take it all in and relax.”‘

‘Two books published in time for the 2008 season offer reminiscence about the league that existed from 1960 to ’69 before the AFL-National Football League merger was consummated in 1970. Both books have a Western New York connection. The first, “The Birth of the New NFL – How the 1966 AFL/NFL Merger Transformed Pro Football” comes from a familiar voice – longtime Buffalo News sports editor, columnist and Bills beat reporter Larry Felser.’

‘”Some rookies are more mature than others,” Fewell said. “It’s a matter of us continuing to train and train him until it sticks so it transfers from practice to the ball games. The talent level is there, it’s the when, what, where and why.”‘

‘If Buffalo clinches a playoff berth, I’ll be impressed and I’ll say so. Until then, this team is just another in a long line of ho-hum clubs that talked a good game and didn’t get it done.’

‘”That’s what it says on the schedule. We’re playing in Toronto, and the less you think about that and the less you complain about that, the better,” Edwards said. “We’re not playing at home and it’s a good environment to play in and I know the Bills fans will show up. There’s going to be more Bills fans than Dolphins fans, so we have that going for us. Obviously, we’re not playing in Buffalo. It’s going to be a tough divisional game for us that we’re going to need to win. Hopefully, the Toronto Bills fans will show up for us.”‘

‘”I don’t know the future, I really don’t know what it’s going to be like,” Edwards said when asked what he says to Buffalo football fans who express concern about the Bills’ remaining in Buffalo. “Honestly, I’m just a player, I’m just a part of this mix. They pay me to play football and not to comment on things like that. As of right now we’re the Buffalo Bills.”‘

‘”Unfortunately we’re going to have to take the long bus ride in two weeks up here and deal with the border patrol,” Edwards said. “That’s what it says on the schedule, we play in Toronto and the less you think about that and the less you complain about that, the better. I think that were more concerned with making the playoffs and beating the Niners next week.”‘

‘”You know the thing that’s impressed me the most about him?” Royal said. “It hasn’t been his game, it’s been the way he talks. He’s straight got that country talk. He’ll come up in here talking about” – and with this, Royal delves into a parlance straight out of “The Beverly Hillbillies” – “‘Hey y’all!'”‘

‘What Jauron won’t say is that he didn’t trust McKelvin then, but over the past month, the 11th overall pick out of Troy has made big strides, and he’s now a player the Bills can count on.’