Archives for November 2008

‘”I definitely feel more comfortable after that (game) especially after taking the wrap off,” said McGee. “I was kind of hesitant about it, but after coming through the game and it feeling good, I feel comfortable about moving on.”‘

‘The Molson Ultimate Tailgate activities will include a Hall of Fame exhibit directly from Canton, Ohio, interactive games area, Jills cheerleaders, Billy Buffalo the Bills mascot, souvenir photo opportunities, numerous vendor displays, giveaways and a food and concessions village.’

‘Roscoe Parrish and Josh Reed do the same job in the most different way imaginable. With the utilitarian Reed still absent last Sunday, Parrish tried to do a little possession receiving against the New England Patriots in his team’s 20-10 loss; still, the speediest Buffalo Bills wideout remains dreadfully underused. It’s going to take extraordinary measures to ever get him truly going, and luckily one drastic tactic that’s quickly becoming ordinary may as well have been designed with him in mind.’

‘When will I learn not to overreact when the Bills get off to a hot start?’

‘Once again, the offensive line did not get the job done. The front five did open some holes and gave quarterback Trent Edwards time to throw on several occasions, but there were too many times when running backs Marshawn Lynch and Fred Jackson were met in the backfield by Patriots defenders. Edwards got hit often and was forced to get rid of the ball before he wanted to because of pressure.’

‘"There were some plays that I watched on tape that were very uncharacteristic of me and I need to fix those," Edwards said on Monday. "I think we’re just in a little bit out of a place right now and we need to fix things really quickly."’

‘This is what happened – they’re not as good as we thought they were when they were beating the weak sisters like Seattle, St. Louis and Oakland. We’ll get hammered by some readers for waffling like this, but I guess we deserve it. We should have known better. We overlooked the fact that this roster isn’t a whole lot different than last year when they underwhelmed us with a 7-9 record.’

‘I’m not buying some speculation that Edwards has not fully recovered from his concussion. I don’t believe the Bills would play him unless he was 100 percent recovered. But he could be suffering from a shortage of confidence.’

‘One of the problems is that the Bills have faced nothing but 3-4 defenses the past four games, and they have not figured out a way to attack that scheme. Of course, it’s never easy against Bill Belichick because the Patriots look like a 3-4 when the ball is snapped, but they use so many different wrinkles off that alignment, and Edwards admitted it was tough for him to get comfortable.’

‘In the brief career of QB Trent Edwards, this was one of his worst performances, and certainly the worst on a good-weather day. His passer rating was 49.2. He completed just 13 of 23 passes for 120 yards, his lowest yardage total in a game in which he played the whole way. The Patriots did a great job of taking WR Lee Evans out of the game, and no one else stepped up to fill the void. Roscoe Parrish had four catches for 31 yards to lead the way in both categories. Pass protection was barely average, and Edwards was sacked twice.’

‘Evans has never had any success against Bill Belichick and the Patriots. In eight career games against New England, he has only 16 receptions, only one of which has gone for more than 20 yards, and he has not scored.’

‘No semblance of a running game, which is #1, but also, and not necessarily 2nd in the order of importance, is the fact the Bills are unable to mount any kind of pressure on the opposing quarterback. Because of that, the Bills defense isn’t forcing turnovers, and in all 3 losses to division opponents, the Bills have lost the turnover battle.’

‘All of Buffalo’s recent blemishes were on display.’

‘The team that so tantalized us the first month of the season has completely unraveled.’