Archives for December 15, 2008

‘Jauron, the target of a growing amount of criticism for the team’s slide, answered questions about his future for the first time Monday, a day after the Bills bumbled away a 31-27 loss to the New York Jets. Jauron declined to say why he anticipates he’ll return or indicate whether he has signed a contract extension, which would be necessary considering the coach is ending the final season of his three-year deal.’

‘Hardy had an MRI performed Monday morning and the damage to his left knee was apparent, and is not only restricted to his ACL. “Possibly some other issues too and when the time is right we’ll address them,” said Jauron. “But the surgery will require nothing that hasn’t been done before to players and they come back from it.”‘

‘Hardy, the Bills’ second-round pick out of Indiana, was hurt blocking down the right sideline on a 35-yard run by Marshawn Lynch. He had nine catches for 87 yards and two touchdowns this season.’

‘"It’s on my shoulders," Jauron said, adding, "There are a lot of things that can happen, and the worst one did."’

‘With a game-high 127 yards rushing Sunday, Lynch went over the 1,000-yard mark for the season becoming just the third Bills players to top the 1,000-yard plateau in his first two seasons joining Joe Cribbs and Willis McGahee. Lynch also went over 2,000 yards for his career in Sunday’s game.’

‘The line held Jenkins to just two tackles and one quarterback hurry, a far cry from Jenkins’ week nine performance when he made five tackles, two sacks, three quarterback hits and two tackles for loss en route to holding the Jets’ 26-17 victory.’

‘He requires surgery and his status for next year is unknown.’

‘I am tired of finding Silver linings in the dark clouds of Orchard Park. I am tired of trying to find glimmers of hope that help people think next year is going to be the year. I am tired of the Bills season’s ending before they can even break out the tiebreakers. Sunday’s loss to the Jets confirmed that the franchise is nothing more than a tease these days, and a bad one at that. Ralph Wilson needs to do something drastic and giving fans one less bad game to pay for isn’t going to make it work this time.’

‘J.P. Losman is a fine man who has done a lot off the field in Buffalo. On the field, though, he clearly doesn’t have all the tools needed to be an NFL quarterback. He has no pocket presence, has difficulty scanning the field and locks onto receivers. Losman can’t throw against the worst secondaries in the league. Who would want to take a chance on that?’

‘Then, what was even more remarkable in a world where everybody’s got an excuse for everything, especially in sports, somebody stood up and took responsibility for that game-changing brain freeze. There may be lots of coaches in the National Football League who’d do the honorable thing, even if they knew it could cost them their jobs. Dick Jauron’s just the one who did it.’

‘It would seem impossible for a team to astonishingly figure a way to lose under the particular circumstances, and it could only be possible given both the way this season has gone and the presence of a specific quarterback in the lineup, one who was entrusted to make something good happen and instead made an epic failure.’

‘Maybe the Bills’ team buses should leave for the stadium at 6 a. m. on game day. The Bills just can’t keep from starting slowly this season. They fell behind, 14-3, after the first quarter against the Jets.’

‘The Bills finally showed they can finish drives. Buffalo had made six straight trips into the opposition’s red zone without scoring a touchdown over the previous nine quarters.’

‘The Bills had the Jets in a third-and-17 situation, and Favre went deep for Jerricho Cotchery down the right sideline. McGee had Cotchery blanketed and easily picked off the underthrown pass. He returned it 36 yards to the Jets’ 45.’

‘Abram Elam joins the list of little-known, nondescript, all-time Bills killers. Don Nottingham, Norm Bulaich, Ron Smith, Jimmie Jones and Kevin Dyson are on that list. If you have a master’s degree in Bills history, you know the significance of those names all too well.’