Archives for October 26, 2009

‘The Bills, surrendering an average of 182 yards a game on the ground coming in, gave up only 116 yards to the Panthers, one of the league better rushing teams, 89 of those yards – only 15 more than his average- to DeAngelo Williams, who scored Carolina’s only touchdown.’

‘”I didn’t lack confidence … I knew that everything was an act of timing … that everything would come into place.”‘

‘The win marked the first time the Bills have won road games on back-to-back weeks since they beat Seattle and Miami in 2004.’

‘Sitting Edwards against the Texans will give him an extra two weeks to recover, as the Bills have a bye following this coming Sunday’s game.’

‘Coach Dick Jauron made the announcement on Monday, a day after Fitzpatrick helped the Bills (3-4) to their second straight victory, 20-9 at Carolina. Buffalo hosts Houston (4-3) on Sunday before entering its bye week.’

‘"Trent is following right along with the protocol for a head injury, but he will not play this week," said Jauron. "From what I understand from our doctors that’s the proper protocol. That’s the conservative approach and that’s the approach that we’ll take."’

‘With his two interceptions at Carolina, Byrd now has FIVE picks in his last three games, which he has been starting due to injuries. Byrd’s two int’s against both the Jets and Panthers, on the road no less, led directly to Bills victories in games where the offense struggled much of the time. Count on the fact opposing offensive coordinators and quarterbacks are going to start looking to see just where #31 is from now on, as word spreads quickly around the league about Byrd-the-ball-hawker.’

‘”I thought Ryan did a good job with what he could do. They were very talented I felt, fast up front and challenged us. We didn’t have a lot he could do,” Jauron said. “He made the plays when we had to make them. It was just a terrific win for our guys.”‘

‘Byrd has five interceptions on the season and is the first Buffalo rookie since Butch Byrd in 1969 to have picks in three straight games. George Wilson had a clinching interception, giving Buffalo nine in the last two games.’

‘”I think he played well,” wide receiver Lee Evans said. “He did a good job of just running the ship.”‘

‘I’ll resist the temptation to get giddy about it. Winning is nice. But this looks to me like another heroic run at 7-9 for Dick Jauron and the fellas. One thing you can never forget when judging the Bills is the utter mediocrity of the NFL, where the unremarkable quality of half the league is always your best friend.’

‘”Lee’s been my guy when I’ve been in there,” Fitzpatrick said. “I enjoy throwing to Terrell [Owens] and Lee and Josh [Reed] as well. Lee’s done a good job.”‘

‘A signature Jauron win. No turnovers, four takeaways, defense gives up huge yardage but doesn’t break. Fewell, who grew up nearby, had a fine game plan. Grade: A.’

‘Rookie Jairus Byrd is on a roll.’

‘”I don’t care how ugly it is, as long as we win,” Kelsay said after the Bills defeated the Carolina Panthers 20-9 Sunday afternoon in front of 73,497 fans at Bank of America Stadium. “It hasn’t been pretty the last few weeks, but anyway you can win in this league, we’ll take it.”‘