Archives for October 2009

‘”He took a few snaps, but it was mostly individual work,” said head coach Dick Jauron. “He didn’t do any team work or any of the look squad drills, but that was kind of planned. It looked to me like he felt fine. He moved around fine and it was good to have him back. It was good for him to be back. I think he felt good being out there.”‘

‘Well folks, the Buffalo Bills are still fighting hard. After the loss to Cleveland at home which lead many people to call for Dick Jauron’s job and a billboard going up asking for his ouster, this team has shown resiliency and bounced back with 2 road wins. The Bills went down to Carolina and caused 4 turnovers, on route to a 20-9 win.’

‘”They generally get better every week, but to make that kind of a jump I can’t figure,” said April. “We want the kind of performance we had these past two weeks, but usually the improvement is more incremental in nature. I don’t know what to make of it. We’ve got a lot of the same guys, but there are some young ones mixed in there and now they’re getting experience as they go.”‘

‘But if you’re in the market for capsule recaps of some of the Bills’ greatest moments, whether from the era of Jack Kemp, Joe Ferguson, Jim Kelly or Doug Flutie, this one is a keeper. It would be of particular use to younger fans who have no idea that Ahmad Rashad played football before he went into broadcasting, or that there was an O.J. Simpson understudy named Preston Ridlehuber who threw a famous halfback option pass that beat the Patriots in 1969.’

‘"If you want to be able to get picked up during the season you’ve got to know that you’ve got to be able to learn very quickly," Draft said. "This game is about trust. They have to be able to trust that you can go out there and execute a defense. It won’t matter how strong, fast or quick you are, if you don’t know where you’re supposed to go, you can’t play."’

‘The offense receives the most criticism, the quarterback in particular, but there are decade-long defensive trends that are no less disturbing. Only once since 2000 – in 2004, with Bledsoe at quarterback nonetheless – have the Bills finished a season with more sacks than the opposition. Overall they’re a minus-84 in sacks over the last 10 seasons, this one included. Granted, a good portion of that disparity stems from the earliest portions of the decade. But last year they were a minus-14, this year thus far a minus-5. The numbers reflect not only on the ends, but the entire defense and the coordinator as a whole. Is there a single player on the defensive side of the ball that opponents truly fear?’

‘Ramsey, 30, was released by Tennessee on Oct. 3. He had signed with the Titans in April to be the third stringer behind Kerry Collins and Vince Young. But the Titans cut him to make room for more cornerback depth.’

‘There is still plenty to not like about this Bills’ team – quarterback play, a struggling running game, little production out of Terrell Owens, an inexperienced and injured offensive line – but Byrd is not one of them.’

‘But something happened on Sunday afternoon in Charlotte as April’s crew showed up with an attitude.’

‘Municipal Court Judge Angela Stokes approved Whitner’s participation in the diversion program Monday. Court spokesman Ed Ferenc says Whitner must report to a probation officer monthly and avoid trouble.’

‘If Whitner completes the intervention program, he will not have a criminal record. He asked if he qualified for the program for first-time offenders at a hearing Sept. 29. Judge Angela Stokes placed him in it yesterday, the day before a scheduled hearing. He is due back in court Jan. 26.’

‘”That’s one of the things you want to be able to do,” said Draft. “Two weeks ago with one play being able to get a sack and then this past week being able to be involved in the short yardage play, it’s important to be able to do that. This league is about results and making plays and you always want to be able to say that I contributed to the game.”‘

‘While the Bills’ offensive line did a decent job on some plays, quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick was under duress a lot. A review of the game showed that Fitzpatrick got sacked twice, knocked down five times and pressured seven times on 24 drop backs.’

‘I’m guessing it’s the same bridge Losman reached two years ago, the one that leads an elite QB to his lucrative second contract, with the huge bonus. The bridge was blown up by the time Losman arrived. And they’re likely to push the plunger on Edwards, too.’

‘"We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it," is all Jauron had to say about who might start when Edwards is healthy enough to play.’