Archives for October 12, 2010

‘The two contests that the beleaguered citizens of Western New York should be circling are a home game against the Lions on Nov. 14th (the next time the Bills will take the field in Buffalo, as it happens) and a Dec. 12th matchup against the Cleveland Browns at Ralph Wilson Stadium.’

‘Williams broke into the NFL with Jacksonville in 2008 after being drafted in the fifth round out of USC. He appeared in six games and used primarily on special teams as a rookie.’

‘When Wilson keeps his draft staff in place after a long line of poor choices, it’s hard to take anything he says seriously.’

‘The Bills added a linebacker to their practice squad Tuesday signing Thomas Williams, who fills the lone vacancy on the eight-man unit.’

‘"We had to make a decision on Shawn and we felt like he’s ready to play," coach Chan Gailey said. "We had to make room and Chris Ellis was the guy we decided to let go. He’s been a guy who hasn’t played a lot. You hate to lose anybody, but you have to make decisions."’

‘Ralph has changed GMs, he’s changed coaches, he’s changed the color of the team’s uniforms. Isn’t it about time he changed college scouting directors? How many times do we have to say it? The Bills will miss the playoffs for an 11th consecutive season and Tom Modrak is the one constant through the last nine years.’

‘"I’ve been fortunate enough in my career to play with Hall of Fame guys and guys who have done things the right way," Torbor said. "I’m not even talking about on the field. I’m talking about off the field. I’ve learned from them and just relayed some of those messages that I’ve learned over the years to them about just being a professional. Coming to work every day and not taking this for granted. Everybody thinks they’ll play 10 years in this league coming out of college and it just doesn’t work that way. You never know what day is gonna be your last.’

‘He played 41 snaps against the Dolphins, but the coaches obviously were not satisfied. He only played eight defensive snaps over the next four games.’

‘Kelsay had a tough time with Lewis on the tight end’s 1-yard TD catch in the second quarter. Lewis was lined up in a traditional tight-end position on the right side of the formation. Kelsay was across from him. Kelsay chucked Lewis at the line, but not quite hard enough and Lewis got just enough separation to make the catch in the end zone. Kelsay also was responsible for plugging the gap between the right tackle and the tight end (called the C gap) if the Jags ran.’

‘”We’re not really bitter,” a fan said before the game. “But there is a growing feeling of hopelessness.”‘

‘”It’s terrible,” said safety Donte Whitner. “It’s 0-5. We’re the laughingstock of the National Football League. I think we’re losing fans by the minute.”‘

‘Defensive coordinator George Edwards tried to play a 4-3 defense for much of the day in an effort to stack the line against the Jaguars running game, but it didn’t work. Edwards has his hands tied because he simply doesn’t have many players with NFL talent. Chan Gailey is calling the plays on offense, and he didn’t have a good day. Fred Jackson was running well early, and Gailey stopped feeding him in the second half (four carries). The Bills are on their bye this week, and the coaching staff won’t be on vacation because there is an amazing amount of work that needs to be done for the Bills to even be competitive right now, let alone win.’

‘The Bills continue to get poor play from their two offensive tackles. LT Demetrius Bell had a terrible holding penalty on a second-and-goal play from the 1 that most likely cost the Bills a touchdown. After being pushed back 10 yards, they never did get to the end zone and settled for a field goal. And RT Cornell Green had a false start in the red zone that damaged another TD drive and Buffalo settled for a field goal. “Not scoring touchdowns in the first half when we could have — getting penalties — just dumb penalties, we cannot do that,” said Chan Gailey. “We’ve got to score touchdowns. We can’t afford to come away with just three points in those situations.”‘

‘”I was the only one that spoke, but I think it was received well,” said Torbor. “I think the point I was trying to make was conveyed correctly. As guys left here today I would hope that they go home and let it soak in and come back here ready to keep this thing going and not pack it up so to speak.”‘

‘So this is all the proof we need. General Manager Buddy Nix is off scouting the top college quarterbacks for the next two weeks, and the owner of the team asked for patience from the fans. Ralph, if you’re guaranteeing me that the Bills take a quarterback with what could be the first overall pick, then I’m in.’