Archives for October 2010

‘”I think everybody knew that this wasn’t … just because you hired a different guy, that everything was going to change,” Nix said. “I think things have changed. I think we’ve got a plan. I know we get questioned about that at times. I promise you this: We’re going to stay the course. So what we set out to do and the way we set out to do it is not the speedy way. It’s painful, but you’re just going to have to have patience, because as long as I’m here we’re going to stay the course and do it the way we planned because I know it works.”‘

‘The winless Bills rank 30th in the NFL in third-down efficiency, converting 26.1 percent of their chances. The league average is a 38.7-percent success rate on third down. The Bills converted just 25.8 percent of their third downs last season, which was second-worst in franchise history and tied for fifth-worst in the NFL over the last 20 years.’

‘”There are several factors that come into play, weather being probably the biggest factor. What you think about your offense versus their defense, your defense versus their offense, the kicking game, how good is their kickoff return, how good is their kickoff coverage, how does that match up? So it’s a week-to-week thing. It’s not a thing that I say I prefer.”‘

‘”We threw him in there the very first week, and he just wasn’t quite ready,” Bills coach Chan Gailey said. “That was my fault. I shouldn’t have done that. He played pretty good in preseason games, but we all know it’s different, preseason to regular season. So we’re trying to bring him on slowly.”‘

C.J. Spiller eases into bigger role as Bills rookie (Florida Times Union)

Mike Shula happy to still be coaching (Florida Times Union)

Jags grounded for winless Bills (Jaguars.com)

Select company (Jaguars.com)

They prey on weakness (Jaguars.com)

‘Buffalo Bills safety Bryan Scott and linebacker Keith Ellison missed practice for a second straight day because of knee injuries and have been all but ruled out of the game vs. Jacksonville (2-2) on Sunday.’

‘The blackout is the first for Buffalo in 27 games, dating to Dec. 24, 2006. After selling out their first two games, fans are showing disinterest in a team that’s 0-4.’

‘Bills 23, Jaguars 20.’

‘If the Bills don’t screw up and pull off an upset or two, they could be in line to draft someone like Washington Huskies quarterback Jake Locker, who last Saturday led his team to an upset victory over USC.’

‘”We didn’t get in this situation overnight and we’re not going to get out overnight,” said Nix. “We knew it wouldn’t be easy. If there were not the problems that we’ve got, I wouldn’t be here, Chan wouldn’t be here.” ‘

‘”You don’t like to use the word rebuild, but you’ve also got to evaluate everyday and try to do things to improve your team,” Nix said. “We’re putting seven days a week into trying to get it turned around. It’ll be fun when it happens, and trust me, it’ll happen.”‘

‘"He’ll have viable information to give them," said Lee Evans. "That’s just how it is sometimes. It happens across the league. When we went to Green Bay, (Brian) Brohm knew some things. So I don’t think it’s any secret that he’ll be able to give them some information about the things we do."’

‘”Thurman’s a draw to get people in the room,” admitted campaign manager Michael Caputo.’

‘Over the past “lost decade,” we have been sold empty promises and responded by buying more tickets. Isn’t it time for loyal Bills fans to take action for ourselves and not just blindly support “our team”? Should we let the fear of Wilson’s rejection compel us to accept mediocrity? Isn’t it time to recognize the futility of supporting futility?’

‘"That was a part of it, sure," Gailey said Wednesday when asked if having to get touches for three players at running back was a key factor in the Tuesday trade of Lynch to Seattle in exchange for a 2011 fourth-round draft pick, and a conditional fifth- or sixth-round pick in 2012. "You need to keep depth at a position," Gailey continued, "but you have to be smart about your football team and that was part of the decision."’