Archives for January 2011

‘Every loss is compounded by the fact that there is a long drive home through stadium traffic. It forces you to keep thinking about the loss for another two or three hours. If I were to watch these games at home, I could just watch another game or get off my couch and do something else.’

‘But there is one guy that did a lot of talking this week that the Bills should be talking to right now. Eric Mangini laid out the game plan to beat the New England Patriots and then we all go a chance to watch New York do a lot of the things he suggested in the stunning upset. If I was Chan Gailey I would be on the phone with Mangini today and talk to him about coming to Buffalo. I would offer the 2 time NFL head coach the job of Associate Head Coach/Defensive Coordinator and I would let him go to work in setting a game plan to get after the Patriots and Jets.’

‘What’s interesting from the point of view of a sportscaster who covers the Buffalo Bills on a weekly basis, is how two of the four teams left in the running for a Super Bowl championship demolished the Bills, while the Bills actually should have or certainly could have beaten the other two.’

‘”I feel it was one of my better seasons. I don’t care about whether people see me as a Special Teams MVP. I just try to stay consistent,” McIntyre said. “I had an ankle injury that held me back for a bit, but got it healed up and got back out there and felt I had a very productive season on special teams.”‘

‘The Bills took a step back this season, finishing in the middle of the pack in most categories. They ranked 11th covering kickoffs (21.1-yard average) and tied for 20th on punts (9.3). The Bills were solid returning punts (10.5-yard average, tied for 13th in the league). They averaged just 21.1 yards on kickoff returns, but that was due to the opponents not kicking the ball deep.’

‘"There was so much of it on TV, and it seemed more real than anything I’d grown up with during the Vietnam War when you just saw snippets on the evening news," recalled DeHaven, who was also the Bills’ special teams coach on Jan. 16, 1991, when U.S. troops launched the first air strikes on strategic targets in Iraq, announcing our entrance into the Persian Gulf War.’

‘The biggest failing of the secondary was its lack of interceptions. The Bills finished with just 11, and the defensive backs did not get their first pickoff until the 10th game. The INT total tied for fourth fewest in the league.’

‘Taking a risk on Newton might reap a huge reward down the road. But no one knows for sure. That’s the dilemma.’

‘Stubborn, lovable, intractable, generous, unreasonable. The Cookie I’ll always remember is the one whom I asked for an interview when he arrived in Buffalo the first time. "I can’t do it now," he said as he left the dressing room, "but give me your address."’

‘The inside linebackers might have been better against the run if the defensive line had been stouter. But they also struggled to get off blocks. The outside linebackers did a poor job of setting the edge, which allowed teams to run outside. Running backs exploited cutback lanes that opened because linebackers weren’t in their assigned gaps.’

‘If Wannstedt were to join the Bills, it likely would be in some type of oversight role, probably with an assistant head coach title. Gailey served for two years as offensive coordinator under Wannstedt with the Miami Dolphins in 2000 and 2001. Wannstedt was Dolphins head coach from 2000 to the middle of the 2004 season and compiled a 44-33 record.’

‘"We knew coming in it was going to be a process," Bills defensive line coach Giff Smith said in an interview in mid-November. "I had a veteran guy tell me one time that when you make the jump to the NFL with a new staff, it’s normally not a ready-made program. So it’s been a work in progress. … A lot of the problems we’ve had versus the run have been self-inflicted. That’s one thing we’ve worked hard on, just knowing your assignment, playing through your assignment and doing your responsibility and being accountable for your position."’

‘Wannstedt was ousted after six years at Pittsburgh, and following a 7-5 season in which the Panthers were picked to win the Big East. He declined the option to finish the season with the team, and was not on the sideline for Pitt’s 27-10 win over Kentucky in the Compass Bowl last weekend.’

‘Wannstedt was ousted after six years at Pittsburgh, and following a 7-5 season in which the Panthers were picked to win the Big East. He declined the option to finish the season with the team, and was not on the sideline for Pitt’s 27-10 win over Kentucky in the Compass Bowl last weekend.’

‘”It’s not me that he needs to meet with,” Gailey told Buffalobills.com. “He’s meeting with the defensive staff which is the biggest meeting. He and I have known each other a long time and I have a great deal of respect for Dave.”‘