Archives for August 28, 2011

‘Easley, playing in place of the injured Donald Jones, seized his opportunity by catching five passes for 51 yards. The second-year player from Connecticut who spent all of last season on injured reserve has emerged as the likely candidate to be the No. 2 receiver in the Bills offense.’

‘Hubbard was released a day after he and backup quarterback Tyler Thigpen helped send Buffalo’s wild 35-32 preseason overtime win over Jacksonville into the extra period. The pair hooked up on a 4-yard touchdown pass with 38 seconds left in regulation and then again for a 2-point conversion.’

‘DB Rajric Coleman, RB Anthony Elzy, P Reid Forrest, WR Paul Hubbard, CB Loyce Means and OL Isaiah Thompson were all waived by the Bills a day after the team’s third preseason game against Jacksonville.’

‘”I’m a season ticket holder for the worst team in the league,” said Tamara King, 32, of Brantford, Ont. “I should be able to park where I want.”‘

‘"We did some good things on both sides of the ball and it was good for us and we won in overtime," Buffalo coach Chan Gailey said. "That’s good and we needed to do that."’

‘Posluszny considered coming back to Buffalo after meeting with inside linebackers coach and associate head coach Dave Wannstedt. The Bills made a strong pitch for him, but he signed a six-year contract worth $45 million with the Jaguars shortly after the NFL lockout ended. He believed Jacksonville was a better team and gave him a better fit.’

‘ That’s the kind of show that can draw back dubious fans. In the first home game of the year, Fitz continued to make a case that, while he has his limitations, he is a big part of what the Bills are selling right now. He does not deserve to be paid like a backup (the same, of course, goes for Johnson).’

‘The faithful, those folks who back up their support of this team by buying tickets, expect a shot at .500 this season. So far it looks like they’ll be lucky to finish 4-12 as they did a year ago. Mental state, some sort of confidence is an important part of NFL football.’

‘Rookie Marcell Dareus, who suffered an ankle injury after getting kicked in the back of the leg, started at defensive end while Demetrius Bell started at left tackle. Midway through the second quarter left guard Andy Levitre moved to left tackle and Chad Rinehart played left guard.’

‘”It was good,” said running back Fred Jackson. “That was one of the things we wanted to do, just come out and get a quick start. We felt like we could make some plays early and get some good momentum going.”‘

‘”Marcus played big. He stepped up with Donald going down,” said Steve Johnson, who completed the Bills’ first long touchdown score of the preseason on a 52-yard pass from Ryan Fitzpatrick. “It just goes to show that once you go in, you need to be ready.”‘

‘”It was a good starting point for us,” said Fitzpatrick. “It was frustrating to not get into the end zone those first two games with the limited time we saw.”‘

Jaguars’ starters outplayed in OT loss (Florida Times Union)

Defensive questions persist for Jaguars (Florida Times Union)

Good and bad for Posluszny (Florida Times Union)

Jaguars lose ground on many fronts (Florida Times Union)

Assorted quotes from Saturday night’s Bills-Jaguars game (Florida Times Union)

Jaguars RB Jennings hurts knee against Bills (AP)

Jaguars sign long-snapper Jake Ingram (AP)

Tough start, tough finish (Jaguars.com)

Slow start, late rally (Jaguars.com)

Jaguars sign long snapper Jake Ingram (Jaguars.com)

Photo gallery (AP)

Photo gallery (Buffalo News)

Photo gallery (Rochester D&C)

Photo gallery (WIVB-TV)

Photo gallery (BuffaloBills.com)

‘Lindell’s kick came after Jacksonville’s Josh Scobee missed a 53-yard attempt. It was a back-and-forth contest in which Buffalo squandered a 17-point first-half lead and had to overcome a 15-point second-half deficit.’

‘Trailing 32-24 late in the fourth quarter, Jaguars running back DuJuan Harris fumbled as the Jaguars were trying to run out the clock and the Bills recovered the ball at Jacksonville’s 33. A 19-yard completion to Paul Hubbard and an eight-yard run by Bruce Hall put the Bills at the six-yard line. On 4th-and-goal, Thigpen completed a touchdown pass to Hubbard and another catch by Hubbard on a two-point conversion sent the game into overtime.’