Archives for September 2011

‘But again, feel free to hoist yourselves onto Nick Barnett’s happy train. It might be flawed, but this Bills team is sure fun to watch. They’ve put up 79 points in two weeks. They’re the talk of the league, a team that matters.’

‘”It was a special game for us,” Nelson said. “It was something you dream of as a little kid, to be able to catch the game-winning touchdown against the Oakland Raiders or a team with that prestige. I just can’t put it into words how emotional that was to me. I got really emotional after the game.”‘

‘”It was ruled an interception,” Carey said. “We came into the locker room after delaying to see if it was going to be reviewed. I got a beep in the locker room, a buzz in the locker room, that said review. [I] went back out, put the headset on. They weren’t set up but it was an erroneous transmission, and they had already confirmed the ruling on the field.”‘

‘”I had the best view of the ball over everybody,” Searcy said. “Once the ball started coming down, I just went up over everybody so I was the first guy to actually touch the ball. Once I started coming down, guys started to pull at it so I jerked away from everybody, and that’s how I fell on top of everybody.”‘

‘Gailey’s play calling was extraordinary in the second half. Team didn’t panic after weak first half. Some dubious clock management just before halftime.’

‘The heroes were numerous, starting with David Nelson catching the winning 6-yard pass from Ryan Fitzpatrick thanks to a colossal blown coverage by the Raiders, capping what ties as the fifth-most prolific comeback in Bills’ regular-season history.’

‘”We’re giving this game ball to Mr. Wilson,” said quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, who threw for 264 yards and three touchdowns including the winning six-yarder to David Nelson. “It’s the first time he’s missed an opener and we were sorry he couldn’t be here, but we hope he’s proud of what we did on the field today.”‘

‘Personally, looking forward to watching a former seventh-round draft pick and two undrafted rookies from 2010 form the foundation of Buffalo’s passing game this season sounded as appealing as watching a highlight reel of the Bills’ 4-12 season of a year ago.’

‘ESPN would call it an instant classic; I’ll just call it a pleasure, given some of the horror we’ve all watched for the past 11 years.’

‘It wasn’t looking good early as they were badly outplayed in the first half, but there was some old-time magic in the final 30 minutes, and how appropriate that it happened in front of dozens of former players who were on hand for alumni weekend, and for Phil Hansen’s induction onto the Wall of Fame.’

‘”Before, we’d be jammed up and didn’t really have a lot of space for our stuff, but this is perfect,” Brooks said. “You’re forced to go where they tell you to go, but we got here early enough (for a front-row space).”‘

‘Ryan Fitzpatrick justified his contract talks with a dazzling second-half comeback that included three touchdown passes, giving him seven for the young season. He had a bad interception that helped dig a 21-3 hole but more than made up for it with calm, cool leadership. Brad Smith turned into Trent Edwards, refusing to pull the trigger on an option pass with two teammates open, but he made a couple of nice plays out of the Wildcat.

‘”You know certainly I looked the first few times, but then it just became part of the rest of the wall,” he said of acknowledging some of the names on the wall during his career. “But I certainly knew the names that were up there. And then in the last decade, I certainly recognize my teammates up there and they’re definitely worthy names to go up there. But yeah, for me to go up there, I think that’s pretty special. Yeah, for them to think of me in that way is pretty cool.”.’

‘Nelson is making his bones with the Bills by making the tough catches, in the teeth of the defense, on third and fourth downs and in the red zone. The kinds of catches Lee Evans never made. He emerged as a reliable possession receiver toward the end of last season, catching 11 of 17 passes for two touchdowns and five first downs on third down, according to the Football Outsiders Almanac, which named Nelson one of the NFL’s top 25 prospects.’

‘Later in the same drive, right guard Kraig Urbik walked gingerly off the field under his own power. He did not return and Gailey said he could miss a few weeks. Chad Rinehart finished the game at right guard.’