Archives for September 2011

‘”We knew we shot ourselves in the foot the first half,” Nelson said. “We know what we have in the receiver group. We felt we were the reason we were down. We never single anyone out individually. If I have a drop, it’s our receiver group that has a dropped pass. We knew if we could make plays and capitalize, things would go smoothly.”‘

‘”Once we got that thing rolling, every time we had the ball we were going to score a touchdown,” said Fitzpatrick. “There’s so many plays that you can point to in this game.”‘

‘Chan Gailey completely outcoached Oakland coach Hue Jackson. Buffalo made great adjustments in the second half and outscored Oakland 35-14. Gailey’s play calling in the second half was amazing. Jackson looked horrible using a challenge flag on an unchallengeable play. Buffalo did have a bad game at third down conversions (4 of 11). Buffalo was only penalized three times for 26 yards (though a crack back block killed a drive), while Oakland shot itself in the foot repeatedly with penalties. Still unsure what to make of the first half sluggishness. Grade B+’

‘”We’re here to compete. We’re taking it game by game, but we’re here to make the playoffs,” Nelson added.’

‘The Bills waited a good 10 minutes in their locker room before they could celebrate for real, even though Carey said later that the review was a false alarm.’

Oakland Raiders lose to Buffalo Bills 38-35 in gut-wrenching fashion (Oakland Tribune)

Rookie receiver Denarius Moore is on full display against Buffalo Bills (Oakland Tribune)

Raiders give way to Bills, allow 35-point 2nd half (San Francisco Chronicle)

Raiders rookie Denarius Moore shows he belongs (San Francisco Chronicle)

Oakland Raiders’ bully moment will have to wait (San Francisco Chronicle)

Long review at end of Raiders game a false alarm (San Francisco Chronicle)

Raiders’ game grades (San Francisco Chronicle)

Oakland Raiders need to place blame for loss to Buffalo Bills where it belongs: on themselves (San Jose mercury News)

Raiders shredded on defense in 38-35 loss to Bills (AP)

Raiders ‘D’ deserves an ‘F’ for effort (CSN Bay Area)

Refs review final play of Raiders’ loss in Buffalo (CSN Bay Area)

QB Campbell finds new targets (CSN Bay Area)

Raiders Lose Thriller in Buffalo (Raiders.com)

Photo gallery (AP)

Photo gallery (BuffaloBills.com)

Photo gallery (Buffalo News)

Photo gallery (Rochester D&C)

Photo gallery (Canandaigua Daily Messenger)

Photo gallery (WIVB-TV)

Photo gallery (WBEN-AM)

‘Before the shotgun snap even took place with Bills quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick calling signals, the swirling CBS logo came up, followed by a commercial for McDonald’s sausage McMuffins, one for a cell phone company, another for Nissan, one more for McDonald’s extra-value menu, a station promo the “CSI” season premiere, and then an aerial shot of with Jim Nantz proclaiming: “Looking down at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass. – Chargers, Patriots … hello friends.”‘

‘”This was a different feeling,” Jackson said. “The way (the fans) reacted, we fed off it. We (finally) gave them something to cheer about.”‘

‘Bills attempted to make another comeback late in the fourth quarter, and they succeed after Fitzpatrick connected with David Nelson on a 6-yard touchdown pass!’

‘After the game, referee Mike Carey clarified what exactly happened during the post-game melee. “It was ruled an interception, we came in the locker room after delaying to see if it was going to be reviewed,” Carey said. “I got a beep in the locker room — a buzz in the locker room — that said ‘review.’ 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.”‘

‘How many times last year did the Bills lose in overtime? How many times did the Bills lose by three points or less?’

‘We’re quickly finding out that this isn’t last year anymore.’

‘”Every time we got the ball the guys had a hundred percent confidence we were going to put it in the endzone,” said Fitzpatrick.’

‘Don’t worry, I’m not going to tell you the Bills have improved to the point they’ll make the playoffs this season, although a 2-0 start is often rewarded with an extended season. But after two games, and yes, the KC Chiefs are a bad football team, the Bills are clearly and without argument improving under head coach Chan Gailey and gm Buddy Nix.’

’79 – The number of points the Bills have scored in the first two weeks of the season. Not bad for a team that traded away receiver Lee Evans and had major questions on the offensive line.’