Archives for October 3, 2011

‘”It’s something I’ve been working toward since I got here,” said Hairston. “Just being picked up here it’s good to know they have the confidence in me to stick me right in there when Demetrius Bell has been having a great year. I hate that him getting an injury is what’s giving me this opportunity, but I’ll take advantage of it and do what I can to help this team win.”‘

‘This is a game Buffalo could have won … maybe should have, considering coach Chan Gailey’s crew was up 17-3 at intermission and still had an 11-point lead with barely 20 minutes to play. However, the stats tell a different story.’

‘”They were winning on first and second down,” said George Wilson. “They were able to keep the game in manageable situations for their offense and their young quarterback. They did a great job of sticking to their game plan and we didn’t do a good job of finishing up.”‘

‘The Bills were upset about an apparent catch by Stevie Johnson that was ruled an incompletion later in the fourth quarter. With the lead at 20-13, the Bills lost a challenge on a third-and-1 play at the Bills’ 47-yard line, forcing a punt. Johnson was adamant he caught the ball, and replays seemed to confirm it. The Bengals marched for the tying score after the possession change.’

‘”We just didn’t play well,” Scott said. “Up, 17-3, at the half, we of all people know you have to play four quarters of football because if a team lets down, they can come back. I’m not saying we didn’t let up, but we didn’t play fundamentally good football.”‘

‘ “This game should have been over mid-third quarter,” said cornerback Drayton Florence. “We should have kept our foot on their throats and put them out of their misery. They were looking for a reason to quit, but we just didn’t give them the punch we needed to.”‘

‘”It was clearly a catch,” said Johnson, who finished with four for 58 yards. “I don’t know what the refs were looking at. They went in and reviewed it and still said it wasn’t a catch. I caught the ball, secured the ball [and] my knee was down. [Clements] grabbed my arm – my knee was down – the ball was still in the same spot, I got up, the ball was still in the same spot and I handed the ball to the referee. How is that not a catch? It changed a lot. We still had another opportunity out there, but that call definitely changed the game.”‘

‘”We have a great quarterback in Andy, and he didn’t flinch one time out there,” said Bengals receiver A.J. Green.’

‘Team didn’t play well with lead, seemed to take Bengals lightly after halftime. Didn’t have answers for Bengals’ pass defense or running game.’

‘”At halftime we were like ‘Guys, don’t let up, we have to come out in the second half swinging, we know what it feels like to be on the other side of things,'” said safety Bryan Scott. “Even when things weren’t going well, we still felt like we’d been in this situation before, but we didn’t get the job done today. We didn’t walk the walk.”‘

‘This defense, while improved and upgraded talent-wise, is still pretty weak. It has now given up 454, 495 and 458 yards in the last three games. Also, 81 first downs and 89 points. Very 2010-like. If that continues against the teams coming up on the schedule, the Bills will be sub-.500 by Halloween.’

‘How will the Bills handle their sudden prosperity? Poorly. They were not sharp at the start and allowed the Bengals to control the first quarter, then played well in the second and seemed to have control. Instead, the halftime break killed them and they never regained their mojo as Cincinnati dominated the final 30 minutes. It was a bad loss, no doubt.’

‘Chan Gailey didn’t have as good a day calling plays as he had the first three weeks. He didn’t get the ball enough to Fred Jackson, and in trying to get Brad Smith involved in the passing game, he took potential plays away from playmakers such as David Nelson. On defense, George Edwards and Dave Wannestedt have a lot to do as their unit allowed another 458 yards.’

‘The Bills could be a good team. Good but not great. Being greater than the sum of your parts only goes so far. Sorry to use a coaching cliche here, but most of the guys playing this game are good, so you’ve got to be better than that to win your share on the road. To be worthy of a playoff spot.’

‘After looking like an offensive genius for three weeks, Chan Gailey wasn’t impressive against Cincinnati. The Bengals outgained the Bills 458 yards to 273 and Buffalo went 4 for 14 on third down. I don’t think Fitzpatrick and Gailey ever really figured out how to attack the Cincinnati defense. Grade: C-‘