Archives for October 18, 2011

‘While it’s easy to focus on those two, tough field-goal losses, a pair of Buffalo’s victories – rallying from 18 and 21 points down to beat the Raiders and Patriots, respectively – were stolen wins.’

‘After the 80-yard run, the Giants adjusted not only to prevent another Jackson breakout, but to stop Wood from peeling off and taking out a linebacker like Boley, whom he outweighs by more than 80 pounds. The Giants played tackles Benard and Canty in the two gaps on either side of the center to thwart Wood from blocking linebackers.’

‘Fred Jackson and Stevie Johnson also want for new deals. They’ve earned it. It’s fine to talk about working for the good of the team. At some point, the team must show it’s serious about competing with the rest of the league by paying the guys who produce.’

‘"He’s got good hands, you saw that [Sunday]. He catches the ball when you throw it to him," Bills quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick said of Spiller. "He’s tough because he’s fast and they’ve got to respect his speed. He made a really nice catch coming over to the sideline, a 20-yard type catch [it went for 15 yards]. I mean, he really looked like a receiver on that. He did some good stuff. He’s going to add some versatility. With Donald [Jones] being out we had to throw him out there. He surprised some people with how well he handled it."’

‘Of course, it helps Fitzpatrick that his offensive line has been better than almost anyone could have imagined. When Nix was saying that his late-season 2010 pickups Kraig Urbik, Erik Pears and Chad Rinehart could actually play, I rolled my eyes. But it turns out the old ball scout was right. Those guys aren’t bad, and the improvement of Demetrius Bell – until he got hurt again – really helped solidify things along with the move of Eric Wood to center.’

‘The Bills would need to go 6-4 in their 10 remaining games to reach the 10-6 they’d probably need to make the playoffs as a wild card. Most of the team’s fans seem to believe that is more likely than not to happen.’

‘”The atmosphere should be great going up there to Toronto, I know they are looking forward to seeing us play,” receiver Stevie Johnson said Sunday, likely reciting a company line we’re going to hear regularly. “How we are doing now, everybody up there in Canada should enjoy seeing the Buffalo Bills.”‘

‘The biggest problem is that the team doesn’t have a premier pass rusher, and it doesn’t even have a guy with a track record for sacking quarterbacks, other than Shawne Merriman who has been hampered by injuries the past few years and isn’t nearly the force he was during his first three years in the NFL with San Diego.’

‘Chan Gailey was pushing all the right buttons in the first half on offense, but the play-calling was a little suspect in the second half as he didn’t get the ball enough to Jackson (21 touches). As a second-guess, perhaps the Bills should have run the ball late in the fourth quarter rather than have Fitzpatrick try to hit Johnson for that TD which was picked off. A few runs, eat some clock, maybe still score a TD. It was possible. On defense, George Edwards now has a bye week to figure out how to get a pass rush, and that’s going to be a chore.’

‘”We did some different stuff with C.J. and being down another receiver, we just tried to get him out there, get him some touches, getting him involved,” quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick said. “I thought he did a really good job. It’s not easy for a running back running receiver routes and lining up in formations like he did, but he did a really good job.”‘

‘They’re down another left tackle, with rookie Chris Hairston to miss up to four weeks with an injured right ankle. Linebacker Shawne Merriman’s status is uncertain after the star pass-rusher aggravated an Achilles tendon injury last week. And there’s no telling when starting defensive tackle Kyle Williams will return from a nagging foot injury.’