Archives for October 25, 2011

‘The Bills kick return unit ranks 31st in kick return average with a mark of 19.8. The average drive start the kick return unit is providing Buffalo’s offense is last in the league averaging the 19.1-yard line. But one could hardly blame Smith or Spiller.’

‘”I could just tell playing last year that was one of my weaknesses. When I would take on double teams, guys would get me on one leg and I couldn’t recover back to my opposite leg. I knew a lot of that had to do with my core strength,” he said at the start of camp. “I had a lot of trouble with my back last year. So working the core actually helped that a lot this year.”‘

‘It’s ridiculous. They broke off talks with receiver Stevie Johnson to concentrate on Fitzpatrick. Presumably, Fred Jackson is on deck. We’ll see. The longer the Bills wait, the bigger risk they take. Fitzpatrick and Johnson will be free agents after the season. Jackson looks like he’s headed for the Pro Bowl.’

‘I believe the generally frugal Bills would be wise to sign Fitzpatrick to a deal worth $10 million per year, with potential bonuses for individual and team performances worth another $2 million per season. A four- or five-year deal would be good for the 28-year-old Fitzpatrick but may be too long for the Bills.’

‘That is, we, as taxpayers, shouldn’t be shelling out the big bucks to bail out failing institutions or industries or prop up selected corporations. Capitalism, its risk, and the determination of failures and successes are all best left in the hands of entrepreneurs. If they want to make money, they need to use their own money.’

‘”It became pretty clear once he started playing for us that this was a major-college athlete, and a lot of big schools had totally missed the boat on this guy,” Harvard head coach Tim Murphy said.’

‘Merriman tweaked his Achilles in practice the Thursday before the Giants game, and couldn’t play. At the time, Merriman said he didn’t think the injury was bad enough to keep him from missing a significant amount of time, but coach Chan Gailey said the Achilles isn’t making as much progress as everyone had thought.’

‘”I think we just need to keep fine-tuning the things we’re not doing well,” said Gailey, whose team has allowed an average of 27 points per game in the last five games. “I think what we’re doing is good; I think we’re not doing it very well. We’re playing hard, we’re not playing better. That’s the key — to go play better. We’re doing some things sometimes that are not very smart on the field. We need to play smarter. We need to play better, and I think we will.”‘

‘Head coach Chan Gailey calls the offensive plays, and he’s off to a good start, using his players in situations where they can succeed. He’s been adaptable, and he hasn’t been afraid to be aggressive, though that attribute bit him in the loss to the Giants. On defense, the Bills have problems. They have played in the 3-4 and the 4-3, they have played a lot of nickel, and nothing seems to be working. Opposing offenses have topped 400 yards in each of the last five games. Defensive coordinator George Edwards has to find a way to generate pass rush, and he needs to find a way to stop the run, something he failed miserably at last year as well.’

‘With players such as Matt Cassel, Kevin Kolb and Carson Palmer all in that $10 million to $12 million neighborhood, that’s where Fitzpatrick’s agent, Jimmy Sexton, will be sniffing. With no viable alternative at the position — backup Tyler Thigpen isn’t the answer and the Bills aren’t going to be in the “Suck for Luck” sweepstakes — the Bills don’t have much choice, and they probably will have to overpay for Fitzpatrick.’

‘Shawne Merriman, Kyle Williams, Demetrius Bell and Donald Jones all were starting players that did not practice. Merriman has been trying to fight through the injury to his Achilles, which he said flared up during practice ahead of the Bills’ game against the New York Giants. Merriman told reporters last week that he’s optimistic to play against the Redskins.’

‘”It’s frustrating. Nobody’s more upset or disappointed than I am,” he said. “You guys have been around me long enough to know this isn’t where I want to be. It’s a bad thing because it’s not anything I’m good at — is being patient.”‘

‘After undergoing a multitude of tests and seeking the opinions of a few specialists, the prognoses were largely mixed. “Some were encouraging, some weren’t,” said Williams. “Everybody has a different opinion, but everyone was of the same opinion to put this (immobilizer) boot on and shut it down for a little bit and get some healing in there where I can come back and perform and help our team.”‘

‘Ross (6’2″ 302) was released by Green Bay prior to the regular season after joining the Packers’ practice squad on Oct. 20, 2010. The East Carolina product entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent with New Orleans in 2010. Ross totaled 140 tackles with 18.5 stops for a loss and 8.5 sacks in 52 games with 42 starts for the Pirates.’