Archives for October 27, 2011

‘”It’s definitely not the same hostile environment that teams have to deal with coming into the Ralph out here,” he said. “This is no knock on the citizens of Toronto. We know a large percentage of our fan base comes from Canada, and we’re appreciative of their support. But at the same time, the environment is just not the same. That’s just facts.”‘

‘Coleman is familiar with Buffalo’s defense after playing in eight games with the Bills as an undrafted rookie last year. The Auburn product was then among the Buffalo’s final cuts prior to the start of this season.’

‘”If you have a team of characters, which I believe we do, I think they respond,” coach Chan Gailey said. “We have to get rested up and get as many people healthy as we can and get ready to go for the next game. Nobody feels sorry for anybody in this league.”‘

‘”We all felt it was in the best interest to let him try to get this thing completely well and we’ll just plug in some other guys and see if they can go do it. I don’t know how it’ll work. We’ve got to wait and see.”‘

‘The Bills have picked a good time to face a Washington Redskins team reeling with more injuries than they are and coming off a 33-20 loss to Carolina. QB John Beck, who has taken over for an erratic Rex Grossman, played decently against the Panthers. But lost for the season was RB Tim Hightower (torn ACL) while WR Santana Moss has a broken hand. If Buffalo can get the Rogers Centre crowd on its side, this is a good game to get its 31st-ranked defense on track.’

‘The bye week allowed the Bills’ front office to make headway on contract talks with quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick and a deal appears close. Fitzpatrick, in his second season as Buffalo’s starting signal-caller, has provided stability as well as production at the position after a long list of failed players. He’s already sixth on the club’s career touchdown list with 44. Fitzpatrick, whose base salary this year is $3.1 million, is due for a raise into the $10-million per-year range. His contract is up and the Bills do not want to lose him in free agency or have to apply a franchise tag on the Harvard product that would drive the cost up even more. Asked about his contract, Fitzpatrick said he’s trying not to think about it but he’s human. “I can’t just block all that away,” he said. “It’d be something that I’d like to get done and we’ll just see how it progresses here in the next few weeks.”‘

‘”I’ve never played in London, but I assume it’s probably similar to that type of crowd,” Wilson continued. “Where you’re gonna have your fans that’s gonna cheer for the home team, you’re gonna have fans that cheer for the opposing team. I’m not going to say it’s a competitive disadvantage, but it’s certainly not a competitive advantage.”‘

‘”It lets you know how important the game is, and how fast it can be taken away from you,” said the cornerback on Wednesday. “That let me know you must cherish every moment, every play, every game, every practice, because you never know when it might be your last.”‘

‘The team was without five players, all of whom were expected to miss this weekend’s game in Toronto. Kyle Williams, Demetrius Bell, Donald Jones, Chris Hairston and Aaron Williams all did not participate in the session.’

‘”It’s something you try not to think about. But certainly something exists that’s in the air. I’m human too so I can’t just block all that away,” said Fitzpatrick. “It’d be something that I’d like to get done and we’ll see how it progresses in the next few weeks.”‘

‘Jaworski acknowledged the negotiations are difficult with competing interests left on citizens who are taxpayers and fans. “That’s always very difficult to do,” Jaworski said. “Probably the three worst stadiums in the NFL are out on the West Coast, when you look at Oakland, San Francisco and San Diego. Three antiquated stadiums, and the reason is that they haven’t been able to strike a balance ownership, you know, public funding and private funding, so it’s a very difficult balance to strike.”‘

‘Marv Levy used to say that tough times don’t create character, they reveal it. What we see over the next 6 games will reveal a great deal about the football character of these Bills. The already porous defense comes into this stretch without their most dependable player, Kyle Williams. Listening to him talk this week makes you wonder when or if he will play this year. The Shawne Merriman experiment is now over, so its time to really see if one of these young guys (Moats or Sheppard) can really be an impact play. Plus the secondary might need to actually try to stop someone without having to get an interception.’

‘”Right now I’m just to the point where I’m starting to get my movement back and get a little conditioning in,” Williams told Buffalobills.com. “Right now we’re probably looking at another two weeks, but hopefully I’ll be (practicing) next week.”‘

‘”Before I got here (midway through 2010), I’d only seen the record and some stats,” said linebacker Shawne Merriman, who was added to the injured reserve Tuesday. “All I saw was what was on paper. When I got here, it was almost like, ‘Wow.’ For one, this was not a 0-7 team.”‘