Archives for October 2011

‘”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.’

‘”I felt pretty good out there,” said Spiller. “There were some new things to me, but they didn’t overwhelm me with anything crazy. Things were really simple for me to get down pat in a short amount of time. I felt comfortable out there and my legs were up under me and I felt fresh. Felt natural.”‘

‘Norwood will be cited during pregame ceremonies at the Bills-New York Jets game on Sunday, Nov. 6, at Ralph Wilson Stadium and at the Monday Quarterback Club luncheon at the Adams Mark Hotel the next day.’

‘”Nobody really expects the Bills ever to win, so it’s good to be turning things around,” he said. “We’re shocking the world but it’s not really a shock to us. We knew the guys we had on this team. Everybody’s young and trying to make a name for themselves.”‘

‘The Bills hope to take advantage of the week off to build on their success. “To give Chan and our guys more time to prepare, more time to look at film and to try to exploit some things that’s a big deal,” said Fitzpatrick.’

‘"We’ve done better this year," said Spencer Johnson, who’s playing at outside linebacker and defensive end. "I think everybody’s a lot more comfortable. Last year going into the bye there were a lot of things up in the air. There were a lot of things guys weren’t yet comfortable with. This year we’re much more used to the system. Everything that’s happening to us is fixable. We know what it is. We have to tackle. We have to cut down on big plays. Last year everybody was all over the place."’