Archives for October 2011

‘”I would never say it’s the perfect timing for anything,” he said. “But at the same time if something is going to happen, better to take care of it now while we have the time.”‘

‘”Yeah, he’s a wise guy. He’s my guy,” the Bills’ 2011 first round pick said. “We exchanged numbers and we talk periodically.”‘

‘When we arrived at the stadium I was amazed. The parking lots were full of cars, buses and people partying. I’ve been to every kind of sporting event and I had never seen anything like this. Everywhere I looked people were cooking food, playing football and partying. I had no idea what "tailgating" actually meant until I saw it in person.’

‘Buffalo 27, New York 20.’

‘"(It) just flared up," said Merriman. "It’s one of those things we kinda knew before the season that it was going to happen at some point in time. Just have to to kind of take control of it and find out where to go from here. I’m not 100 percent (sure) what’s going to happen just yet. We haven’t talked about it. Nothing serious fortunately, just something I have to maintain and take care of."’

‘"I think I have the ability to do whatever is asked of me or needed at the time," said Smith, who played five seasons with the New York Jets before signing with the Bills prior to training camp in July. "Whatever the coach wants to do, whether it’s focusing on the special teams or do the Wildcat stuff or play receiver. I can’t control what people think, I can only control how I prepare to play."’

‘Linebacker Shawne Merriman, who didn’t practice on Wednesday because of a sore shoulder, was limited on Thursday with a sore Achilles, while guard Andy Levitre (knee) practiced fully after missing Wednesday’s workout. Rookie safety Da’Norris Searcy (ankle) didn’t practice again Thursday and will likely miss Sunday’s game, Gailey said.’

‘”That’s our No. 1 thing that we try to focus on, when we get in the red zone we need a touchdown,” said running back Fred Jackson, the pride of Coe College. “It’s one of the major things that we focus on.”‘

‘The Bills will finish 11-5, have a 64.7 percent chance to make the playoffs and a 4.8 percent chance to win Super Bowl XLVI. Those are the projections this week by teamrankings.com. The computer thinks the Bills will win at San Diego in the wild-card round and lose at New England in the AFC Divisional playoffs. … Green Bay over Baltimore is the forecast for Super Bowl XLVI. … The projected winner of the Andrew Luck Sweepstakes, with an NFL-fewest 2.5 wins, is the St. Louis Rams, followed by the Indianapolis Colts (3.3 wins).’

‘”He’s the brainiac and the rest of us are a bunch of goons, but we don’t mind,” linebacker Shawne Merriman joked yesterday. “There’s no doubt Ryan’s a smart guy, but he’s proving he’s a heck of a player, too.”‘

‘”That’s his old team,” safety Deon Grant said yesterday. “I’m not going to call it a homecoming, but it is for him. That’s where he was at before he came here. We definitely want to show them they let something good go.”‘

‘”No, it’s just a game we have to win,” Fewell said. “I just happen to know those guys on the other side.”‘

‘Fewell coached Jackson and quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick in Buffalo. Fewell hopes that familiarity will help this weekend, although he said Chan Gailey’s offense is totally different from what Buffalo ran two years ago. “I can definitely give them my insight on how players play, what I think their strengths and weaknesses are,” Fewell said. “I’ve tried to do that and share that with them. I hope it does [help] from a preparation standpoint.”‘

‘”He’s been pretty much even-keeled all week,” Tuck said of Fewell. “I am sure it does [mean something extra to Fewell] but he hasn’t shown us whether it does or not.”‘

‘While there might be a little bitterness, Fewell won’t discuss it.’