Archives for November 2011

‘”There’s more meaning going into this one than our eighth game last year when we were 0-7, that’s for sure,” Ryan Fitzpatrick noted in his weekly press conference. “Anytime you play a division opponent it’s serious. These are the games you have to win to get into the playoffs.”‘

‘”Everything was good,” said Jones following Wednesday’s practice. “I’m definitely sore now after practice, but there’s no shooting pain or anything like that. Hopefully I’ll be okay for Sunday.”‘

‘The Bills will wear their royal blue jerseys during the next two road games at Dallas and Miami. With no Bills throwback uniform game during the 2011 season this Sunday’s game gives the Bills the opportunity to wear their white jersey in front of the home crowd.’

‘”This week is huge,” said George Wilson. “We go back into the division for what we call two-fers. By beating a division opponent you essentially go up on them two games. We have to continue to challenge and to be able to win our division so we don’t have to depend on anybody.”‘

‘"They’ve made it really easy for me to get comfortable here. I mean, we’ve got a great group of guys, and I’m not just saying that because they’re paying me to say it," Barnett said of the Bills. "We really do have a great, great locker room here. Great characters. They’ve made it easy for me to just come in and be a part of this team, and have fun doing it."’

‘What does it mean for the Bills? I have absolutely no idea, and neither do you. The Bills themselves don’t have a clue how it could affect them in the end. They are a handful of plays from being 2-5, but the same could be said for several teams whose records could be turned inside out for better or worse.’

‘The teams have qualified for the playoffs in the same year just three times — 1981, 1991 and 1998. They have both finished with winning records in the same year just four times.’

‘Truth is, the Jets considered him an unaffordable luxury. Knowing he’d be difficult to re-sign, they drafted Jeremy Kerley — a mini-Brad — in the fifth round. With two other free-agent receivers, Santonio Holmes and Braylon Edwards, Smith wasn’t a priority.’

‘The meeting was said to be a healthy one between the two, and Jackson came away confident that a deal would get done.’

‘Dareus did exactly what the Bills hoped he would do when they drafted him third overall this past spring – be disruptive.’

‘But while you never had the feeling, once the game started, that the Bills would lose, to dismiss their defensive performance because Washington was inept does it a disservice. Fact is, at 3-4, the Redskins have more victories than 10 NFL teams and equal to three others. In other words, it’s a middle-of-the pack team.’

‘”I’m going to continue to get better,” said Fitzpatrick. “I’m going to continue to improve every week, every month every year, and hopefully, this is just a good beginning for us.”‘

‘The Bills didn’t allow a single rushing first down for only the third time in team history, the first time that’s happened in nearly 30 years.’

‘ Could it be any clearer that the guy should play inside? Dareus was a tackle at Alabama. He’s 6-foot-3, 346 pounds, ideal size for a tackle. He attracts double-teams and clogs the middle, allowing his teammates to make tackles one-on-one. That’s the definitive nose tackle.’

‘Jackson’s total of 1,074 scrimmage yards is the second most in franchise history over that time period, trailing only O.J. Simpson, who had 1,106 in 1975. Only Simpson, who also had 1,073 in 1973, and Thurman Thomas, who had 1,032 in 1991, have topped 1,000 yards in seven games.’