Archives for December 5, 2011

‘”It’s not easy,” Gailey said of his team’s last four games with nothing at stake. “You can say you’re playing for pride, you can say you’re playing for jobs, you can say you’re playing for the future and all of those are partially true in some way shape or form. If we’re pros like we say we are, we get ourselves ready and we go play. (But) when you’ve tasted (a playoff opportunity) and you don’t (make) it, it’s going to be very hard. You’ve got to play for all those reasons I just stated.”‘

‘The second-year back had 102 yards from scrimmage in the six-point loss with 83 of those yards coming on the ground. What’s unfortunate is that rushing total could’ve been 124 and the touchdown total should’ve been two.’

‘The DWI”saturation patrol” employed troopers from Clarence and Buffalo who issued 98 traffic tickets in all, including the two DWI arrests, 41 speed infractions, eight cellphone violations, three seat belt violations and 44 other vehicle-and-traffic violations.’

‘"I think the reason we lost was fundamentals," Gailey said. "You’ve got to block, you’ve got to tackle, and you’ve got to take care of the football."’

‘”We show some very bright spots, but we’re not putting a total 60-minute game together, whether the offense is playing 60 minutes and defense 30 minutes or vice versa,” linebacker Nick Barnett said. “In this league you cannot go out and play 25 minutes of a game good and expect to win. We’ve got to put 60 minutes together to win.”‘

‘At last, in his 24th game as a Bill, Spiller showed the raw, instinctive running ability that caused Nix to reach for him in the draft. This would be an overdue development if he were the 39th pick in the draft, not the ninth.’

‘”Yeah, just hand it to the referee and handshakes, and go back to the sidelines and celebrate with my teammates,” said Johnson after Sunday’s 23-17 loss to Tennessee.’

‘Bills tight end Scott Chandler should have gone down instead of fighting for extra yardage among five Titans defenders at the Tennessee 37. He fumbled, killing a Buffalo scoring threat.’

‘Not Gailey’s finest hour. Team came out flat. Offense didn’t develop any real rhythm. Didn’t stick to the run. Edwards could be on hot seat.’

‘The Bills paid tribute to Buffalo News reporter Allen Wilson with a moment of silence in the press box prior to Sunday’s game. The team also kept a chair open and placed roses and a picture of Wilson on the press box table.’

‘However, Tennessee (7-5) was able to come away with a victory that kept it right in the thick of the AFC playoff race because it made just enough positive plays, unlike the Bills who made just enough negative plays to lose.’

‘I never noticed Marcell Dareus once. That’s a problem.’

‘There are many ways to lose a football game, but perhaps the most maddening is when coaches quit doing something during the course of a game that is obviously working. They try to fix what’s not broken.’

‘In losing their fifth straight game, the Bills were listless for most of the dreary day, and in turn, so was the crowd.’

‘C.J. Spiller looked very much like a player worthy of the ninth overall pick in the 2010 draft in the first half, when he had 80 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries. He also had a 41-yard TD run nullified by a holding penalty on fullback Corey McIntyre. But in the second half, coach Chan Gailey inexplicably pulled the plug on Buffalo’s running game, calling just six run plays.’