Archives for January 2012

‘Fitzpatrick had 15 touchdown passes and nine interceptions at midseason. The last eight games, he had nine TDs and 14 interceptions. Ten of those 14 came with the Bills in major catch-up mode, trailing by 10 or more points.’

‘I was no fan of Edwards. His defense was ill-conceived and had too many breakdowns. In successive seasons, they allowed more points than all but one team in franchise history. But he wasn’t much worse than any of the defensive gurus who preceded him in this millennium, dating back to Gregg Williams.’

‘Broadcasting sources confirmed Tuesday that WGR will carry the Bills in 2012. The announcement may come as soon as today.’

‘”Their season ended, they have one more year on their lease,” Poloncarz said of the Bills. “I want to ensure that by the end of this year that we have a new lease in place, and to do that we have to move ahead now.”;

‘”We have to be good (for Fitzpatrick to succeed),” Gailey said. “We have to get better as a football team. As we continue to get better as a football team, I think Ryan will continue to get extremely proficient at his job. I have a great deal of confidence in Ryan and what he is going to be able to do at quarterback for us in the future.”‘

‘If they had hired a coach like the 49ers’ Jim Harbaugh or the Steelers’ Mike Tomlin or the Saints’ Sean Payton — charasmatic guys full of enthusiasm who can seemingly will their teams to victory by their personality — it might give fans more confidence.’

‘Two major knee surgeries shortened his initial stint in the NFL, but the former Pitt and Kiski Area star linebacker is getting another chance to fulfill his dream of playing in the pros. McKillop signed a two-year contract Tuesday with the Buffalo Bills.’

‘ With the Lions and Houston Texans making the playoffs this season, every team in the National Football League not named the Buffalo Bills has made the post season since we moved into the 21st Century.’

‘So, what do I see as I gaze into my crystal football for next season? It’s still a little cloudy, but I honestly believe 8-8 is within the Bills grasp. But the playoffs might still be another year away.’

‘It’s hard not to conclude that Wannstedt’s promotion will improve the defensive unit and that it will gravitate away from the 3-4 alignment, for which it was ill-manned, and switch to the 4-3 of which he is an advocate.’

‘Pass rush should be the top priority for the Bills, followed by left tackle and a big-play wide receiver to make sure Stevie Johnson is the second-best receiver on the roster. Johnson, despite his antics, is a talented player who makes a good No. 2 receiver and should be re-signed.’

‘”Obviously as soon as possible,” he said. “We’ll see what happens with that. I’ll just put faith in Buddy (Nix) and see what happens. But the sooner it happens for me, the better for myself.”‘

‘"I’ve done this for a long time and we’re kind of at the stage now where you sit back and evaluate things," Wannstedt said. "Everyone’s curious about what changes will be made, what’s going to be different, and a time and place will come to talk about that. Right now, it’s more of sit back, try to catch our breath, evaluate players, evaluate our scheme, and take a look and see where we can improve. It’s really not that difficult. We’ve got a lot of room to improve. We have some good young players, we have some good veteran players and that will be the next step."’

‘”I don’t know what’s going to happen and obviously I’m not a decision maker. I’m not going to be involved in that process. I know that they know I want him back. He knows I want him back. He wants to be here. We’ll see how it turns out. But I’m a better player with Stevie on my team. I feel he’s a better player with me as his quarterback.”‘

‘Bell said the knee injury he suffered against Denver was not as serious as feared, and he will be healthy heading into free agency. Bell suffered a torn meniscus (cartilage) and had surgery last Wednesday to repair it. He said he should be close to fully recovered in two or three weeks.’