Archives for August 2012

‘For Bills fans who crave national praise (which is all of us) then tonight’s broadcast of the John Murphy show was as good as it gets. John Clayton from ESPN is by far one of the most well respected reporters covering the NFL, and he proclaimed that this is the year that Buffalo goes back to the playoffs. He said the schedule and upgraded defense play in their favor, and Ryan Fitzpatrick’s good decision making will put the offense in good situations every week. Being based out of Seattle, he had a good look at Tarvaris Jackson, and said the new Bills backup quarterback is a hard worker, a well-respected pro for his toughness and is a good fit in Buffalo.’

‘”I don’t know,” said head coach Chan Gailey. “I’ve spent a little bit of time with him and he seemed to grasp … you know, there’s only so many plays in football. It’s just what you call them. We’ve just got to get him up to speed with how we call the plays and once he gets the terminology down, he’ll be comfortable with what we’re doing. We’ve just got to get the terminology in his head.”‘

‘We brought him in to compete for the backup job. That is why we brought him in here. Anytime you do not have consistency, whether it is guard, defensive end, linebacker or whatever it is, if we do not find consistency then we are looking to create competition. That is where we are right now. We had not found the consistency that we want so we are going to see how fast he can learn. We are going to try to play him Thursday night a few snaps. Let him get in the huddle, get a feel for things and see how we do it. I’d like for him to play if he can get enough in his system from now till then which I think he can just meeting with him for the short time I met with him.’

‘Vince (Young), I do not want to get into what he can do and cannot do. It just did not work out. Vince did everything he could. He worked hard at it. He did everything we asked him to do. It just did not work. So we go another route and it is not like we are thinking that (Jackson) can do something that Vince could not do. It is just we have seen him and he has played good, at times. Consistency has been a little bit of a problem. He has bounced around a little bit but who knows, we will give it a try. We know he has the ability to do it. We will see if he can produce.’

‘”We think he can maybe play some this week,” said Nix, who has a speaking engagement at his alma mater West Alabama University. “They’re meeting now and he’s going to practice. So we’ll see how far along he is and if he’s ready to play Thursday night we’ll give him some time.”‘

‘Set to enter his seventh NFL season, Jackson (6’2″ 225) started 14-of-15 games played for Seattle in 2011 and set career-highs in attempts (450), completions (271), passing yards (3,091) and passing touchdowns (14).’

‘Young’s performance earned him the opportunity to cement the backup job as he was given all the snaps with the second unit last Saturday, but a 12-26 passing performance that included a pair of interceptions proved to be his undoing. He had a preseason quarterback rating of 48.2.’

‘Instead, Buffalo laid the cliched egg – even the post-game fireworks didn’t keep the majority of fans in their seats – and gave us plenty to worry about.’

‘Being from Texas, you probably haven’t played in a lot of cold weather. What is the lowest temperature you have played in for a game? Around the 50s, nothing like what it gets down to around here.’

‘Jackson, 6-foot-2 and 226 pounds, entered the NFL as a second-round draft choice of the Minnesota Vikings in 2006 and is 17-17 in his career as a starter. It’s expected the Bills will give Seattle a late-round draft pick in return for Jackson.’

‘The preseason is the preseason, but the Bills have no reason to feel comfortable. Really, have they given any indication, with the opener approaching, that this season will be different than others in recent years? The 38-7 loss Saturday night ended with many more questions than answers. Their responses haven’t been very good, either. Several players rolled out tiresome “it’s just the preseason” rhetoric, which has become a blanket statement.’

‘The moves get the Bills down to the NFL’s 75-man roster limit for this week. All NFL teams must trim down from 75 to 53 players on the active roster by 9 p.m. Friday, a day after Buffalo’s exhibition finale in Detroit.’

‘”He deserves a chance to be playing so Buffalo came after him,” Carroll said of Jackson. “I hope it’s a good thing for him. He did a great job for us and he proved everything you’d ever want to see out of a competitor.”‘

‘In Buffalo, Jackson is expected to compete for the backup job behind Ryan Fitzpatrick. Vince Young and Tyler Thigpen also are part of that competition.’

‘Carroll confirmed the trade of Jackson to Buffalo for an undisclosed pick is in the works. The Bills reportedly are negotiating to restructure the final year of Jackson’s contract.’