Archives for October 15, 2012

‘You have to wonder, though, whether Gailey’s thinking was affected by Smith, a nearly $4 million-a-year player the Bills haven’t seemed to know how to use since they signed him away from the Jets last season.’

‘Arizona quarterback Kevin Kolb was under constant duress from the Bills’ front seven that eventually sent Kolb to the locker room with a chest/rib injury.’

‘”I couldn’t believe it at first,” Carrington said. “I thought it was still going to go in because the ball just kept going. Me, Marcell [Dareus], Shepp [linebacker Kelvin Sheppard], we were able to get under their pads. I was able to get a hand up and got the ball. It was crazy. We just tried to give it all we had. The game was on the line, we had to do something.”‘

‘Somehow, they’re locked into a four-way tie for first place in the AFC East.’

‘”It certainly put a smile on my face,” Williams told The News by phone. “I wanted him to do extremely well, but he didn’t have to do it against my old team like that, especially not with my name up in the stadium.”‘

‘Feely had a chance to win it with three seconds left, but his attempt from 38 yards was partially blocked by Bills defensive tackle Alex Carrington, hit the left upright and fell to the ground, no good.’

‘Gailey and defensive coordinator Dave Wannstedt put together game plans that were good enough to win, but not by a lot. You easily could argue the Bills won in spite of themselves.’

‘”I am excited for those guys who have worked their rears off,” he continued. “They lost some respect the last couple of weeks and they were out to gain some respect back. I think they did that.”‘

‘Had the Bills lost, Chan Gailey’s call for the wildcat pass by Brad Smith that was intended for Donald Jones but was picked off by Patrick Peterson would have taken its rightful place next to Mike Mularkey’s halfback option pass by Travis Henry. Gailey said he’d do it again, too. Let’s hope no defense ever gives him a look that would necessitate him calling that play. Oh, do I loathe the wildcat.’

‘There was no doubt this was a different team than the one that played the previous two games. Now, it bears reminding that the Cardinals are not in the same area code as New England and San Francisco, a very weak 4-2 team, but for the Bills to go on the road and find a way to win after the way they had played recently, it was a big-time triumph.’

‘Had the Bills lost, Chan Gailey would have been crucified for that wildcat deep pass he called in the fourth quarter that was intercepted by Patrick Peterson. That led to Arizona’s tying field goal. However, it wasn’t all bad as Gailey stayed longer with the running game and it paid dividends. But this offense is still a work in progress. As for Dave Wannstedt, he had his players in better position to make plays, and they responded with a strong effort. There were far fewer mistakes, though this Arizona offense is pretty weak.’

‘How the game got to overtime left fans of both teams wondering.’

‘Watching a Bills game is one way to spend a rainy Sunday. So’s riding a garbage-can lid down the basement steps and plowing into the washing machine.’

‘Coaching: The Bills were unprepared for the fake punt, didn’t run the ball enough, called the horrible wildcat throw and there are the other bad decisions I outlined in the intro. If Feely’s second kick didn’t hit the upright, Gailey would’ve been a candidate to be without a job tomorrow. Grade: F.’

‘The wildcat pass play call with three minutes to go in the fourth? That is the worst play call by Chan I have seen in his time here. What was he thinking? That play could have cost the Bills the game. With three minutes left, the Bills could run the ball and run the clock down. Instead, Gailey called for the wildcat pass. Brad Smith threw the ball deep, but it was intercepted by Arizona’s Patrick Peterson. The ensuing drive led to the game-tying field goal.’