Archives for August 30, 2013

‘You know obviously you have an opportunity, and you go out there and do your best. I will not sit here and make excuses for myself. I could have played better but you just move on. I was hoping to maybe get in there in the second half and kind of redeem myself but, you can’t turn the ball over in this league and expect to win. So yeah it’s tough but, I was thankful to be here and you know we’ll see what happens. Obviously after that performance you can’t feel too good but, we’ll see.’

‘The numbers were indicting. In his five series, Leinart went 3-for-10 through the air for 11 yards with two interceptions producing a 0.0 passer rating … ZERO, perfect … it can’t get any lower.’

‘You know it’s a strange night when Jeff Tuel is the one guy you’re trying to keep healthy heading into the season.’

‘If the Bills wanted to try to create overconfidence in New England, Thursday’s game at Ralph Wilson Stadium was a noble effort in that direction. Detroit jumped to a 21-0 lead and held a 35-3 halftime advantage.’

‘”Started off a little rocky,” Heath said of his night. “I had to get into the game, but I think once the game got going, we started progressing a little bit. In this league, though, you can’t have an on and off switch. You’ve got to come out on. We could have done a lot better as a group, but we’re going to continue to get better. We’re going to watch this film and keep moving on.”‘

‘Years from now, some lifelong Bills fan will look back fondly on the night his father took him to his first NFL game and he saw Jarron Gilbert, Corbin Bryant, Alan Branch and Jamie Blatnick starting on the defensive line.’

‘Roster aspirants Brad Smith, Chris Hogan, Marcus Easley and Brandon Kaufman haven’t had it easy. They spent the summer catching passes from two rookies and a veteran journeyman who has missed much of camp with injuries and a family funeral.’

‘The halftime pee-wee football game provided far more entertainment for the crowd of about 25,000 than the Bills, who could not have looked any worse.’

‘Leinart, who has not started an NFL regular season game since 2011, did not impress in his bid for a roster spot. The left-handed Leinart completed only three of his 10 attempts for 11 yards and two interceptions. Lewis, who spent training camp with the Lions, had a shaky start but threw a 79-yard touchdown to Marcus Easley late in the fourth quarter. Lewis finished 7-of-16 for 132 yards and also rushed for a team-best 51 yards on seven carries.’

‘On the night the league’s pre-season schedule mercifully concluded, Leinart completed three of 10 passes to his Buffalo teammates for 11 yards, and two of 10 passes to Lions defenders.’

Lions’ backups blast Bills in preseason finale (Detroit Free Press)

Lions RB Steven Miller makes lasting impression in final preseason game (Detroit Free Press)

Photo gallery (Detroit Free Press)

Lions close exhibition season with a victory over Bills (Detroit News)

Some Lions brace for roster cuts as deadline looms (Detroit News)

Photo gallery (Detroit News)

Detroit Lions dump Buffalo Bills to finish preseason with 2 straight routs (Ann Arbor News)

As cut day nears, bubble players like Steven Miller await their fate with Detroit Lions (Ann Arbor News)

Ezekiel Ansah among 3 Detroit Lions left home from Buffalo trip (Ann Arbor News)

Detroit Lions wrap up preseason with win over Bills (Oakland Press)

Lions power past Bills in preseason finale (Fox Sports Detroit)

Lions thump Bills, 35-13, to end preseason (DetroitLions.com)

How much does this 35-13 win mean going into the regular season? (DetroitLions.com)

It’s time to forget the preseason — the real season is upon us (DetroitLions.com)

A look at position battles and the Lions’ turnover turnaround (DetroitLions.com)

Photo gallery (DetroitLions.com)

Photo gallery (BuffaloBills.com)

Photo gallery (Buffalo News)

Photo gallery (Rochester D&C)

Photo gallery (WGRZ-TV)

‘The Brooklyn Democrat said the suite, controlled by Empire State Development Corp., presents the potential for misuse by any of the 16 ticket holders who are allowed in for a given game.’

”’You have two quarterbacks that have been here for about two days,” Marrone said, referring to Leinart and newly acquired Thaddeus Lewis. ”Again, we should be playing much better than this. And that’s a concern.”’

‘Rookie third-round pick Marquise Goodwin did not return after being poked in the left eye in the first quarter. Veteran Brad Smith did not return after hurting his ribs late in the second quarter.’

‘Leinart’s debut in Buffalo lasted a little more than a quarter. And that’s left him worried whether his future with the quarterback-needy Bills will last past Saturday, when the team makes its final cuts. ”It’s disappointing,” Leinart said. ”I was thankful to be here, and we’ll see what happens. Obviously, after that performance it can’t be anything good I would think. But we’ll see.”’