Archives for September 30, 2013

‘”Every game is like a roller-coaster,” Alonso said. “There’s going to be ups and downs. We just got to keep fighting until the end every game.”‘

‘Kiko Alonso may be the leading candidate for NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year honors at the quarter pole of the season. The second-round pick from Oregon is the first game-changing linebacker the Bills have had since Takeo Spikes was healthy a decade ago. Alonso is superb at rushing the passer and covering receivers. He says he can’t remember having interceptions in three consecutive games at any level of football, including Pop Warner.’

‘Fast Forwarding to the two minute warning – Ravens drive their way all the way up to midfield, but Kiko Alonso comes up big with his second interception of the game, sealing it for the Bills by the final score of 23 to 20.’

‘Having been deflated the week before, this win made me feel rejuvenated. The Bills needed to bounce back quickly from the Jets loss and I thought this matchup with Baltimore would not provide the proper medicine. Quite honestly, I thought the Bills would get clobbered.’

‘It wasn’t always pretty down the stretch of the game. In fact, at times in the second half, it was downright ugly. However, when the Bills needed a big play, they made one defensively. That, at its very core, is a stark difference from the ‘utoh, here we go again,’ mentality that has plagued the franchise for years on end.’

‘Last week I told you I wasn’t too concerned about losing to the Jets. Again, the inconsistency is going to be there. We left wondering, how could they ever lose to the Jets and now we leave wondering, how did they ever beat the Ravens? I don’t think that uneven ride is going to change, but I’m still encouraged by some of the young talent they have here from this current draft.’

‘A depleted Bills defense played a huge role on Sunday. The unit entered the game against the Ravens with three starters missing from the defensive secondary. Leodis McKelvin, Stephon Gilmore and Jairus Byrd all missed the game against the Baltimore due to injury. Safety Aaron Williams was forced to start at cornerback but still the Bills made Joe Flacco’s visit to Ralph Wilson Stadium a miserable experience.’

“Every game is like a roller coaster,” Alonso said. “There’s going to be ups and downs. We’ve got to keep fighting until the end.”‘

‘Bills running backs, 42 carries, 175 yards, TD – Made even more remarkable by Fred Jackson (16-87-1) and CJ Spiller leaving the game at times with injuries.’

‘I never thought they would hold on to win this game but maybe it is a new era afterall. In the past they lose this game, the Ravens started coming back but the defense really made plays when it counted. Manuel only completed 10 passes but managed the game properly and let his defense and running game win it. That is a nice blueprint for success in the early stages of the new generation Bills.’

‘Coaching: Grade A: They beat the defending champs, not bad at all.’

‘It took Joe Flacco’s fifth interception with 57 seconds remaining, and the second of the day by Kiko Alonso to nail down a hard-fought 23-20 Bills victory over Baltimore.’

‘”It’s something obviously we’re very happy with, we’re very proud of,” head coach Doug Marrone said. “You see a player that’s getting a better feel each week, getting better each week. He’s playing very well, at a high level.”‘

‘At the end of the game, just so everyone knows, there’s 57 seconds left in the game, 48 seconds is what the management sheet says. So you have that difference right there. If you take a knee right away its 48 seconds if you bang it down. We wanted to keep the quarterback up. On the first play I don’t know how obviously we only got three seconds off. He didn’t take a knee right away. That got us back, the plan was to go ahead get the extra five seconds, get it back down, get it to under seven seconds, throw the ball out of bounds so we didn’t have to do anything. That was the game plan going in to that last series.’

‘We wanted to be physical today. We did a little more 21 personnel. I think it worked out well for us. We ran the ball great. Offensive line did a huge job getting off the ball and the defense played a great job creating turnovers, getting us some shorts field and putting some points on the board.’