Archives for October 4, 2013

‘Hoyer was hurt while sliding at the end of a scramble. He broke free along the right sideline and picked up a first down, but was hit from behind by Bills linebacker Kiko Alonso and his legs bent awkwardly underneath him.’

‘Spiller, who missed a portion of Sunday’s 23-20 win over Baltimore due to the injury, had been listed as questionable entering the contest.’

‘”It was just a misread on my part,” Tuel said. “I didn’t see the safety flying down. Just a screw-up on my part.”‘

‘Neither starting quarterback returned to action. Both were diagnosed with sprains, though the NFL Network reported the Browns fear Hoyer tore knee ligaments. Hoyer will undergo an MRI exam Friday, while Manuel will be re-evaluated.’

‘Any thoughts of last-minute heroics from Tuel were squashed after Ward picked off the Buffalo rookie, taking it 44 yards to the end zone. Tuel finished 8 of 20 for 80 yards. Manuel was 11 of 20 for 129 yards before leaving the game. After taking over for Brian Hoyer early in the game, Weeden threw for 197 yards on 13 completions.’

‘In this business you never say never. Jeff Tuel could start the next game and lead the Bills to a big win kicking off a great career. From what I’ve seen in practice I would highly doubt that. I don’t think Buffalo has any chance to win any game until Manuel is back under center.’

‘It was an absolutely tough situation for any quarterback to go into, let alone an undrafted free agent rookie that had never taken a snap in a game that counted toward the actual standings. It was a short week where reps were not going around quite as freely as a normal week would bring, and Jeff Tuel had to be ready for the worst case scenario just in case. It happened, and Tuel couldn’t do much.’

I just wrote an article for Bills Digest last week on how Aaron Williams’ performance against the Ravens was an incredibly-pleasant surprise, so I don’t feel bad playing the other side of the coin. Aaron Williams was a crime scene against the Browns, looking like a more muscular Justin Rogers. This is apart from the soon-to-be-mentioned penalty below. His coverage was miserable. An argument can be made that if he made just one more (?) play, the Bills still have a look at this game.

‘It’s hard to get too upset with loss since there are times you just have to throw your hands up and just shake your head. The Bills injury woes continued and when they lost Manuel it just took all the air out of their sails offensively and defensively. I don’t remember a game with so many major momentum shifts.’

‘Quarterback; Grade F: Need to get another quarterback on the roster quickly.’

‘With a drive that began at their own 20-yard line, backup QB Jeff Tuel had to put together a touchdown drive with just over two minutes remaining. A screen pass to Fred Jackson gained 13 yards and a first down to move the ball to the Bills 33. A completion to Chris Hogan moved the ball out to 40, but on the next play, Tuel’s pass for Robert Woods was intercepted by T.J. Ward, who returned it 44-yards for a touchdown to put the game away with 1:44 remaining.’

‘Johnson appeared to wrench his lower right back when he turned to cut on a route in the first half. He didn’t return. A timetable has not been given on either player’s injury.’

‘”E.J.’s a tough kid. He took a shot, he scrambled, he made a first down (and) he was trying to score a touchdown. What do you say? ‘Don’t scramble, don’t score touchdowns.’ What do you think?”‘

‘”He just didn’t think it would be best for me to go,” said Byrd. “It was his call once I gave him the green light. He controls all that.’