Archives for October 2013

‘”It’s a great story,” Browns coach Rob Chudzinski said. “We try not to get caught up in those things too much and focus on what we need to do to take care of our business. Certainly, a hometown kid playing quarterback is a neat thing. A couple of weeks ago, he made sure somebody else was handling all the ticket requests.”‘

‘”I’m more comfortable this year,” Dareus said. “I’m in a spot where life is life, you’ve got to live for the future and take care of your responsibilities. I’m back in a comfort zone, trying to have fun and being me.”‘

‘He looks the part. Manuel has excellent size (6-4), a strong arm and brings good athleticism, but has dealt with rookie ups and downs. His game-winning drive against Carolina has been the highlight of his rookie campaign. The spotty accuracy (28th in completion percentage at 56 percent) is an issue. Buffalo still has a passing problem. Only five teams average fewer yards per game through the air.’

‘”He was very impressive on his visit,” Chudzinski said of Manuel. “He’s a guy that has a bright future. We knew it then. Those are always tough decisions. We just felt like where we were at that picking Barkevious was our best choice at the time.”‘

‘It helps to nail the draft, which it looks like Buffalo did. EJ Manuel, while still green, has made enough plays and shown enough promise early that questions about a franchise quarterback are at least on hold. An bad week against Baltimore doesn’t dampen the enthusiasm for the ex-Florida State star. Kiko Alonso is the front-runner for Defensive Rookie of the Year and Robert Woods had a breakout game in Week 4 against the Ravens.’

‘In Week 3 of last season, Choice stepped in for both and finished with 91 yards rushing in a 24-14 win at Cleveland.’

‘”It’s sort of the same situation; when opportunity knocks, you’ve gotta ball,” Choice said. “If it comes down that I have a bigger role, I’m ready to roll. I’ve got to hold the fort down.”‘

‘An ankle injury suffered against the Baltimore Ravens in the first half kept the runner from finishing his second game in a row, and now Spiller has missed his second straight practice. He was on the field during the stretching portion, but ultimately went to work with a trainer once the team went into individual drills.’

‘The story of the day for the Bills is probably the five interceptions of Super Bowl MVP Joe Flacco. Mike Pettine’s varied looks confused Flacco frequently, and put Bills players in positions to make plays. We’ll take a look at both of Aaron Williams interceptions, and then focus on Kiko Alonso and Marcell Dareus in the run game. While Alonso had a pair of picks, I think the All-22 can sometimes be better used to show you things you may not get to see on regular broadcast TV. Without further ado…let’s look at the D.’

‘Remember this when ennumerating the Bills’ flaws. They’ve had those same flaws already, and they’re 2-2. I don’t believe in fate but I do believe in luck, and chances are good that some 2013 playoff team has as many “issues” as the Bills do.’

‘”We’re going to be smart,” said Spiller. “We’ve still got two days. (Wednesday) will be a big day we’ll see how the reaction will be and then I’ll get out there Thursday and test it out and if I can go I’ll go. If I can’t then I can’t. But my discussion hasn’t been anything about coming back too early and damaging it or anything like that. I’m a competitor and I want to be out there, but we’ll see how it goes.”‘

‘Whether you’re traveling from the West Coast coming back home and then getting ready to travel again for a Thursday night game or even if you have one at home. I think the short distance is definitely something that’s more of a benefit.’

‘We haven’t gotten to Thursday yet, but I think my body feels good, everybody else on the team, my teams’ bodies are feeling great. We moved around great today, Coach is allowing us to get rest and things like that. We’re fresh not just mentally but physically.’

‘Byrd has been practicing on a limited basis for the first four weeks of the season. He was listed as doubtful each of the first two games this season before being upgraded to questionable in Weeks 3 and 4. The safety has been inactive for each of the first four games.’