Archives for November 2013

‘In three seasons under Chan Gailey, the Bills went 5-19 on the road. Doug Marrone’s Bills are off to a similarly bad start and it’s a trend that he needs to fix.’

‘"It’s kind of like we came out sleepwalking," said Bills running back Fred Jackson.’

‘At the end of the Bills’ first possession in the fourth quarter, Buffalo was trailing 17-3 and faced 4th-and-5 at the Steelers’ 36. Marrone opted to punt.’

‘Even with his track-star speed, he is averaging just 12.4 yards per catch. That would rank tied for 65th in the NFL – if he had enough receptions to qualify among the league leaders. He has only one catch for more than 30 yards this season – a 47-yarder in Week Six against Cincinnati.’

‘”EJ’s played six games! My God, he missed half of training camp and a month of the season. The kid is a rookie. Did you forget what he did against a good Carolina D? You’re going to bail on him already?”‘

‘The team apparently has a tougher challenge selling tickets this week. The Bills are on a three-game skid, the weather’s been nasty, and people might be a little tighter with their discretionary money so close to Christmas.’

‘”I’m telling you now, I promise you as I stand here, I’ve been through this before,” said Marrone, who inherited one of the worst Division I football programs in the country when he took over at Syracuse in 2009 and got the Orange back on stable ground as it made its move to the ACC.’

‘”For them it was a business decision; for me, I took it personally,” Nelson said. “I thought we had developed a great relationship over there so I could get a phone call or at least some acknowledgement. That decision is driving me and motivating me every since day. It has made me the player I am today.”‘

‘”I want to make sure we’re clear, do I feel like I have time to turn this thing around? Hell no. Hell no,” Marrone said. “I know I have to turn this thing around now, today, in what we do. So let’s make sure we’re all on the same page here, and I understand this: It’s my responsibility.”‘

‘In providing the update Monday, Marrone says Woods might be better off getting an additional two weeks of rest. After hosting the New York Jets (5-4) on Sunday, Buffalo (3-7) enters its bye week off before returning to play Atlanta on Dec. 1.’

‘That is a noble attitude for sure. But now he must start showing what he learned by applying it in the games. In the 5 1/2 games he has played, he has not been very impressive except for the game-winning drive he engineered in Week 2 to beat Carolina. He has completed only 56.6 percent of his passes and his passer rating is 76.2.’

‘”His ankle is still swollen from the high ankle sprain,” the coach revealed. “We need Robert. Robert’s been a very good player for us and productive — a young player.”‘

‘”And I realize that through times like this, no matter how you look at history and what you see, it always goes back to the leadership. And we can talk about plays and we can talk about schemes all you want. That’s not what this is about. This is about making sure that we’re accountable and being a leader, and that’s the one thing I can promise you that I will be able to take the coaches, take this team and take this organization to where we want to go.’

‘”Could increase, could decrease. We’ll see week-to-week,” Marrone said, likely igniting the fire and fury of Spiller fans league-wide. “But it’s not a knock on injury or what we do. It’s what we’re trying to get done. We’re trying to be very productive in the run game.”‘

‘Fair or not, I think we’re going to expect Manuel to look better than those guys, maybe by a lot. I say fair or not because this line of thinking fails to take into account that Manuel was playing his fifth full game in the NFL against the Steelers. That’s simply not very much game action. But again, the comparison is being made to guys who were playing in their first or second NFL games as well.’