Archives for November 2013

‘When the Bills called, it had been more than three years since he’d played in a regular-season game. Summers knew he wasn’t being brought in to be the primary ballcarrier like he was at UNLV – not with C.J. Spiller, Fred Jackson and Tashard Choice on the roster. The Bills let Corey McIntyre walk in free agency and were looking for a blocking fullback who could also some rattle some skulls on special teams, and Summers leaped at the opportunity.’

‘He has had to operate behind an inexperienced and shaky offensive line. The Falcons tried to replace three starters along the line and the transition has not been smooth. Ryan has been sacked 24 times, hit 69 times and hurried on more than 100 other pass attempts. I think his leaky pass protection has led to his problems.’

‘Sometimes the lighting and stuff is a little different, and I think the noise level is a little different. But as a quarterback it’s always nice to play indoors — no wind, no rain, no snow. Nothing to deal with. It makes it a little bit easier.’

‘No complaints’ for Falcons tight end Tony Gonzalez (Atlanta Journal Constitution)

Falcons QB Matt Ryan a lightning rod for his slide (Atlanta Journal Constitution)

‘Bills 21, Falcons 18.’

‘Atlanta gets a break playing in a dome in Toronto rather than outdoors northern New York. The Falcons’ biggest concern, however, is the Bills’ underrated defense, which will dominate Atlanta’s offensive line and add to its season total of 16 interceptions.’

‘ Buffalo’s offense has had its share of troubles converting in the red zone this season, but that cannot happen against the second-worst red zone defense they will face this season in the Falcons. Atlanta is allowing opponents to reach the end zone better than 63 percent of the time. The Bills need to have a success rate right around that figure to hand the Falcons their sixth straight loss.’

‘Dick Stockton (play by play), Ronde Barber (analyst), Kris Budden (reporter).’

‘I’ll admit, it’s hard to feel confident in a city that put a crack-smoking buffoon in the mayor’s office. But the threat is there, along with the money. And really, should we Americans be laughing at anyone for the characters they elect to high office?’

‘”I feel real comfortable in the defense,” said Branch after Wednesday’s practice. “I’ve embraced my role, tried to get in there and plug up the holes, tried to get disruptive in the backfield. I’m embracing the role and hopefully I can go out and keep doing what I’m doing.”‘

‘Capacity in the domed stadium for NFL games is about 45,300. Last year’s announced crowd for the Bills game against Seattle was 40,770. Officials of Rogers Media Inc., the Bills’ partner for the game, told the Toronto Star earlier this week about 82 percent of the tickets had been sold, about the same as last year in the week leading up to the game.’

‘”A lot of the questions that everyone’s asking me, do you want to be here, I’m really not the right one to be asking the questions to,” Byrd said. “It’s not totally up to me, so like I said, it is what it is and I’m just focused on football and playing to the best of my ability.”‘

‘”EJ understands it,” Marrone said. “We’ve been saying to get back there and throw it. Just throw it. Let it loose, let it loose.”‘

‘”No. I always find it funny because people will ask me what’s going on and I’ll be like, ‘What?’ Someone will ask me a question and I’ll turn around to (PR chief) Scott (Berchtold) and go, ‘Where were they going with that question?’ He’s like, ‘Well you haven’t heard,’ and I really don’t.”‘

‘In order to credit the idea that the Bills will end up staying in Buffalo, you have to believe several things. First – that the will exists locally to keep them. It does. Second – that the money to buy them will materialize. It might. Third – that a huge capital investment beyond the $1 billion (U.S.) purchase price will be further made. This is where it gets iffy.’