Archives for December 31, 2013

‘”I know that we beat Miami twice and split with New York, but we lost to New England twice in games that were close … and that’s how it is. Do I feel that we can beat (the Patriots)? Yes I do. But we didn’t.”‘

‘Among the highlights…’.

‘Marrone looks like the right coach and a good fit for Buffalo, by the way. He didn’t make any egregious errors this season. You didn’t see any boneheaded decisions under pressure, which made him a considerable upgrade over the men who preceded him. You could sense a shift in the Bills’ collective mindset.’

‘”When you have the injuries I’ve had, there’s always surgical things you can do to repair it, and then there’s also ways if you just get rest and certain things like that, it might repair itself,” he said. “So I just have to make that decision.”‘

‘”I think a lot of my injuries have just been misfortunate occurrences in a football game,” Manuel said. “You’re in a tough sport and I know I’m a tough guy and if I could’ve gotten back out there I would have, no question about it. That’s all I can say about the injuries. They’re behind me now, I can get healthy, and just come back ready to go.”‘

‘Hilliard oversaw a young corps of receivers, however, that included rookie draft picks Robert Woods and Marquise Goodwin. Woods caught 40 passes for 587 yards and three touchdowns, the first Bills rookie with 40 catches since Lee Evans in 2004.’

‘”Continuity wins in this business if you can keep making progress,” Brandon said. “And like I said, (I’m) very disappointed in sitting up here at 6-10, but I have all the faith and belief in coach (Marrone) and Doug (Whaley) to continue to get this ship pointed in the right direction and see significant progress as we enter 2014.’

‘”We’re still in that evaluation mode,” Brandon said, four weeks after he’d first indicated the series might be reconsidered. “Nothing has changed since the last time I spoke on it.’

‘He then proceeded to express disappointment with a 6-10 finish in which the Bills extended the NFL’s longest active playoff drought to 14 seasons. That, Brandon says, needs to change entering Year 2 of his rebuilding plan.’

‘Biggest Disappointment: Manuel’s knee injuries. The first-round draft pick’s development was stunted because he couldn’t stay healthy.’

‘Hilliard oversaw a young group of receivers that included rookies Robert Woods and Marquise Goodwin. Hilliard completed his third season as an NFL coach. He previously spent 12 seasons playing in the NFL, split between the New York Giants and Tampa Bay.’

‘”I do know I’m the leader and the quarterback right now of this team,” Manuel said, likely throwing water on the fire some have built for the Bills to consider drafting another young quarterback. “You know, with that being said, I’m going to continue to work hard.”‘

‘”We’ve had a conversation — myself and Russ — sat and talked to Jairus, and we’re gonna make an offer to the guy and we’re gonna try to keep him,” said Bills General Manager Doug Whaley during the team’s season-ending press conference. “We’re gonna try to the best of abilities because we’re in the business of collecting good players and he’s a good player.”‘

‘Hilliard served as the team’s wide receivers coach for the past season. He joined Marrone’s staff last off-season after having the same title with the Washington Redskins in 2012. When asked why Hilliard was let go, Marrone didn’t get into too many specifics. “It’s just a difference, in really, a philosophy,” he said on Monday.’