Archives for December 2013

‘Marrone doesn’t want to say it, Bills fans surely don’t want to hear it, but this is a work in progress and there’s a lot of work to do. This is not a playoff team and it was never going to be a playoff team in 2013, no matter what ESPN’s playoff machine Internet toy says.’

‘Alonso has gained national recognition in his rookie season in the NFL, and for good reason. The 6-foot-3, 238-pounder was in on 112 tackles through the first 11 games of the season. Alonso has a couple of quarterback sacks, four pass interceptions and he’s forced one fumble and recovered another.’

‘”It kills me that I wasn’t part of the solution yesterday,” Chandler said. “I want to be part of the solution and not part of the problem. It hurts to let the fans, your coaches and your teammates down.”‘

‘Running back C.J. Spiller had to hobble off the field on a couple of different plays due to his ankle flaring up once again, but played the majority of the game. Cornerback Stephon Gilmore had only a leg cramp and linebacker Arthur Moats ran to the locker room with only a few minutes left in the game, but neither were serious enough for Marrone to declare it a problem for Week 14.’

‘Like I’ve said before, I’ve been to places before and you look at that, you try to learn from it. I don’t think anyone ever really sits around and says maybe losing doesn’t hurt as much. It’s got to hurt bad and it always has to hurt bad. You take that pain and you put it to good use and that’s how you turn it around. Make no mistake, I think that you do fight those things, but that’s why we’re here. That’s why I’m here, that’s why our staff is here, that’s why the players are here, to change that. That’s what our job is and that’s what we need to do.’

‘If you compare the atmosphere at a Bills game in Orchard Park and the annual Toronto game, it’s like day and night. The Orchard Park crowd is firmly behind the Bills. The Toronto crowd? Their biggest cheers of the game — a game the Bills were leading early and lost in overtime — came for an idiot who ran onto the field. Heck, boos rained down when calls went against the Falcons!’

‘"I didn’t take anybody’s seat. I still have my tickets,” he said with a chuckle, teasing “all the great things that happened there for Toronto and that’s the thing you focus on?”‘

‘Don’t pretend anything but the fumbles by Stevie Johnson and Scott Chandler are worth remembering. Those plays will identify this game and this season for many, putting both in the realm of “We had it, but …” Veterans like these two cannot make plays like that in key moments.’

‘You’d think after 13 straight non playoff seasons, staring down the barrel of another one wouldn’t hurt that much. For me, losing to Atlanta would’ve been bad enough. The Toronto/Bon Jovi factor has me feeling like pulling the covers up over my head and hoping that the bogeyman goes away.’

‘For the first time in 2013 Atlanta allowed six sacks in a game and Buffalo’s defense under Mike Pettine has propelled past teams of Buffalo’s past. The team has more sacks in 12 games than it did in an entire season since 2004 when the defense racked up 45 sacks under Jerry Gray.’

‘To Falcons safety William Moore, the game could have been played in Atlanta what with the domed atmosphere and the fact that many in attendance were wearing Falcon jerseys. "The crazy part is we had a lot of support here," Moore said, noting he even saw someone wearing his No. 25 jersey. "It didn’t feel like we were in Canada."’

‘The announced crowd of 38,969 was short of the stadium’s 46,470 capacity, not including suites. And the fans that did show up weren’t all supporting the "home" team. Aside from a large contingent of Falcons supporters, fans were spotted wearing a wide array of jerseys, including the Cowboys, Steelers, Patriots and even one Jaguars’ supporter.’

‘”This one hurts,” said Bills linebacker Kiko Alonso. “A lot of guys left some plays out there, including myself.”‘

‘Spiller said his ankle was “fine” after the game, but he was noticeably limping at times.’