Archives for November 28, 2014

‘Pettine called his decision to leave the Bills “bittersweet.” “I just felt we were headed in the right direction with the culture we were building, especially in the defensive room,” he said. “I thought that was a special group, and they’ve continued to prove it this year.”‘

‘”We tell our guys, and I know a lot of staffs do throughout the league, you just have to be careful. Careful who you surround yourself with and what situations you put yourself in. Nothing good happens after midnight. That’s the biggest teaching moment that we can take from it,” Pettine added.’

‘”Make no mistake about it, Mike did an excellent job here, along with the other coaches that were here,” said Bills head coach Doug Marrone, referring to 2013 Bills assistants Jim O’Neil, Anthony Weaver, Chuck Driesbach, and Brian Fleury who followed Pettine to the other side of Lake Erie. “They did a great job when they were here and then the coaches this year came in and took the players and are doing a good job now.”‘

‘”Those other guys did a nice job in his absence, but now you have an elite player, a game-changing type of player,” Bills coach Doug Marrone said. “From a schematics standpoint, they’re still doing the same things but are just doing it with him in there now.”‘

‘Defensive end Jarius Wynn (knee), tight end Chris Gragg (knee) and safety Bacarri Rambo (hamstring) all didn’t participate in the Bills’ practice on Thanksgiving. Coach Doug Marrone said Rambo was injured on the second-to-last play of practice on Wednesday.’

‘The one player fans seemed most excited about in the 2014 NFL draft was Clemson receiver Sammy Watkins. One reason might have been that they saw him tear apart Ohio State’s overmatched secondary (16 receptions for 227 yards and two touchdowns) in last season’s Orange Bowl and figured they’d rather have him on their side rather than on the side of any of the other 31 NFL teams.”

‘”It’ll be a great matchup. We can go out there, battle, scrap, have a couple fights. It’s going to be great.”‘

‘”I think a great situation – the best situation – is what happened,” said Watkins, who has made 36 receptions for first downs. “The Browns are a great team, a great organization, and they got two great picks. I wish the best for them, but I’m in a great situation in Buffalo.”‘

Josh Gordon got ‘careless and reckless’ after All-Pro celebrity hoopla, he admits in TV interview (Cleveland Plain Dealer)

Cleveland Browns CB Buster Skrine is not on first-name basis — Talking Shop (Cleveland Plain Dealer)

My nephew’s keeper: How Browns rookie Robert Nelson Jr. rescued himself and his family from a world of drugs, crime and violence (Cleveland Plain Dealer)

Cleveland Browns vs. Buffalo Bills: A look back at the 2007 ‘Snow Bowl’ (Cleveland Plain Dealer)

Browns get chance to see what they missed (Warren Tribune Chronicle)

Browns-Bills battle moving from Twitter to playing field (Willoughby News Herald)

Buffalo’s Watkins has no hard feelings against Browns (Elyria Chronicle Telegram)

Confidence shaken, quarterback Brian Hoyer bounces back mentally from disappointing performance (Akron Beacon Journal)

Bills are bullish up front (Canton Repository)

Watkins joins Kelly, Cousineau on Browns’, Bills’ blockbuster boulevard (Canton Repository)

Josh Gordon takes the Browns’ offense to a different level (ESPN Cleveland)

Will Cameron play on Sunday? (Fox Sports Ohio)

‘The quiet intensity in the Rust Belt rivalry has taken on an extra edge this week, and Buffalo returns home after its Monday night detour in Detroit to make yet another statement with a defense that can stop the run and create more QB unrest in Cleveland.’

‘Defensive end Jarius Wynn (knee), tight end Chris Gragg (knee) and safety Bacarri Rambo (hamstring) all were defined as non-participants at practice Thursday. According to head coach Doug Marrone, Rambo injured his hamstring on the second-to-last play during Wednesday’s session. The availability for all three players on Sunday has yet to be revealed.’

‘The 2014 Bills are very similar to last season’s Cincinnati team. But since Buffalo’s playoff chances this season are very slim, we have started to turn our attention to whether Orton should be the starting quarterback in 2015 and if he could lead them to the playoffs and beyond.’

‘Bills 24, Browns 20.’

‘”I was just taking it for granted and I had kind of gotten lost in it because I wasn’t really playing much at the time,” said Bradham of his misstep off the field. “When I realized I had gotten into that and then I saw the negative media, people on my case and it was like, ‘When are you going to learn?’ And you realize you could lose that opportunity.”‘