Archives for November 2014

‘A day ahead of the Bills’ contest against the Dolphins, the team officially declared Wynn out with a knee injury. In response to his status, the Bills signed practice squad defensive end Bryan Johnson to fill out the 53-man active roster. Buffalo released safety Jerome Couplin after Tuesday’s practice.’

‘The Dolphins and Bills are two eerily similar teams with the same record, and oddly enough, both suffered heartbreaking losses last week in a game that each should have won. The difference for the Bills and Dolphins in the second game of this series is that Miami is playing as well defensively as any team in the NFL, and the Bills had to travel to the game on such a short week. There is a reason why the road teams on Thursday night games struggle as much as they do, and the Bills might just succumb to that against an equal opponent.’

‘We’re on pace to have all that wasted. One main reason why is that their coach lacks courage.’

‘Johnson originally joined the Bills as an undrafted free agent earlier this offseason. During his collegiate career, Johnson played in 28 games with 10 starts while at West Texas A&M and he tallied 89 tackles, 16.5 tackles for a loss, eight sacks, eight QB hurries, two fumbles forced and two fumbles recovered. Johnson played at Nassau Community College (NY) before West Texas A&M and led the Lions to a 19-2 record while being named a two-time All-Conference selection.’

‘Buffalo has slipped all the way to the bottom of the league in red zone touchdown efficiency at just better than 41 percent (41.2%). Working in their favor is their defense has allowed the fewest red zone possessions in the league (21) and the Dolphins have struggled in the red zone (46.5% TD efficiency). The Bills offense has to cash in on at least half their red zone opportunities with touchdowns and hope the defense can hold Miami to just a couple of red zone possessions in the game.’

‘"We all see what he does rushing the passer, but rushing the passer isn’t just about getting sacks," said Williams. "You have guys who can get bunches of sacks, but when it comes to consistent steady pressure, they might not generate. Jerry gets sacks, and he creates pressure in the backfield in the run game and the pass game. He’s done a great job."’

‘Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill has caught fire since coach Joe Philbin publicly considered benching the third-year quarterback. He threw for three touchdowns against San Diego and put together a decent game on the road against Detroit in Week 10. Tannehill has never had an easy time against Buffalo, but he’s playing at home and starting to find a rhythm. If he can stay hot, the Bills could be in trouble.’

‘The Bills, who lead the league with 34 sacks, are more than capable of doing something to prevent that. The Lions sacked Tannehill three times and were credited with nine quarterback hits in their victory against Miami last Sunday. Marcell Dareus and Kyle Williams are as effective as any defensive-tackle duo in the NFL, bringing consistent pressure up the middle to collapse the pocket and force Tannehill to drift from side to side.’

‘”They put five guys down and played man across the board, so I’m like, ‘Let’s air it out.'”‘

‘”For someone to just jump off saying things like that before the game being played, I don’t know if he’s trying to rally his team together or what they’re trying to do,” Dolphins safety Jimmy Wilson told ESPN on Monday. “It just seems cheap. But we’re not worried about it. We’re going to go handle our business. We know how important these AFC games are to win. We got to avenge ourselves.”‘

‘Watkins was listed as a full participant for the second-straight day, while Jackson was again limited. Meanwhile, defensive end Jarius Wynn was the only Bills player who did not participate in practice on Tuesday after injuring his knee against the Chiefs in Week 10.’

‘”It was rough, man,” said the Scarborough native. “We used to get these big ship containers that came in from the docks. There would be like 2,000 tires and you had to pull off every tire and stack them up. From seven in the morning until four in the afternoon we’d be stacking tires and then we had practice at six.”‘

‘”You get to change things up that you did the first game,” Watkins said. “You know how the (opponent) plays. You get an extra shot at them, so now you get to fix the things that you didn’t do good last game and correct them.”‘