Archives for November 2014

‘”It doesn’t really need to be a why,” Dareus said after the Bills’ Week 10 game against the Chiefs. “I just want to do it. If I’m going to take over the league, then I’m going to do it. One of the goals that I wanted to reach when I came out of college was to be the best player and be the best person I can possibly be. Why wait until a contract year like most guys do? Or wait for someone else? I want to do it. I want to do it now. Last year I started to get the ball rolling and now I’m on cruise control. I’m ready to have fun. We’re out there playing off of each other.”‘

‘”Recovering is one of the things that sucks about Thursday games. For all the guys that are beat up they don’t have much time to really have their body rest and recover, so that’s the main thing.”‘

‘Watkins was listed as a full participant on the injury report, while Jackson was listed as limited. The Bills will likely learn more when they get in a full practice Tuesday, but Watkins being listed as a full participant is promising after he played 93 percent of the team’s offensive snaps on Sunday. Jackson played only 27 snaps but expressed confidence that he would be able to get his body ready on a short week.’

‘They went 0-for-4 scoring touchdowns in those opportunities against the Chiefs, contributing to what could be a costly loss when the AFC playoff field is sorted out several weeks from now.’

‘”I think the Bills are built to beat us,” linebacker Philip Wheeler said after Buffalo’s 29-10 drubbing of the Dolphins in Week 2. “They have a good scheme against us every year. “Their defense stops our offense. Their offense runs the ball on us.”‘

‘”We went into the game and the phases and things that we concentrated on for the most part we won,” coach Doug Marrone said. “But the two glaring ones obviously are turnovers and red-zone touchdowns. That’s really the elephant in the room.”‘

‘”It’s devastating,” safety Aaron Williams said.’

‘Sammy Watkins, despite missing two days of practice during the week, played at an alarmingly high rate with a groin injury. He had the most snaps of any wide receiver, and only missed five throughout the game. He was targeted 10 times by Kyle Orton.’

‘The only plus to playing in Miami Thursday night is that there will be less time than usual to bemoan another lost opportunity to end the NFL’s longest playoff drought.’

‘”We just slept here,” said Marrone of his staff. “In order to get the work done and get the film in from the Detroit game and get everything, all the reports done and get the game plan set and meeting with the doctors on the injuries to see who is available and who is not. So it’s pretty much standard around the league for us as coaches.”‘

‘But the most punitive turnover came with just under 10 minutes to play when Leodis McKelvin fumbled on a punt return when hit by fullback Anthony Sherman, who also recovered.’

‘Instead, they showed, just as they did after three previous seasons with a 5-3 record, that they still don’t know how to take that next step when the stakes begin to climb. Sure, they might figure it out as soon as Thursday night’s AFC East showdown at Miami, or soon thereafter, but right now, they aren’t there. They aren’t ready.’

‘It was far from easy for the Chiefs. They were outgained, 364-278, went just 3 of 13 on third down and watched as Alex Smith was sacked six times and hit 10 times in total. But when their offense needed them, Smith and star running back Jamaal Charles came through.’

‘The problem with following a chronic loser is that the need to believe can become greater than the reality. People are so desperate for a franchise quarterback that they want to see more in Orton than is actually there.’