Archives for December 2014

‘Oh, they tried to make it work. The Canadian town that thought it wanted the NFL and the American sports franchise that hesitated not at all to stiff its loyal fans mashed cake in each other’s faces in good faith back in 2008. And the Bills did play six regular-season games between ’08-’13 up there in that Toronto shopping mall.’

‘”He’s a Hall-of-Fame quarterback, and I think that says enough right there,” coach Doug Marrone said Wednesday. “Not to compare the two, but we play against a Hall-of-Fame quarterback twice a year” in Brady. “It’s the same thing. It’s challenging.”‘

‘”The whole game, I’m going to get a lot of one-on-one matchups,” Watkins said. “That’s what they play. They throw a lot of other stuff behind it, but you just got to be prepared and see what defense they give you. It’s mostly man-to-man, but you also get different coverages down the field.”‘

‘Spiller acknowledged that he felt some “fatigue” in the area of the injury after practice. “But that’s just all about getting the strength back into it and getting it moving back around like normal,” he said. “For me, it’s nothing that’s concerning or any setbacks that we have right now so it feels good.”‘

‘The initial five-year deal was a financial windfall for the Bills, with Rogers guaranteeing the Bills roughly double the revenue from the games in Toronto that Buffalo would gross for games in Orchard Park. The terms of the five-year extension were not made public, but sources told The News the terms were not nearly as tilted in the Bills’ favor, and that the team was not grossing much more than it would take in at The Ralph.’

‘It was easy to picture the Bills and their Toronto partner, Rogers Communications, gleefully rubbing their hands in anticipation of the huge financial windfall. In fact, the late Ted Rogers, president and CEO of Rogers Communications, said something to the effect of expecting people to be lined up “all the way to Queen Street,” about six blocks from the domed stadium bearing the company name, to purchase tickets.’

‘”If we can keep Peyton on the sideline, that works to our advantage,” running back Fred Jackson said in what qualifies as a classic understatement. “We need to keep him sitting on the bench and give ourselves an opportunity to win a game. It’s easy to sit here and say it, but it’s on us to go out and do it. It’s going to be a good test, but it’s one we have to be ready for.”‘

‘”Just getting back into football type stuff,” Spiller said. “Get back into some individuals, get used to hearing some play calling again. It was an exciting day for me. There’s some fatigue in there, but that’s just all about getting the strength back into it and getting it moving back around like normal. For me, it’s nothing that’s concerning or any setbacks that we have right now so it feels good.”‘

‘The sour taste left behind from the loss to Atlanta was the impetus for suspended the series for 2014 so that both sides could review its viability. Once Terry and Kim Pegula were granted ownership of the Bills earlier this fall, it became clear that they were going to try to get out of the final three years of the extended agreement, and that has proven to be the case.’

‘”It was a long time ago,” Orton said. “Not a lot of guys that I was around there are still there, so I don’t really have many feelings about it one way or another.”‘

‘”When I say team I don’t necessarily just mean talent. As an offense, our schemes, how well we’re playing defensively and how we’re executing on special teams, that all contributes and I don’t know that its solely talent but I would guess that this is the most talented team I’ve been on too.”‘

‘”Not to compare the two, but we’ve played against a Hall of Fame quarterback. Twice a year we play against one. It’s the same thing. It’s challenging. You’ve just got to be able to make sure that you contain them. It’s difficult. You’ve got to switch things up. You can’t keep things the same. If they get hot, you can get yourself into trouble.”‘

‘”My vision started changing,” Bradham said. “I started understanding life more. It wasn’t about me. I had to do right. I know I had somebody looking up to me.”‘

‘Spiller wasn’t the only Bills player limited on Wednesday. Wide receiver Sammy Watkins (hip), defensive tackle Marcell Dareus (hip), wide receiver Robert Woods (ankle), wide receiver Chris Hogan (hamstring) and Dan Carpenter (groin) were all among those limited. Defensive tackle Kyle Williams and offensive tackle Cordy Glenn both missed practice with illness.’

‘Adding $78 million to the team’s bankroll to play six regular season games and two preseason games at Rogers Centre was a deal they couldn’t turn down.’