Archives for September 16, 2015

'“That’s the thing about this league – it’s all about depth,” Butler said. “Injuries can happen each and every day, from practice to games. It’s all about having depth. I think that’s one thing we have in the defensive backfield.”'

'“I can go inside,” Gilmore said. “He’s a bigger guy so it’s not like I’m going inside on a smaller guy. But like I said, it’s whatever the coaches want me to do to help this team win. I want him.”'

'For the first time since … well … a long time, Bills fans have genuine reasons to believe they can stand up to the Patriots. They watched a Buffalo defense make Luck, one of the NFL’s elite passers, look ordinary. And that was without star defensive tackle Marcell Dareus and, for all but one play, veteran safety Corey Graham.'

'Dareus did call Brady a “good guy” and Williams was quick to credit the Patriots’ four Super Bowl wins. But while noting the Patriots weapons, Aaron Williams quickly added that the Bills also have players “who can take care of that.”'

'For sure, it would be a difficult contest, what with the Patriots deflating the footballs and stealing the Bills' signals and jamming their phone lines. The victory over Indianapolis may have been a setup, a cosmic trick, a way to prop us up so we can fall again.'

'The Bills suffered their first regular-season loss at Joe Robbie since the stadium opened in 1987, and had their six-game winning streak over Miami snapped as Miami coach Don Shula celebrated his 200th career victory.'

'The move leaves the Bills with three running backs on the roster: LeSean McCoy, Boobie Dixon and Karlos Williams.'

'"It's an old stadium, but it's surprisingly very, very loud," Brady said. "It's a great environment for football and we'll be tested. There's no doubt they have a real good football team."'

'"Just the way they carry themselves on the field and stuff. All the stuff that has happened to me in the past with some of the players has definitely gone through the roof for me. That's a reason it's personal for me and they're our rival. It's the history. So it's not just personal. It's the Buffalo Bills history."'

'"I had zero catches, and that's the great thing about it," Watkins said. "I didn't contribute to the game and we still won. If you double me all game, we're going to win the game most definitely."'

'Buffalo coach Rex Ryan fired up the faithful, preaching that “I can’t wait to see what our fans are going to be like when you have the hated Patriots … coming to the stadium.”'

'According to ESPN, Dan Shaughnessy’s column about the quality of competition in the AFC East was a big topic in Buffalo’s locker room.'

'We’re not ready to put Buffalo in the playoffs for the first time since 1999, but this team is extremely fast on offense, aggressive on defense (maybe too much so), solid in the trenches, and has the chance to make Brady’s life absolutely miserable Sunday, especially with Ralph Wilson Stadium expected to be rocking.'

'It’s Big Talk from a coach who’s won just 47-of-97 games (.485 winning percentage) and hasn’t fielded a winning team since 2010. That’s coaching territory inhabited by recent retread Jack Del Rio (.486), now with Oakland, and perpetual underachiever Norv Turner (.483).'

'It never fails. Rex Ryan has that effect, especially when he’s first starting out with a team. We saw it when he was with the Jets. He whips the players and fan base into a frenzy, talks tough, plays tough and makes a huge early splash.'