Archives for October 12, 2015

'No, offensive coordinator Greg Roman didn’t expect to be dialing up plays for Boom Herron and Cierre Wood back in training camp. And, yes, the Titans had a full bye week to prepare for Buffalo. But why not unleash Taylor on the run earlier? Nothing was working on offense. His athleticism is a needed weapon when everything else shuts down. On defense, Ryan and defensive coordinator Dennis Thurman effectively cooled Mariota’s up-tempo attack.'

'Seantrel Henderson – The Bills' offensive line did not look good for much of the day, and Henderson was a big reason why. He put the offense in that third-and-23 hole with consecutive penalties on the eventual game-winning drive, and generally struggled keeping Derrick Morgan off Taylor all afternoon.'

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'“No win in this league is ever easy,” Williams said of what was going through his mind as he left the field. “And I try to tell these guys, as good a players as we have, every game that you win, enjoy it. Enjoy the moment. Enjoy playing together, winning together, because they’re tough. And I’m going to enjoy them. Every one of them.”'

'“Obviously going into these types of games, with Sammy out, I’ll be in the scouting report,” Hogan said. “If teams want to overlook me, that’s fine. I know that I’m going to be getting man coverage and it’ll be up to me to make plays. What I’ve done the last couple weeks, I don’t think teams will be overlooking the fact that I’m in the game.'

'Time will tell if Tyrod Taylor truly fits the mold. I’m still dubious. But for about 15 minutes Sunday, he at least looked the part. With the Bills reeling and staring a second straight loss in the face, Taylor used his arm and his legs to produce two late touchdowns and lead the Bills to a 14-13 comeback victory over the Titans.'

'"We had to find a way to make plays," Graham said. "We haven’t played the way we wanted to play starting the season off so it was a step in the right direction to show what we’re capable of doing.”'

'With three minutes left in the third quarter and the Bills down, 10-0, Tyrod Taylor scrambled for 26 yards. Two plays later, he darted up the middle and along the left sideline 22 yards for a touchdown.'

'For all of Taylor’s heroics, there is no denying that the Titans’ defensive strategists – Dick LeBeau and Ray Horton – mostly got the better of him. Taylor’s passing left plenty to be desired, especially through the first half when he seemed to constantly struggle to read coverages and find open targets. He often held the ball too long, didn’t always do a good job of feeling the rush, and was way off the mark on several throws.'

'Taylor set up his own TD run with a spectacular, 26-yard scramble up the middle to the Titans’ 26. Taylor should have been down at the line of scrimmage but somehow escaped the grasp of Cox, then he put a move on Sensabaugh at the 35 – whoop – that left the cornerback grasping at air.'

'Whisenhunt was at his worst when punting on fourth and 2 from the Bills’ 39-yard line with 3:01 remaining in the first half and his team leading, 3-0. A successful conversion in that situation, which happens 56 percent of the time, according to the Times, would have increased Tennessee’s chances of winning from 54 to 57 percent.'

'Ryan is 10-2 as a head coach versus rookie QBs. The two losses were to Russell Wilson and Seattle in 2012 and late last season against Minnesota’s Teddy Bridgewater ,when the Jets were walking dead.'

'“For us to come back against a really, really good team is huge,” Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton said after the win. The last time the Bengals started a season 5-0 was 1988, the year of their last Super Bowl appearance. They can match their best start in franchise history with a victory over the Bills in Week Six.'

'It was a minor miracle that the Bills trailed only 3-0 at the half after the way the offense played.'

'Taylor won it with his legs. He rushed for 76 yards, a new Bills record for a quarterback, and his 22-yard touchdown run, and his 24-yard scramble in a near impossible third-and-23 situation were the plays that gave the Bills a chance. That said, Taylor has to stop playing so awful in the first half of games.'