Archives for October 26, 2015

'And, at this point, it would appear many of the faithful are about ready to tune Ryan out.'

'According to Pro Football Talk, the reason the communication system wasn't working is because the Bills weren't using fully charged batteries. The league says charging the batteries is the responsibility of the team, so the Bills have nobody to blame but themselves.'

'Had Manuel not turned the ball over as much as he did and put the Bills in the type of hole that they were, the Bills could have sailed to a victory considering the way the Jaguars were playing. Manuel was inaccurate, hesitant, stared down his receivers, and panicked in the turnover-plagued stretch of the second quarter.'

'EJ Manuel: Atrocious. Abysmal. Awful. Pick any adjective and it describes the second quarter from the Bills' former first-round draft pick. Manuel has now gone 0-2 in two starts in place of Tyrod Taylor, putting the Bills' playoff hopes in danger. He simply wasn't good enough Sunday against the Jaguars, and the hope of him ever putting it together fades with every appearance he makes. It's hard to see a scenario in which Manuel is with the Bills next season.'

'“We couldn’t get them off on third down and then we stood on our head on the goal line,” said head coach Rex Ryan. “It was a 10-minute drive and we couldn’t get off the field. Then the ball is at our own one-yard line and we hold them on four straight plays.”'

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'This loss was inexcusable. Even with key players missing, the Bills easily had the more talented (and definitely the more expensive) roster. They just didn’t play that way.'

'Defensively, the Bills ramped up the pressure. And, for stretches, that pressure worked. This game, the opposing quarterback wasn’t comfortable in the pocket. Publicly and privately, players lobbied for more pass-rushing opportunities after Andy Dalton’s passing clinic last week. On Sunday, coach Rex Ryan didn’t hold back. Still, the age-old lesson applied in this one — you live by the blitz and die by the blitz.'

'A week ago, I wouldn’t lay the blame at the feet of EJ Manuel. This week, it’s on the quarterback. I’m sorry, Manuel cost them the game. And if you want to slide someone else’s chip forward on the big board of blame, try General Manager Doug Whaley, whose ill-advised trade of Matt Cassel put EJ in a position to lose it.'

'When Robey asked an official for an explanation, he said the official only shook his head.'

'Jacksonville linebacker Telvin Smith dropped back into zone coverage and read Manuel’s eyes all the way on a hook-pattern pass to the right intended for Robert Woods. Smith had the hook zone all the way, and Manuel threw it right to him. The 26-yard return for a touchdown gave the Jaguars a 21-3 lead.'

't’s impossible to use words like “solid” or “decent” to describe anything else done by a quarterback who had a fumble returned for a touchdown and a pick-six on back-to-back plays in the second quarter. But Manuel managed to do some significant rewriting of what seemed to be his Bills swan song by doing plenty to help to spark a 28-0 run in the second half that allowed Buffalo to come screaming back from a 14-point halftime deficit to take a 31-27 lead with 5:21 remaining. He deserves credit for at least escaping most of one of the all-time meltdowns by a Bills quarterback with two second-half touchdown throws, including a perfect 58-yard strike to Marcus Easley to make it 27-24 with 6:33 left. And Manuel did it without his two best receivers, Sammy Watkins and Percy Harvin, and with that rebuilt right side of his line.'

'Let’s be clear: The Bills’ defense played well enough to win a normal game. Buffalo’s offense surrendered two defensive TDs and gave up a short field for a third TD. And the Bills’ defense produced a TD of its own on Corey Graham’s interception return. But Yeldon rushed 20 times for 115 yards and a TD. That’s 5.75 yards a carry.'

'I never said Cassel was better than Manuel. I’ve always advocated keeping both backups.'

'Going for it was the obvious choice. The issue here is the Bills managed to put themselves in this situation at all. Needing just a yard for a first down, the team was unsuccessful twice.'