Archives for October 2015

'"There's a lot of ups and downs in the NFL," Kouandjio said. "The biggest thing I learned about myself is resilience, playing through all types of situations with my mind, with my body. Sucking it up and going."'

'"He's pretty much excused for personal reasons, so I'll just leave it at that," coach Rex Ryan said Wednesday in Hertfordshire, England, declining to say how much time Harvin might miss.'

'The Bills look undisciplined and unfocused at 3-3, leading the league in penalties and failing to overwhelm with defense the way Rex Ryan's teams are known to do. Criticism has poured in from the offense (Sammy Watkins), the defense (Mario Williams) and even the greatest player in team history (Jim Kelly). One Buffalo columnist said the Bills "are no better" through six weeks under Ryan than they were under Marrone. "And they might actually be worse."'

'Ryan, while speaking to reporters during his normal Wednesday media session, would not elaborate on Harvins’ situation, declining to say if he believes it will be a short-term or long-term absence.'

'“We had a blast, it was fun,” said Incognito after practice Wednesday. “We sat down in the Bayern Munich section and they were nuts, man. Chanting and cheering and singing songs and clapping hands all game. It was really quite an experience.”'

'Taylor took part in practice and told reporters that he has done significantly more in one day of practice this week as opposed to one day of practice last week. With a below average opponent on the horizon in Jacksonville, the Bills must weigh how confident they are in Manuel, Taylor’s progress, and how badly they want to get to the bye with a 4-3 record, to then come to a final decision.'

'“We’re obviously going to be smart with him and ask him to be smart about it, but there’s only one way to get ready to play football. That’s to actually get in there and start doing some football drills and things like that so yes he will start at that,” said head coach Rex Ryan. “Is he going to be limited? Absolutely.”'

'“We’re hurting a little bit at that position. It’s okay though. Robert and myself, Denarius Moore, Marcus (Easley), so we have some guys,” said Hogan. “Obviously we’re going to miss Sammy, Percy and Marquise, but I think that Robert and I are confident in our abilities and Tyrod (Taylor) with our communication and our relationship with him is pretty good. We’re confident going into this game that we’re going to be able to make some plays.”'

'“Dropping Mario Williams into coverage a lot?” Kelly asked. “Didn’t we pay him a lot of money to hit the quarterback? If I’m the opposing quarterback and I see him dropping into coverage – and Jerry Hughes – oh, that’s a big plus. I would definitely have a big smile on my face.”'

'“Feeling good,” Taylor said. “Taking it day by day. Made a lot of progress this past week. … It’s progressed, each and every day. Like I said, my body feels good and I’m looking forward to getting back out there practicing.”'

'“I’m speaking from the heart," Kelly said, "I don’t know what the heck’s wrong. I know injuries, for sure, on offense doesn’t help. … But on the defensive side, I don’t know. I was excited like everybody was to see what our defense can do. And so far, we haven’t done very well. And I hope that gets changed, fixed, whatever needs to happen."'

'"We want to be like Navy SEALs," Brooks said. "We want to have each others’ backs in those hard and tough times and no matter we’re not going to stop fighting for each other. We might not have had the outcome that we wanted but that’s not going to change the outlook of who we are, what we are and what we know we’re capable of doing.'

'Churchgoers, Sunday morning touch football players, tailgaters, parents and kids heading to Sunday morning hockey practice, sports bar enthusiasts, lawn-rakers and other Bills fans who plan their autumn Sundays around a 1 p.m. kickoff will have to be a bit more flexible this weekend.'

'As you might imagine, moving an entire football operation overseas for a full week is a bit more complicated than flying down to the Meadowlands to play the Jets. The amount of game-planning, and then the ultimate execution of that game plan, makes what Rex Ryan and his coaches do all week seem like third-grade math for an eighth-grader.'

'When I arrived in London, it took a full two hours to finally get to the hotel. Half-hour going through customs, during which a couple Bills fans recognized me, which was funny, then off to find my luggage and exchange currency. From there, Heathrow Express to the Paddington Station, then a cab to the Marriott. It was 1 p.m. local time. Sleep. See ya tomorrow.'