Archives for October 2015

'At times Sunday when the Bills were sending only three players after the quarterback. Dalton was not sacked and was hit only once. That hit came on a safety blitz from Duke Williams.'

'"It's something about playing at home and getting penalties," Bradham said. "I don't know if we get too fired up, or I don't know. Obviously, we've been getting a lot penalties at home, so we have to figure out what's going on with that and get that corrected. We have to win at home, man. That's our advantage. This town deserves it. We as a team deserve to win here. We should have way more wins here."'

'"I think it's affecting everybody's morale, mine included. … You have a vision of what this team can be when we're healthy, and it's just frustrating because you don't have your parts. I know we can compete with anybody, but it just seems like we take a step forward and then we end up taking two steps back.'

'That moment was fleeting. For the rest of the game, Manuel looked like the backup he is. He was far from the reason the Bills got throttled 34-21 by the Bengals, but he also looked like mostly the same quarterback that couldn't hold off Kyle Orton for the starting job a year ago. He missed open receivers, threw inaccurate passes and finished with a mediocre state line of 28-for-42, 263 passing yards, one touchdown passing, one touchdown rushing and an interception.'

'First, though, is that date with the Jaguars, which just about everyone penned in as a win for the Bills when the season opened. Now? The Bills will still be favorited, but just how heavily? Would anyone be shocked if the gimpy offense struggled, the defense wasn’t quite dominant and a special teams mishap or a few key penalties cost the Bills another game?'

"But at the end of the day, this loss hangs on the heads of the Bills' defensive unit. A unit that has many of the same players it has had the last two years when it was one of the best defenses in the game.'

'The good news for the Bills: With Tyrod Taylor out, Manuel played well enough for the team to win. Unfortunately, a weak defensive performance hurt the Bills this week.'

'Just six games into his tenure as Bills head coach, Ryan seems on the verge of losing his team. Or at least his defensive crew. And who’d have thought that before the season?'

'The Bengals broke the game open by scoring 17 points on their first three second-half possessions to build a 34-14 lead.'

'"Logistically, it's very tough," Whaley told The Associated Press. "First of all, you've got to make sure they have a passport. So it's going to put us in a bind. We're going to go straight to work on that right now."'

'It was the second-most yards passing for Manuel, though 126 came on Buffalo's final two drives.'

'Backup EJ Manuel will make his first start in a little more than a year in place of Taylor, who sprained his left knee in a 14-13 win over Tennessee last week. McCoy returned to practice last week, and will start after being nagged by a pulled left hamstring he initially injured during training camp.'

'The banged up Bills began the game without starting quarterback Tyrod Taylor (knee) and wide receiver Percy Harvin (hip), and finished without top receiver Sammy Watkins (ankle), Pro Bowl defensive tackle Kyle Williams (knee) and right tackle Seantrel Henderson (concussion).'

'Perhaps a road trip is what the Bills need. They are 2-0 in away games this year, with both of those victories following losses. On the contrary, they are now 1-3 at home, having lost three straight at Ralph Wilson Stadium for the first time since 2011. And all three losses bordered on blowouts.'

'Watkins was hurt while catching a 22-yard touchdown pass late in the second quarter and emerged from the locker room on crutches after halftime. His return is questionable.'