Archives for October 2015

'Rex Ryan has been saying all week that the plethora (my word, not his) of injuries the Bills have suffered cannot be an excuse when they take the field at Wembley Stadium. OK, then he should probably stop saying it because he sounds like that's exactly what he's doing, establishing the narrative ahead of time should the Bills lose.'

'"The amount of emails I've been getting, and the Facebook and Twitter requests from Bills fans has been amazing," Vega said Friday afternoon before about 50 Bills fans boarded one of London's famous red double-decker buses for a two-hour trip around the city. "I'm finding that the Bills fans are probably the most supportive of their team ever in the international series, seriously. I'm quite amazed by these Bills fans."'

'I jumped off at Trafalgar Square at the foot of Regent Street to check out the NFL event there, but I showed up when the Jaguars players were on stage and missed the Bills. That's OK, I see enough of them. Interestingly, the Jags – given their long-term commitment to playing here – were really being treated as the hometown team. And yes, I even saw some Jags fans there. Wasn't sure any existed.'

'The NFL had a rally on Regent Street, and the crowd was full of Bills fans.'

'I know Bills fans have a very passionate view of Doug Marrone the head coach, but as the offensive line coach for the Jaguars you won't find many complaints about him. The Jaguars are on pace to allow about half the sacks the gave up last season and oft criticized left tackle Luke Joeckel has been an afterthought this year. Most Jaguars fans don't think about Marrone much, outside of an interim head coach option if Gus Bradley is fired. They don't really think of the Bills connection much.'

'his is where the NFL is misguided in my opinion. Most British fans already have adopted a team and would not support a London franchise. But this is just my opinion.'

'Rex Ryan is the high-profile head coach of the Bills, and if his team could play the game as powerfully as Ryan talks it, they would be booking their flights to San Francisco for February’s Super Bowl instead of wondering how to improve on an ordinary won three, lost three record.'

''We have got to get things going. I feel like once we start to get everybody clicking together on offense, defense and special teams the record is going to be a whole lot better.'

'Other highlights of the larger-than-life event include the 225-piece Ohio State University Marching Band, interviews with mystery star players and coaches, a series of performances by the Jacksonville Jaguars cheerleaders, The Roar of the Jaguars, and a buffalo wing eating contest hosted by ex-Buffalo Bills quarterback Jim Kelly.'

'Even the Bills owners seemed surprised by the crazy turnout from Bills' fans. Kim Pegula, who owns the team with her husband Terry, tweeted out the photo below, which seems to include 500 Bills fans, one Seahawks fan and two professional photographers.'

'If the Bills were at full health, their roster would likely wipe the floor with what Jacksonville is offering up. That, however, is just not the case. This game will be played at Wembley Stadium, but it’s doubtful that this will be the type of game that the NFL is hoping to advance the game in London with. The Bills are banged up at many critical positions, and for that reason, Jacksonville could be primed to pull the upset.'

'Yeah, Buffalo (3-3) is a 4½ -point favorite (it started at 3½ went up to six, then back down after the injury report), but it’s lost two of the last three games, is 2-0 away from Orchard Park, and is in worse shape injury-wise than in last Sunday’s 34-21 home defeat by Cincinnati.'

'As for the Bills’ meager nine total sacks, compared to last year’s 19 after six games, he allowed, “Everybody’s different. You could look at the way they’re protecting (against) us, that we’re getting an extra man in protection almost every game. If you lead the league in sacks and you’ve got the kind of line that we have, this just in, they’re going to try and find ways to block you.'

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'“Yeah, it’s crazy,” Hogan said. “I didn’t think I’d be starting a NFL game. But for me, I’ve got to think I belong to be here and that I can start in this league. So I’m just going to go out there with all the confidence in the world and try to make plays for this team.”'