Archives for November 2015

'It was good for the Bills to have several players back, and all of the walking wounded who returned were instrumental in the victory, but what an effort by Williams in particular. LeSean McCoy is the lead back on this team, but it's a nice luxury to have a completely different style runner like Williams to bring in when McCoy needs a breather.'

'He does. Ryan's captains every week are based on the opponent. Sunday against Miami, the captains were former Dolphins Richie Incognito, Charles Clay, and Dan Carpenter, plus University of Miami product Seantrel Henderson, and Leodis McKelvin because this was his first game back. When the Bills played Jacksonville, he sent the offensive line out as captains because former Bills head coach Doug Marrone is the Jaguars offensive line coach.'

'"There's gonna be a lot of waving out there," Ryan said. "With one finger. All that stuff. That much is a given. There's no doubt."'

'Enemkpali hasn't played much of a role since the Bills signed him a day after the Jets released him back in August. He's played only 37 defensive snaps, but he'll be the center of attention leading up this game. As Ryan mentioned, this isn't a new thing he's doing. He made the entire offensive line captains when the Bills played against former Bills coach Doug Marrone and the Jaguars.'

'With that game, Taylor now has now completed 71.8 percent of his passes this season, which puts him at the top of the league in that category. He's also on pace to break the completion percentage record of 71.2 percent set by Drew Brees back in 2011.'

'"I thank all my fans," Watkins said after the game. "The comment wasn't to anyone, I didn't mean that comment. So I just want to thank everybody for coming out still and chanting my name and still having faith in this team and me. That is why I came out and played the way I played, I felt like I owed it to the fans and to the team and the organization."'

'The two big injuries the Dolphins had coming into the week were two costly ones on Sunday. First, Jason Fox struggled to protect Tannehill and was the one who got beat on the decisive Jerry Hughes strip sack late in the game. The Bills also rushed for more than 250 yards on Sunday, so Miami definitely felt the loss of Cameron Wake.'

'“If IK went out there by himself, maybe that would be a different statement,” Ryan said, referring to Enemkpali’s participating in the coin toss. “But that’s not what we do.”'

'“Typical Rex,” Brandon Marshall said. “That’s a Rex Ryan move. Are you guys surprised?'

'Rex Ryan is a master promoter, so his admission Monday that he plans to name jaw-breaking linebacker IK Enemkpali a Bills captain for Thursday’s primetime showdown against the Jets shouldn’t have been shocking. He should have received a thorough round of applause for the sheer brilliance.'

'Asked if it was disrespectful, Marshall said, “He has the balls to do it.”''

'He loved coaching here, loved coaching the Jets, his father’s team, loved the perks that came with being brash and outrageous and even quirky and freaky. He made himself the celebrity coach, landed a part in an Adam Sandler movie, and a book deal where he jabbed the Giants as Little Brothers, and somehow never stopped being Everyman. And when he was the talk of the town, tweaking and annoying and sometimes amusing the Giants along the way with his foibles, you could understand why so many Jets fans wanted to have a beer with him.'

'Marshall said he doesn't expect the Jets to seek retribution against Enemkpali. "You have to ask other guys, probably individually,'' he said. "Go to every locker and ask those guys. But for the most part, it's just football. It's not a soap opera, it's not TMZ. This is just football."'

'But Ryan's latest decision to appoint IK Enemkpali a team captain for Thursday night's game against the Jets at MetLife Stadium has crossed the line of decency, and the coach needs to grow up and change his mind.'

'That Ryan would do this should surprise exactly no one; he's the closest thing the NFL has to a pro wrestling heel, and he leads the league in recognizing the entertainment spectacle that's at the root of all sports. One gets the feeling that if it were up to Ryan, this game would be played in a steel cage and all players would brandish folding chairs with which to bash one another over the head. Let's hear it for chaos. Thank heavens for Rex Ryan.'