Archives for December 14, 2015

'"When people want to make up false stories about me calling people up during the week and them hanging up on me – people [are" target="_blank"> trying to get Twitter hits or things like that and make themselves significant."

'The most poignant moment of the afternoon came with 6 minutes, 50 seconds to play with the game tied at 20 and the ball at the Bills' 20. Fletcher Cox burst into the backfield and dropped McCoy for a 10-yard loss, then punctuated the tackle with a two-handed shove into McCoy's back while McCoy was down. McCoy's helmeted face was thrust into the turf. He actually curled up into a fetal position.'

'McCoy rushed for 59 yards on his first nine carries, including a 24-yard run in the second quarter. But then the door closed. Cox and Co. held their former teammate to 15 yards on his final 11 carries.'

'"It's been a long time," Kelce said. "I understand the crowd's reaction to him but he played here for six years. He did everything he could to help us win games. I've got nothing but respect for that guy."'

'“I think we had to respect a guy like that,” Brandon Graham said. “He’s good. We knew coming in that they were going to run the ball. He made some plays, and we adjusted, doing what we had to stop over-running stuff. McCoy is the cutback king. Once we stayed true and played assignment football, that helped us out a lot.”'

'"I think LeSean is an emotional guy and we were all hyped up and we wanted to win the game for him," he said, "but I do not think that emotions played a part in the game. It was just dumb penalties killing us."'

'"I thought he was going to talk himself out of the game, but he stayed true and still played," Graham said. "And we still played. Like I told people all week, he ain't playing Chip out there, he's playing us."'

'But things didn't go his way, as they often don't in "big'' games, so he sulked. He ran off the field, threw his helmet the way a spoiled nine-year-old would his bat after striking out in a Pee-Wee Little League game.'

'"I didn't play well," Incognito said. "He dominated. He dominated the game. He dominated me in one-on-one pass blocking. It's a tough pill to swallow in such a big game, but he's a great player and he played his absolute best today."'

'After the loss, in which he had just 74 yards rushing, McCoy was nowhere to be seen. A strategy that has him under heavy fire in his new city. '

'"A lot of it is tabloid journalism. Just trying to stir things up," Kelly said. "It doesn't impact us. We were playing the Buffalo Bills and Rex Ryan, who have some really good players. But when people want to make up false stories about me calling somebody during the week and them hanging up on me…people trying to get Twitter hits or make themselves significant."'

'Here are two flyers for an event being held in Philadelphia on Sunday night…'

'"I shook Rex's hand (Bills coach Rex Ryan) like I do after every game," Kelly said. "As far as that other stuff, a lot of it is just tabloid journalism to stir things up. But it didn't affect us."'

'What McCoy did reveal was anger. After the final gun sounded, McCoy ran off the field without shaking hands with any of his former Eagle teammates, immediately made a right after the tunnel leading to the field, and flung his helmet to the other end of the Buffalo locker room, shouting an expletive.'

'“Why would you take it personally,” Cox asked incredulously, when a reporter inquired about added motivation playing a role against the former Eagle. “If you’re taking anything personally, you’ve got a problem.”'