Archives for December 23, 2015

'Schwartz’s unit gave up an average of 312 yards per game … this year’s ‘D’ is surrendering 364 per start.'

'"We have to come together more," Dixon said. "I feel like we could’ve done that even more this year. We could’ve come together more at times when stuff was not going well. That was lacking.”'

'"No," he said flatly about whether he agreed with his coach's assessment. "I would hope not. I don't think guys lacked confidence. It's the NFL. You're going to have good days. You're going to have bad days. Those guys made more plays than we did out there, and they won the game."'

'That injury puts the final two games of his season in question, as well as his appearance in the Pro Bowl, which is scheduled to be played Jan. 31 in Hawaii.'

'ringing someone in with a proven track record who will shave the fat where needed would certainly help. It's hard to pin the team's 6-8 start on one particular person in house. Rex Ryan is in his first season as the head coach. General manager Doug Whaley, while not perfect, did hand Ryan a 9-7 team with more weapons on offense. But the team's attempt to win now with a flurry of off-season moves didn't work out. They need to build from within, with a string of drafts. Something organizationally keeps the Bills' tires spinning.'

'There were high hopes for a return to the playoffs, and when the Bills crushed the Patriots 31-0 on opening day and then won in Week 2, it looked like the team was back on track. Instead, the offense went into a terrible slump and during a four-game mid-season losing streak it scored only 35 points. Bledsoe looked helpless at times and he finished with just 11 TDs and 12 interceptions.'

'"You know, it's crazy," Williams said. "You saw the game. You're trying to switch personnel as they're coming out of the huddle. I don't know, man. I don't know who in the world was calling, saying what personnel they're in and how that was confusing, but apparently it is. Like you say, this is game in and game out. My mindset is, if you're an attack defense, if you're going to be a bully on the field. You don't let anything else dictate what you do."'

'"It's tough," Graham said. "Obviously he's got his opinion and everything. In this league, when things aren't going your way, everybody's negative. That's how it is. I'm used to it. I'm not going to sit here and say one person's right and one person's wrong. Rex is proven in this league. He's been doing this a long time. One thing I can say about Rex, he's a smart guy. Very, very bright guy. He knows defense. He know what to do, what not to do. You just have to find your place, find your place in this scheme and find out what you need to do."'

'There's been plenty of talk at One Bills Drive about whether the Bills have found their quarterback. Rex Ryan seems think the team has a good idea that Taylor will be quarterback in 2016.'

'The Bills have been flagged 132 times through 14 games, making them the league's second most-penalized team. They lead the NFL with 1,142 penalty yards, and have been penalized more than any other team for offensive holding (25 times) and have the second-highest number of defensive pass interference calls (11).'

'Watkins has the body and the athletic ability of a prototypical receiver, and with world-class speed, he is a game-breaker. Scouts cite hands among Watkins’ many gifts.'

'Following Flutie, the team has had 14 different starting quarterbacks ranging from no-names like Alex Van Pelt and Jeff Tuel to failed first-round picks EJ Manuel and J.P. Losman. And eight head coaches have tried in vain to end the streak.'

'Woods hurt his groin and Johnson hurt his ankle in a 35-25 loss at Washington on Sunday in a game that eliminated Buffalo (6-8) from playoff contention for a 16th straight season. It's the NFL's longest active playoff drought, and tied for eighth-longest in league history.'

'"It's something that shouldn't happen," Brown said. "[Opposing offenses] run people in and off because they know we're having issues with that upstairs in the box. So people are going to keep doing it, running in and off. I mean, teams that usually are the slowest teams on the ball, they're hurrying up on us and trying to get plays because they know it's something that we've had issues with."'

'“We don’t know how good we could have been because everybody wasn’t doing what they were supposed to do on each play so, we can’t go around saying it’s the scheme or everybody’s not playing with effort,” he said. “I think it’s just mentally everybody wasn’t there.”'