Archives for December 29, 2015

'The irony is Ryan might still be the Jets coach had John Idzik gotten him Ryan Fitzpatrick and Brandon Marshall and Darrelle Revis. Fitzpatrick has given Bowles the mature, experienced, efficient, mistake-free quarterback play Ryan never enjoyed, and Marshall has given Bowles the dominant receiver Ryan needed alongside Eric Decker, and Revis could have played blindfolded in last year’s Arena League Jets secondary.'

'“It’ll be the first time that I’ve been back there in a different jersey, playing in front of those fans,” Fitzpatrick said on Monday, a day after leading the Jets to a dramatic 26-20 overtime win against the Patriots at MetLife Stadium. “I mean, it’s got some extra meaning to me, just because I was there for four years and the fans were so great to me and my family. There’s a little bit of extra meaning there.”'

'“I think if I would have come in there and said, hey we’re going to compete and do all that stuff, maybe we wouldn’t have such a bad feeling about this team,” said Ryan, who signed a five-year, $27.5-million contract with the Bills. “This team doesn’t deserve that. This team has fought and played extremely hard. We’ve had a lot of things happen during this year, where we came up short. There’s no question about it. I think I could have handled it differently.”'

'“It’s a major motivation for him,” Pace said. “But I think more so than anything, he probably wants to finish this season on a winning note also. So I think both of those play a factor into motivation coming into this game.”'

'That's it? Maybe Ryan feels like there isn't much he can say in the way of trash talk because the Bills are 7-8, with no shot at the postseason.'

'"That was a big step for me, to be able to be in that role, and to have some success," Fitzpatrick said. "A lot of that just stemmed from Chan and his confidence in me, and the way that we work together. I look back on those four years as a great learning experience for me. I loved living there. I loved the city, the fans, the organization, the players. Everything there was top-notch. So I look back on those four years very, very fondly."'

'"I look back on those four years as a great learning experience for me," Fitzpatrick said of his time in Buffalo. "There’s a lot of things I think I’ve learned since then, but I loved living there, loved the city, the fans, the organization, and the players. I mean everything there was top-notch, so I look back on those four years very fondly."'

'"Just us getting a win against a good football team is great," Ryan said. "I don't care if we play East Carolina, you want to get a win, period."'

'"I think, first off, it's about getting the win and we know we are facing a team that is red hot," Ryan said in Buffalo. "This team is a complete football team."'

'Some of Ryan's players are already feeding the hype machine for the game. Running back Boobie Dixon took it a bit too far when he said, "We're not going to the playoffs, so the Super Bowl is next week for us. I know we're gonna have a lot of guys jacked. We already know what's on the line. We've got something to play for now. We've been having something to play for, that's our respect and our pride; we always want that. But to send them home packing, that would be great."'

'"We were chirping about it a little bit," said guard Richie Incognito, who has played so well this year that he should have been chosen for the Pro Bowl, rather than be an alternate. "We're in this building every day. We know what we are. We know what we're good at. And we went out there and proved it again today. There were a lot of text messages back and forth.'

'Hankerson was released by the New England Patriots on Saturday. The former third-round pick of the Washington Redskins in 2011 has caught 107 passes in 40 career NFL games.'

'"I think we got a great thing going here. We just didn't produce the wins I thought we would," Ryan told WGR 550 radio in Buffalo. "The thing that kind of gives this team a black eye when we're looking at it is that I let my mouth get ahead of everything. And I think if I would have come in there and just said, 'Hey, we're gonna compete,' and do all that stuff, maybe we wouldn't have such a bad feeling about this team.'

'The Bills have been something of a disappointment — especially on defense — in their first year under Rex Ryan, given they entered the year with fringe playoff hopes themselves, but beating Ryan's former team to potentially knock them out of the playoffs would be a decent consolation prize.'

'"It's a must-win right now business or else changes are coming, and we know that," Wood said with the Bulldog right here on WGR. "That's the reality of the business, but continuity is huge. Growing within an offensive scheme and getting used to it, and then developing from there is big. If you just think about this year, we've grown throughout the year on offense. And I'm so excited about the group we got for a year or two under Greg Roman's system."'