Archives for December 2015

'"I don't know," Ryan said. "I don't think that's … uh I don't … in those things it's, uh, you know, I guess looks can be deceiving. We certainly didn't have him in a uh, well, one of them we did. It was supposed to be a trap coverage and it's supposed to actually trap the route they threw the touchdown on. We might have been talking about that a little differently, but we never executed it. I think it surprised the offense, but they threw right into it and we weren't there for it."'

'"We always knew we were going to have a relationship because of the relationship we built at Clemson," Hopkins said. "No matter where we went, if we were rivals in the same conference, we knew we would still be brothers off the field. We keep in touch a lot."'

'"I've never been in this situation. I think the worst I've ever been in this league is 11th," Ryan said, noting he has never had a defense finish worse than 11th in yards allowed in 10 NFL seasons as a coach or coordinator. "I'm not going to press the panic button. But we'll see. Obviously, we've got to improve."'

'Houston (6-5) has surrendered an average of 8.8 points and 250.5 yards of total offense on the winning streak, both of which lead the league since the start of Week 8. The 35 points it's allowed in that span follows the 44 it surrendered in a loss to Miami the game before the streak began. The Texans have allowed two touchdowns since and both came in one game.'

'"I mean, 30th in sacks is not real good," Ryan said. "Wow. But nah, I expect us to get better, I really do. I expect us to get better and we'll see."'

'"Everything, ultimately, is my responsibility," Ryan said. "No question about it. I'm not pointing fingers at anybody else. It's my responsibility. It's my responsibility to get a process in place that's effective.'

'“He has that ability to wreck games,” Bills center Eric Wood said Wednesday. “You got to have perfect technique. If you lunge in any way, he’s going to expose you. If you play soft he’s going to expose you. So, you have to be perfect on your technique to put yourself in a position to succeed.”'

'Last week against the Chiefs, the Bills had only two of their main starting defensive linemen in Jerry Hughes and Marcell Dareus. That duo was double-teamed, and even at times triple-teamed for much of the contest, leaving the replacement players to win the one-on-one matchups. It wasn’t working, and as a result, the Bills couldn’t get any heat on Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith.'

'ike Watkins, Taylor’s grade is heightened by his first half. However, unlike Watkins, Taylor is docked for his second half because he was directly in control of helping the passing game not be pushed aside like it was.'

'“Clear bags smaller than 12” X 6” X 12”, one gallon plastic freezer bags, and small clutch bags approximately the size of a hand (4.5” X 6.5”) with or without a handle or strap will be allowed into the stadium. Personal necessity bags and all other bags larger than 12” X 6” X 12” will not be allowed into the stadium regardless of the type, style, and/or clarity of the bag.”*'

'Brian Hoyer might not be Tom Brady. He might not even be Alex Smith. But the quarterback whom the Texans already benched once this season is capable of being dangerous as a thrower … and throwing on the move.'

'The game Sunday was yet another reminder that, no matter what he says, Ryan doesn’t have enough confidence in his players. If he did, he would have turned them loose against the Patriots in Week Two and never stopped. He would have told them to keep punching until someone pulled them off the pile.'

'“I think we’re all held to a pretty high standard,” fullback Jerome Felton said Tuesday. “We had a lot of high expectations coming into the season and, obviously, it’s not over. But whenever you don’t perform up to those expectations, you’re going to take some heat. And we do as players and they do as coaches. I don’t get mad at the fans or anything like that. It’s just part of the job.”'

'Best-case scenario for Bills: The Colts beat Pittsburgh on Sunday and the Texans in Week 15.'

'“It sucks that Nigel had to get hurt,” Steward said, “but this is really how guys get opportunities in the league. I think right now I’m where I want to be. I feel comfortable in the system.'