Archives for December 2015

'"Yeah, to be honest with you," he said after a pause. "Every game is going to be different. The quarterback, Smith, he can buy time with his legs. And Brady, he couldn’t do that. He’s more of a dropback passer. It’s going to be different every week. We’re all in it together. So when they’re getting pressure, we’re happy. When they’re not, we have to hold up on the back end, no matter what. So we’re in it together.”'

'The key to playing cornerback, Gilmore said, is being "strong-minded." Sunday was especially a rough day for Darby. When the rookie sent Gilmore a text message on Monday, the vet who has embraced more of a leadership role told him "It happens." He endured similar valleys as a rookie. As he said, everybody around you can say to "Forget about it," but certain plays will stay on your mind.'

'“The hard part is just getting in your mind that it’s not really an extra point,” Carpenter said. “It is, it’s worth one point, but it’s hard to get into the frame that” distance-wise “it’s a field goal. When you’re kicking a field goal, it’s like the offense fails and you’re going out to finish the drive. Now, it’s getting in the right frame of mind to go out and kick a field goal instead of the extra point kind of thing.'

'The Bills can pretend that they're still in the playoff picture because they haven't been officially eliminated, but Sunday's 30-22 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs was a near lethal blow. Now at 5-6, they sit behind four 6-5 teams, and one of those teams — the Chiefs — owns a head-to-head tiebreaker, not to mention has an easy schedule down the stretch. The Bills will need to win a minimum of four of their last five games, and will still probably need help to end their playoff drought, which is now perilously close to 16 years.‚Äã'

'The Bills operated from the no-huddle offense throughout the first quarter and rolled to a 24-0 lead as Jim Kelly completed all eight passes he attempted for 229 yards and three TDs.'

'"I said it from day one I don't want to let our fans down," Ryan said. "I know the frustrations, but I want to take that head on … this is fully my responsibility, that is how I am approaching it. Now I am not admitting defeat by any stretch of the imagination that we have some opportunity."'

'Barnes is listed at 6-foot-7 and 364 pounds and spent the past two seasons with the Jets, where he played under coach Rex Ryan. That makes Barnes familiar with Buffalo's defensive system under Ryan, who took over in January.'

'Reddick joins the 53-man roster of the Bills after spending time on the team's practice squad earlier in the season. He was an undrafted free agent in 2013.'

'“Definitely, you have to give Houston their props,” Steward said. “They’re kind of rolling right now. They’re playing good football, but really we’re just worried about ourselves, trying to get our game plan down and doing what we have to do to get our next win.”'

'"We can't fulfill everybody's expectations. But what our expectations are, is to win ball games. If we can keep a goose egg (on opponents) and they may run up and down the field but don't score, that's a victory in our book. As far as our expectations are, we want to be the best defense we can be. That's what we're still striving to get to."'

'On the offensive side of the ball rookie running back Karlos Williams was spotted wearing a sling on Tuesday. Williams hurt his shoulder during the loss to Kansas City.'

'“I’m just looking forward to getting out there and be able to help the team,” said Steward Tuesday. “Step in and do what I can to make sure that I do everything to help the team win.”'

'“By being the starting quarterback, you automatically garner some sort of respect from the players around you,” Center Eric Wood says. “And when you work as hard and prepare like Tyrod does it gives you a voice. He’s not extremely vocal in a locker room setting; he’s plenty vocal on the field. But when he speaks up, people listen.”'

'Edwards (6-4, 278) was signed off the Dallas Cowboys practice squad, a place where he had a couple of stints this season. He also spent some time on the Oakland Raiders practice squad and the Chicago Bears active roster during the regular season.'

'“He never really talked a lot, so when he would say something they would listen,” said Linda Gilmore of Stephon. “Like now he tells them their grades in school are important. And right now my kids are really doing well in school with their grades. So I don’t have to do homework with them. They take care of it. I don’t have a problem with them going to church. Like my mother in law said, if you get the older ones on a good path the younger ones will follow.”