Archives for January 2016

'"And that's one of things that I mean I want to impart to the fans," general manager Doug Whaley said. "I mean we had a lot of change last year and this is the first year of an organization from basically top to bottom, and there's some positive things to build on. We were 8-8. Is that acceptable? Absolutely not. But for us up here and in this organization, we're gonna focus on the positives and build on those positives, and correct the weaknesses. So it's absolutely a good thing that we're gonna be here, continuity, and I think that's one of the things that the Pegulas totally believe in."'

'"I think it's just tabloid reporting," Whaley said. "When things don't go well people are out there just to create some friction and just throw darts at the board and then if it's right then 'Oh, I was the first to report it.' I mean, I understand your guys' business. Controversy sells. We've been unified from day one. We have no problems, I haven't had any problems with anybody on the staff. I think our offensive staff has done a wonderful job. I've got complete confidence in the defensive staff, our head coach. And I know the Pegulas do as well and I know Russ (Brandon) does. That to us, it's one of those where you just tune out the noise."'

'"He's warranted enough for us to continue down the road to see if he can be the franchise guy of the future," Whaley said. "I mean if you think about it, if I told you a former sixth-round pick in his first year starting went 8-6, and with his stats and his quarterback rating and what he's brought to the team, I think it warrants him a chance to prove it. Absolutely. And the thing that we like the most about him is the locker room believes in him, we believe in him, and hopefully the fans believe in him."'

'"We get paid to do this job — a lot of people want to do this job — so sell out," Watkins said. "Just give your best and be on time, do the job, practice well, practice hard, be in shape. It only asks you five or six things, and it's not hard. Just do your job. We'll win, everybody wins, everybody gets what they want to get and we go to the playoffs and win a championship. That's what it's about. That's all I care about is winning and these guys in this locker room. Everything else outside of that, I honestly don't care about."'

'They need to sign quarterback Tyrod Taylor to a multi-year contract extension. I wouldn’t list Taylor among the NFL’s elite quarterbacks, but he’s probably the best the Bills have had since Drew Bledsoe. He’s signed through next season but if he plays as well as he did this year, the Bills risk losing him to free agency. He doesn’t deserve franchise quarterback money, but a three-year extension for $40 million wouldn’t be out of the question.'

'What precisely has Whaley not yet seen in Taylor to be convinced the 26-year-old is a “franchise” QB, who’s worthy of a huge contract extension that would pay him, oh, at least $15 million per year? “Just keep getting better and better,” Whaley said. “There are things he can do that he needs to do better, and one of the major things is obviously the consistency. The second thing is, and we tell him all the time, learn to slide. He has got to learn to slide.'

'Watching many of the Bills games this season, what troubled me the most was the glut of penalties. The Bills averaged 80.3 yards of penalties per game in 2015, the most in the league through 16 weeks.'

'Dareus' hit on Ryan Fitzpatrick on the first snap following the two-minute warning led to the quarterback throwing his second of three interceptions in the fourth quarter. New York's loss, combined with Pittsburgh's win at Cleveland, eliminated the Jets from playoff contention.'

'"Yeah, we expected to make the playoffs this year, and that's pretty well noted, and we're disappointed about it," Wood said Monday morning. "I liked the way we finished the season. I think there is something that goes with carrying momentum into the offseason. A lot of positive vibes these last two games headed into the offseason, but we are disappointed."'

'"Things went backwards as far as, overall, for everybody. You guys look at stats. I mean, you can answer that yourself. I think the biggest thing is us just needing an understanding. I don't know if being a little simpler would make things better. I don't know."'

'Butler, 27, appeared in 13 games this season for the Bills, and has registered nine total tackles and five passes defended. Butler made a possible game-saving play on Sunday against the Jets late in the fourth quarter when he broke up a Ryan Fitzpatrick pass intended for Kenbrell Thompkins.'

'“He's warrented enough to continue down this road to see if he can be the franchise guy in the future,” Whaley said. "If I told you a former sixth-round pick in his first year went 8-6 and with his stats and his quarterback rating and with what he brought to the team, it warrents a chance for him to prove it."'

'“We plan to meet with the medical staff shortly, but I know since Aaron’s been out longer we’ve been getting periodic updates on him and all signs are positive,” Whaley said while he and head coach Rex Ryan addressed the media at Monday’s end-of-season press conference.'

'"This is a system that is set up in the NFL that you can't keep everybody," Whaley said. "There is going to be some tough decisions, and that's what we're here for. We're going to try and make the right decisions for the Buffalo Bills to get to the playoffs and win a championship."'

'Bills defensive lineman Marcell Dareus posted a picture of himself in a walking boot Monday with a caption stating he broke his foot in the fourth quarter of the team's 22-17 win over the New York Jets Sunday.'