Archives for January 2016

'The speculation about the Bills quitting on Rex Ryan certainly proved to be incorrect. This was an injury-depleted team that played hard in the final two games, and earned two victories to salvage an 8-8 record. Yes, it's disappointing and yes, overall this team underachieved, but it didn't quit. Ask the Jets about that.'

'Instead, Fitzpatrick was again confused by Ryan's defense and threw three costly interceptions in the second half. Meanwhile, Tyrod Taylor took care of the football and did just enough to get the Bills a victory.'

'He has 43 sacks in four seasons as a Bills since signing a massive free-agent deal in 2012. Yet criticism has found him at every turn. Williams paused the music and turned to face reporters, and the questions didn't seem befitting of a player with 96 sacks in 10 seasons.'

'"I just have to play my game and prepare the right way and watch film," Watkins said. "I know he's going to be a future Hall of Famer. The coaches did a great job of putting me in the right situations with the right coverage and helping me out all week with identifying coverages and what he does well. They put me in the right position to make the best plays."'

'The Bills beat the New York Jets in Week 17 to finish the season 8-8. That earned them the No. 19 pick in the first round. The Bills didn't pick in the first round a year ago after trading away the pick to move up and select wide receiver Sammy Watkins in 2015. General manager Doug Whaley will get another chance to show what he can do with a first-round pick.'

'"All you can ask for in this game is just an opportunity," Fitzpatrick said. "And as poorly as we played in the first quarter, and as slow as we were going there, we picked it up and had an opportunity at the end to win the game. We weren't able to pull it off and my heart hurts so bad right now for all those guys in the locker room. It was a tough one."'

'If there is one thing you can take away from the 2015 season, it's that the Bills found a quarterback.'

'Sammy Watkins bought a waterfront property on Revis Island, Manny Lawson and AJ Tarpley intercepted Ryan Fitzpatrick in the final two minutes and Tyrod Taylor played both quarterback and running back as Buffalo ended the Jets season with their fifth straight win over New York.'

'Rex, it seems Sammy gets it. He talked the talk one week and the players responded. He was a young leader among men in your locker room. Trust me, everyone wondered if the Bills would lay down. Would Mario Williams play hard? When he ran down Ryan Fitzpatrick for a sack it was clear he listened to Watkins.'

'When you’re trailing by less than a touchdown late in the season-closing game you’ve got to win to reach the playoffs, ending your last three possessions like that won’t get it done.'

'But Williams has been the only one of the two to speak out about how poor a match new head coach Rex Ryan’s complex defensive system is with the personnel on hand — a fact that became all too apparent by Canadian Thanksgiving.'

'“I think Revis knows, this kid’s got elite speed,” Rex Ryan said. “There is no question about it and Revis wasn’t gonna get beat on top. So I think we thought we had a chance to throw the ball underneath a few times and we did.”'

'“I don’t know what their game plan was, whether they wanted him play that way, but [Revis" target="_blank"> was showing Sammy a lot of respect and he’s earned that from what he’s done. He’s a big-time talent. They know what kind of deep speed he has and what kind of ball skills he has.”'

'Ryan, who does not do humble very well, made an attempt after it was over, but you could tell he was bursting at the seams with glee and relief, saying: “I feel great, there’s no question. I was very honest about how I felt going into this game, that I’ve got a lot of friends over there [with the Jets" target="_blank">. I want them to be successful, but not at my expense.'

'“I know is going to be a future Hall of Famer, but the coaches did a great job of putting me in the right situations with the right coverage and helping me out all week with identifying coverages and what he does well,” said Watkins, who finished with 11 catches for 136 yards. “They put me in position to make the best plays.”'