Archives for August 21, 2016

'It comes a week after the NFL suspended the Bills' top-paid player for the first four games of the season for violating the league's substance abuse policy. Last year, he was suspended for the season opener for another violation of the policy.'

'Williams' release comes after he enjoyed an impressive rookie season. The fifth-round pick out of Florida State had 517 yards rushing and scored nine touchdowns, including two receiving.'

'In the Bills' case, they couldn't get much going against the Giants' first-string defense, who held Buffalo to just 75 yards of offense, 59 of which came on Taylor's pass to tight end Charles Clay, the Bills' leading receiver.'

'The Bills just gave Dareus a $103 million contract extension last year which included $60 million in guaranteed money. Dareus will not lose any of his future guaranteed money because of this incident. The suspension will cost Dareus about $3.3 million.'

'"Obviously, I've always said this is a performance-based business," Bills general manager Doug Whaley told reporters Saturday. "The release of Karlos Williams was strictly performance-based. He came in behind the eight ball and never caught up. And there was other guys on the roster that moved ahead of him. In light of that, we thought, 'Why hold on to him?' Why don't we give him a chance to maybe find another job out there in the league. We weren't going to hold on to him to the end, knowing he wasn't going to make the team."'

'"After careful consideration of recent events within my life, I have made the decision to enter a rehabilitation facility," Dareus said in a statement released Saturday by the team. "I feel this is the best decision for me, my family and my teammates as I move forward with my career. I appreciate the support of my teammates and the Bills organization through this process."'

'Williams can serve the suspension as a free agent if he is not claimed off waivers or signed by another team.'

'Taylor stole the show in his limited time under center, going 7 of 10 for 132 yards and a touchdown pass to LeSean McCoy. Taylor turned in several impressive plays, including a 59-yard toss to Charles Clay. The Buffalo quarterback evaded a Janoris Jenkins blitz with a nifty juke and uncorked a bomb to the wide-open Clay.'

'Now of course we must understand that the Giants didn’t game plan against him, but I don’t think that changes some of the things we saw. If he can pay attention to the small details, I think that’s all it’s going to take for him to take the next step.'

'The defense was outstanding in this one, outside of one play. I came away thinking they’re going to be all right even with the suspension of Marcell Dareus and injury to Reggie Ragland. Part of the reason is that, once again, they seemed to have good communication and were organized. That will be half the battle with this group.'

'The decision comes days after Dareus was suspended by the NFL for violating the league's substance abuse policy.'

'The Bills' offseason has been anything but low-key and the team delivered more stunning news on Saturday — the release of RB Karlos Williams.'

'McCoy was also gang tackled on some of his receptions/carries. With McCoy especially, they really don’t have anything to prove with him on the field because they know what he is at this point.'

'Dareus will be inelgible to play for the Bills for the first four games of the 2016 season.'

'The Bills decision to part ways with Williams is going to lead to obvious speculation that something happened over the course of the last few days. The Bills stood by Williams through being both overweight by their standards, and through the four-game suspension.'