Archives for September 14, 2016

'"I think so much was made of it last year, and rightfully so, I guess, to some degree," Ryan said. "I spent a long time there [six seasons" target="_blank">. I thought the world of the players, a lot of people in that organization. Some not so much. But most."'

'Ryan’s act eventually wore out around here, from the thunderous opening act of two consecutive AFC Championship appearances to the ugly landing into four straight years without a playoff appearance. With one .500 season under his belt in Buffalo and an opening-week loss to Baltimore doing nothing to reverse the trend of mediocrity, Ryan is feeling the heat again. That’s the thing when you’re too much style and not enough substance – patience grows thinner with every stop. If Ryan goes a sixth straight year without making the playoffs, a sixth straight year of making promises to start the season and excuses to end it, will he have a job in Buffalo beyond 2016?'

'Since Ryan became the Baltimore Ravens’ defensive coordinator in 2005, his defenses have terrorized Fitzpatrick, limiting him to a 66.8 quarterback rating and just 5.82 yards per attempt, according to Stats LLC. And while Fitzpatrick has thrown 16 touchdowns against Ryan’s defenses, he’s also been picked off a dozen times while completing only 47.3% of his passes. Against other defenses, Fitzpatrick has a career quarterback rating of 82.2 and has averaged 6.74 yards per passing attempt, according to Pro Football Reference.'

'"We can't panic," McCoy said. "The only thing we can do this week is answer back the right way and respond and play like the offense that we've been playing like."'

'Studies found that red-green color blindness is the most prevalent, affecting more than 10 million Americans.'

'To a man, the linemen are thrilled to be playing on Thursday night because it allowed them to quickly wash away that lousy performance in Baltimore. Wood said they were already working on the game plan on the flight back from Baltimore because of the time crunch, and he said it had a cleansing effect.'

'Watkins has missed only three games since he was drafted in 2014, but myriad injuries — ribs, groin, hip, hamstring, calf and foot — landed him on the injury report or caused him to be removed from games.'

'"I will definitely take the blame myself," Roman said. "I think I can do a better job putting us in positions to be successful."'

'The last time Buffalo Bills defensive end Leger Douzable played at New Era Field, it was last season's finale on Jan. 3, and he was a member of the New York Jets.'

'A deeper dive into the numbers reveals just how Ryan's defenses have dominated Fitzpatrick, who has completed 47.1 percent of his passes while averaging 171.5 yards per game and throwing 15 touchdowns against 12 interceptions (1.25 touchdowns for every interception) in the 10 games.'

'"We are a very prideful group and we know what we're capable of and we didn't play up to our potential. When you have a poor showing like that early in the season it leaves a poor taste in your mouth. So we're coming out extra motivated. We're fired up."'

'Bills, 24-14.'

'Rex Ryan told ESPN last month that he has gained 30 pounds since he hired Rob to his coaching staff as assistant head coach/defense in January.'

'“I’m actually running and working out,” Listenbee said. “Me and Shaq (Lawson) with the strength coach and stuff and doing some sprints of stuff. So I mean I'm feeling way better way, I haven't done no lateral stuff, but I've been going straight ahead…..It's really day-to-day, day-by-day. I'm continually getting better. I have six weeks. I'm on NFI, basically PUP. So I mean we're going to see how it goes weeks six.”'

'Martin, 26, was released by the Bills as part of the final roster cuts on September 2. Martin had spent parts of last season with the Bills on the practice squad before being released in November.'