Archives for September 2016

'The numbers are eye-popping – 32 carries, 208 yards, 6.5 yards per rush.'

'Stephon Gilmore had two picks while Corey Graham and Corey White had one while the Bills sacked Palmer four times in the game. Graham's interception put the Bills on their own 1-yard line, which led to a safety that made things interesting – especially after John Brown returned the free kick to the Bills' 14-yard line – but Gilmore came up with another interception to put the game away.'

'So Chandler Catanzaro went out for a field goal attempt, but a high snap went through holder Drew Butler’s hands. Aaron Williams recovered the ball and took it 53 yards for a touchdown to make it 30-7 Bills. It was the Cardinals’ first turnover of the season.'

'The Bills would've gotten the ball back with about 7 minutes left in the quarter. Instead, the Cardinals drove down and scored on a David Johnson run with only 1:05 remaining before halftime. That cut the Bills' lead to 17-7.'

'The Bills had fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line with the score still 0-0. Fans booed as Rex Ryan sent out the field goal team, but Dan Carpenter’s 19-yarder gave the Bills the lead.'

'"I’d be ok with — ok, my feeling is, I think the National Football League gives you an incredible platform as it is," Ryan said. "And there’s guys in this room right now, if some of our players wanted to have a platform to speak with the media, then we’d allow that. There’s no doubt about it. I think, you know my personal opinion, I think the national anthem is an opportunity for us as a football team to show respect to the men and women that serve our country and have served our country. And I think that’s how I would approach it."'

'Cornerback Ronald Darby, who suffered a hamstring injury in Week Two against the Jets and was limited in practice during the week, will also sit out. Other inactives include: left tackle Cordy Glenn (ankle), safety Colt Anderson (foot), quarterback Cardale Jones and center Patrick Lewis.'

'We know we only have one win and obviously we’ve got a huge task in front of us but we’re going to enjoy this one because we’re going to enjoy the fact that we know what everybody thought of our football team and we knew that we were a better football team than that.'

'Rather than getting pummeled by the Arizona Cardinals as everyone expected, the exact opposite transpired as the Bills rolled to a stunning 33-18 victory in front of an electric, sun-drenched sellout crowd.'

'A fan was arrested on a larceny charge for trying to shoplift from the Bills Store, the Sheriff’s spokesman, Scott Zylka, said. He did not have details on what the fan had attempted to steal.'

'That plan of Rex Ryan and his staff called for using up to seven defensive backs at times, a plan that became full-proof even against the likes of Palmer, Larry Fitzgerland and Michael Floyd when the Bills took a 30-7 lead in the third quarter of their make-or-break showdown against the Cardinals at New Era Field.'

'That, to me, just reinforced the obvious: That Ryan sacrificed a good coach and any friendship the two might have shared in the name of business. But desperate times call for desperate measures and in the NFL, when a ship is taking on water, there's more loyalty among pirates.'

'Cornerback Corey White. He started in place of injured Ronald Darby, and though Palmer went his way a whole bunch — as evidenced by the nine tackles White was credited with — he did a pretty solid job against a talented group of Arizona wide receivers. He capped his day with an end zone interception on the Cardinals’ final possession which sealed the verdict.'

'This was an impressive performance all the way across the board. And as much as it might hurt the Rex Ryan haters to admit it, he had the Bills ready to play against all odds. You can’t deny that. There were a lot of things conspiring against the Bills, not the least of which was the possibility of their season blowing up before the end of the September. It certainly wasn’t perfect, but the Bills beat a good Arizona team that no one thought they had a chance against.'

'"All week, I guess the message was we were simplifying, but as we installed, I was thinking, 'I don't want to say it in the media, but I hope guys aren't taking this lightly,' because we have to study still," center Eric Wood said. "Good work by Anthony preparing, getting thrown into the fire and coming out with a good game plan."'