Archives for October 20, 2016

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'Meanwhile, Robert Woods – the Bills No. 1 receiver with Sammy Watkins on injured reserve – was still wearing a walking boot on his right foot/ankle in the locker room.'

'"I'm just happy to get back on the field with my teammates," Lawson said. "It's been a long, long journey, but I'm just glad to be back there with my teammates and be back on the practice field. … I felt great out there. I felt better than I've ever been. I felt completely healthy, so it was just great to be out there."'

'The Bills' recent success is a testament to their competitive will and character. It's a team filled with players who were unheralded, underpaid and, in some cases, undrafted. Many of the players on the roster – and that includes the likes of Tyrod Taylor, Kyle Williams and Preston Brown – feel they have something to prove.'

'"I'm a fan of football, so I really admired him from afar," Ryan said. "When he got paralyzed, I was aware of that. The way he came in my life, I got a package from him. I was sitting back and thinking, 'Dennis Byrd? This is interesting'. It was his jersey that they cut off. That was amazing.'

'"I hope we do, I hope we do," he said. "Because they earn it. That's what you want. You want guys to move on and become head coaches. That would be awesome. And I hope it happens."'

'"That feels like forever ago," Gase said. "I think I was there three years. I remember high school a little bit but I don’t remember much before that. I remember going to a lot of Buffalo Bills games with my dad when Jim Kelly and those guys were still playing.'

'Asked about handling the heat in South Florida, Ryan said, "We're very aware of the heat. I think the key is you've got to hydrate the whole week. It's not like one of those things you go out and hydrate the day before or the day of. You've got to be getting your rest, you've got to hydrate and getting off the field on third down will help us."'

'Making a blanket statement that Roman's scheming and play-calling were the reason for the Bills' 0-2 start and would have continued to be an anchor weighing down the offense and the team if he remained on the job seems like a bit of an overstatement.'

'“I was happy; I’ve been happy since last week when I saw my last doctor,” Lawson said Wednesday after he participated in his first official full-team practice as a member of the Buffalo Bills. “I’m just happy to be back with my teammates. It’s been a long, long journey.”'

'“Losing a player like Shady definitely hurts a team, losing a guy with his type of ability,” said quarterback Tyrod Taylor, who might also have to carry some of the rushing load. “I think he’ll be OK, but we have guys – Reggie, Mike, Jonathan (Williams) – that are ready to step up and take the challenge. All those guys have proven they can play and they’ll accept the challenge.”'

'"A lot of prayers got me by," Miller said Monday. "Just trying to block it out and trying to keep football the main thing. Sometimes it was tough. There were some nights I couldn't sleep. But I knew I still had a job to do and I was depending on myself and I know I teammates depending on me to get the job done on Sundays."'

'The Bills have 11 more sacks through six games than they did a year ago. Lorenzo Alexander, who came into the year with a career high of 2.5 sacks in a season, is leading the league with eight sacks. The Bills have allowed just one team to go over 20 points in a game after allowing three teams to do it in this span a year ago. Put simply, the defense is in a far better place now.'

'"We've made some changes, we're moving some guys around, trying to find the best lineup for what we're doing," Dolphins coach Adam Gase said in a conference call with Buffalo media. "We cut back some of his snaps to try to make sure we use him as efficient as possible and put him in on some situations that are more pass down emphasis. Just trying to make sure when he's able to go it's full go. We've had a lot of snaps on defense leading up to and in this last game. We were averaging like 75 plays a game on defense and guys were playing a lot against the run. Between Mario and J.J. they were getting pounded on pretty good and I think it finally had caught up to us in terms of those guys taking so many snaps."'

'Rex Ryan announced the injury after practice. The team plans to evaluate McCoy throughout the week before determining his availability for the Bills' Week 7 game against the Miami Dolphins.'