Archives for December 26, 2016

'The Bills are still alive for a top-10 pick. They could move up as high as ninth overall with a loss, or they could drop to the high teens with a win depending on next week's results.'

'It is hard to imagine Dan Fouts, CBS’ second-team analyst, would have passed on instantly criticizing or supporting a decision Ryan told reporters he made because he trusted his (porous) defense.'

'However, Saturday, players and coaches were complicit in defeat, and it further shined the light on the fact that the Bills are still what they’ve been for far too long: NFL mediocrity of the highest order.'

'No flag was thrown on the play, but Hughes could still face a fine for his actions. This isn't the first time that Hughes has thrown a head butt during his time with the Bills. Earlier this season, Hughes head butted Cincinnati Bengals offensive lineman Jake Fisher. He was penalized 15-yards for his head butt on Fisher. Last season, Hughes head butted Giants offensive tackle Ereck Flowers.'

'Of course, it’s easy to look back and blame a simple blown coverage, missed kicker, fumble, or jersey number on why the Bills missed the playoffs.'

'Talent on the field has definitely been a big problem for the Bills during this much-too-long playoff drought, and some of that blame these days definitely falls on the shoulders of General Manager Doug Whaley and team president Russ Brandon.'

'Whatever the Bills do in the coming months, we hope it involves more than just the scapegoat coach or scapegoat quarterback, but maybe those most responsible for the team’s day-to-day operations and most important decisions.'

'Why the hell did Ryan punt it away? “In that situation,” he said, “I was like, we’re going to pin them down deep. If we get a stop we’re going to have time to get field-goal range to win the game … I didn’t think we’d have 10 guys on the field like we did on that run, but that’s what happened.”'

'Ryan charmed the Bills new owners Terry and Kim Pegula after the Jets fired him following a 4-12 season in 2014 and wound up getting a raise.'

'It's been an issue for a large portion of this season, but the tackling in this game may have been the worst of any all year. It was absolutely atrocious. Leading the shoulder tackle parade was Stephon Gilmore, which has been a theme with him all season. But there were plenty of others throughout the entire game who decided not to wrap-up. It was glaring and costly all game long.'

'One final note on Taylor is his success against the Dolphins. He now has eight touchdown passes and zero interceptions in his last four games versus Miami.'