Archives for December 2016

'"I know this is bad, it seems like it," he added, "but to me it’s, hey – I’m just going, business as usual, getting my team ready. Now, is there negative talk, do I understand it? Yeah, I get it. But all I can do is affect what’s right in front of me and get this team to play up to our abilities and I think that’s what we did."'

'The Bills often lined up in I-formation, with LeSean McCoy and fullback Jerome Felton in the backfield, and dared the Browns to stop them. The line consistently blew defenders off the ball and Felton spent most of the game serving as a human sledgehammer as McCoy finished with 153 yards – pushing him past 1,000 for the season – and a pair of scores.'

'An examination of all 32 NFL rosters reveals Whaley has constructed the Bills in contradictory fashion, relying on more free agents than any other club while failing to unearth a franchise quarterback since joining the front office.'

'"It took my teammates wanting me to play," Williams said. "That's all it ever takes. It's understood. They don't have to tell me, and I don't have to tell them that I want to be out there playing with them."'

'Attitudes changed with the team. Fans must have been kicking themselves Sunday for attending the game. They would have been better off throwing six bucks onto a burning table in the parking lot. The game Sunday wasn’t worth the time and energy and certainly not the money, no matter how low the price.'

'“Our secondary, they did a fantastic job just taking away the first read, playing real tight coverage and making the QB hold the ball,” Hughes said. “Any time the QB holds the ball, we’re going to get there. So it’s great to just kind of match that up and get the rush and the outstanding coverage by those guys.”'

'The Bills did it mainly by imposing their will with a power-oriented game plan that sapped the life out of the Browns' defense. The Bills ran for 280 yards and a season-high three touchdowns.'

'The Bills’ rout got rolling when Brandon Tate took a pitch from Mike Gillislee on an end around out of the Wildcat formation. Tate ran 30 yards to the Cleveland 12. It set up the Bills’ first touchdown.'

'Cleveland might take Texas A&M pass rusher Myles Garrett with the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft next spring. He’s an elite edge rusher, and there isn’t a quarterback in the Andrew Luck class available this year.'

'It must not be easy to answer 10 questions about getting fired just a few minutes after a 20-point win, so give coach Rex Ryan some credit for how he handled himself. The Bills played a mostly clean game, taking just five penalties and generally appearing to be on the same page. They said the right things about needing a win to keep their minimal playoff hopes alive, a sign that Ryan has done a decent job keeping the speculation about his future from becoming a distraction to the team.'

'What does it mean for the job security of coach Rex Ryan? Probably not much. There was speculation that a loss could lead to his dismissal on Monday, but a report from ESPN — consistent with what The News has reported all week — is that Ryan will at least get to coach out the rest of the season before his possible firing.'

'So to give a poor article life beyond Sunday, I am going to overload it with search terms that will cause people to click on it.'

'Sorry, the game just ended. I'm not going to sit here and pretend I have any scalding hot reaction to the Bills' game against the winless Browns on Sunday at New Era Field.'

'As a team, the Bills had 40 carries for 280 yards — an average of 7 yards per rush.'

'For the most part, it was an unsightly affair that’s usually reserved for the final preseason game. Cleveland hasn’t played for anything but pride all season, and that was lost weeks ago. The Bills are going nowhere with their 7-7 record, which falls in line of their 16-year stretch of mediocrity.'