Archives for December 2016

'The final two games should provide tougher challenges than Cleveland. Miami more so than the Jets since the Dolphins have won eight of nine games. But the Bills will be facing a pair of teams playing their backup quarterbacks and one of those backups, Bryce Petty, will have a total of four starts under his belt.'

'Every time I think Shady can’t impress any more, he finds a way to do it. 153 yards on only 19 carries for a whopping 8.1 yards per run. He added 16 yards on three catches for 169 total yards from scrimmage and scored twice along the way. Once again McCoy made players miss one-on-one and exploded through holes to run free. His longest run was “only” 24 yards, but McCoy had four runs of 16 yards or more. The way he’s still playing, even at 28 years old, McCoy seems like he still has a lot of good football left in him.'

'Tyrod Taylor looked solid against the Browns, which entering the day had given up 30 passing touchdowns, the most in the NFL.'

'The only way this game would have mattered for Rex Ryan is if his team managed to lose to this Browns team. That, in itself, would have likely finished off the Bills head coach. Now, he’s likely safe for another week — considering that the last head coach to be fired midseason after a win was Dan Reeves in Atlanta in 2003.'

'But he looks like a dead man walking. His time in Buffalo likely will end after the regular-season finale against the New York Jets on New Year’s Day unless Buffalo somehow pulls off a miracle finish and makes the playoffs.'

'LeSean McCoy ran for a season high 153 yards and two touchdowns as Buffalo avoided an embarrassing loss with a commanding 33-13 victory over the winless Browns. Mike Gillislee added a rushing touchdown giving the Bills a club record 26 on the season. Tyrod Taylor hit Charles Clay for a 19 yard touchdown pass just before halftime to give the Bills a 17-3 halftime lead. Taylor was 17 of 24 for 174 yards and added 49 yards on the ground. Dan Carpenter added two field goals but he once again missed an extra point.'

'Tyrod Taylor had two grossly underthrown passes that were caught on a 2nd quarter scoring drive, the second one was his only touchdown pass of the game to Charles Clay. He did have a couple of nice completions over the middle and threw the ball well. He also ran very well in this game. Grade A-: Had his best game of the season. Too little too late unfortunately.'

'Buffalo is 4-1 this season when LeSean McCoy goes over 100 yards rushing, and those odds remained largely in the Bills favor on Sunday against the Browns. The Bills feature back hit the century mark on his first carry of the third quarter as Buffalo took a 14-point halftime lead and cruised to victory over winless Cleveland 33-13.'

'“Where do I start,” tight end Charles Clay asked about the feature back’s performance. “Probably his ability to set up the block. I say it’s second to none to anybody in the league the way he can just maneuver defenders. Obviously the quickness and the shiftiness is well-documented, but that’s probably the biggest thing I noticed.”'

'Sometimes you’re—I can speak, you’re nervous when you play an opponent like that because you definitely don’t want to be the team that gets beat by them. I was in Baltimore, we lost to a team I think that was 0-13 and they won one game the whole year and it was us. Then the next year I think we were in the AFC Championship game, so we’ll see. There’s still talent on that field. I mean you saw the quarterback made an unbelievable run against us, but we know what’s in front of us. We have to win and obviously we’re playing against Miami, that’s going to be a tough game. They put it to us the last time in Miami and we have to return the favor.'

'Of a seemingly failed promise to make the postseason the last two years,Ryan conceded, “You think that you’re making strides, but then obviously it hasn’t been good enough to get us into the playoffs. That’s (a) frustrating thing. I think the work ethic’s there. You’re trying to make improvements to get there, but we just haven’t made enough yet.”'

'The Bills' game plan figures to feature McCoy early and often. The Browns' run defense ranks 31st in the NFL, allowing 146.2 yards per game. As mentioned above, McCoy should surpass 1,000 rushing yards on the season and will have a great opportunity to put up some gaudy numbers.'

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'In coach Rex Ryan’s two seasons, the Bills have beaten just two playoff teams ­– the Houston Texans last year and the New England Patriots this year. In that game, New England started a rookie, third-string quarterback who was placed on injured reserve the next day. Here’s a good topic of conversation for your friends: See if you agree on what the Bills’ best win this season is. Chances are, “none of the above” becomes a popular choice.'

'Sadly, Dareus has become a symbol of this misbegotten Bills franchise — full of bluster and promise but ultimately flawed and aimless, overpriced but without any discernible plan for getting things right in the long run.'