Archives for January 2, 2017

'Bills running back Reggie Bush finished the season with 12 carries for minus-3 yards, becoming the first NFL running back to have negative yards rushing with 10 or more carries. He had no carries against the Jets.'

'The plan to hire Lynn could still be derailed in Buffalo because he is still required to conduct a formal interview. There's also the potential of other teams expressing interest to interview him for their respective openings.'

'Kicker Dan Carpenter kicked a 34-yard field goal and Mike Gillislee rushed for a 1-yard touchdown with 39 seconds left in the fourth quarter for Buffalo (7-9), which missed the playoffs for the 17th straight season — the longest drought amongst the four major American pro sports teams.'

'McCoy was apparently hurt while being dragged down for a 2-yard loss on the first snap of the second quarter. He was briefly evaluated on the Bills' bench before being taken to the locker room. The Bills, who were eliminated from playoff contention last weekend, announced a few minutes later that McCoy was done for the day.'

'"Gus and I are friends," Lynn said Sunday. "We've been friends for a while and he's a good defensive coordinator. Someone told me about him being tied to me. I don't know about all that."'

'McCoy came up limping after rushing for a 2-yard loss on the first play of the second quarter. He was examined by trainers on the bench before being taken off on a cart.'

'How did it happen? The Jets' kickoff landed short of the Bills' end zone and began to roll into the end zone. As return man Mike Gillislee began to chase after the ball, he stopped and declined to touch it as it entered the end zone — the proper strategy for a punt, not a kickoff.'

'Most notable was an incomplete pass he threw to the sideline — there was't a Bills player within like 50 yards of where he was aiming the ball.'

'In a play that perfectly epitomized the Bills' season, Buffalo's kickoff return team gave up a touchdown because they forgot to field the ball. You might expect something like that to happen in a Pop Warner game, but nope, it actually happened in an NFL game.'

'Perhaps most amazing: Bush's season-long struggles are taking place on the league's most efficient rush offense, according to Football Outsiders' metrics, one that averages 171 rushing yards a game. LeSean McCoy leads the way with 1,267 yards and a 5.4 yards-per-carry average, and he's followed by Tyrod Taylor (580 yards, 6.1 YPC), Mike Gillislee (577 yards, 5.7 YPC), Jonathan Williams (94 yards, 3.5 YPC) … and Bush.'

'General manager Doug Whaley clashed with Ryan and was pushing ownership hard to make a coaching change, and sources said he had been meeting with Lynn for weeks to go over key offensive personnel and issues.'

'The injury means that McCoy will not be the AFC’s rushing leader this year, as he is trailing both DeMarco Murray and Le’Veon Bell by a few yards. Bell is inactive today, so it’s looking like Murray will win the AFC rushing race.'

'The team’s season came to an ignominious end on Sunday when they allowed the Jets to kick the ball off, run down the field, and recover it in the end zone for a touchdown. No one on the Bills touched the ball.'

'The Bills woes continued, after a miscommunication on the kickoff turned into a highlight reel for NFL follies. Mike Gillislee and Brandon Tate failed to recover the kickoff, which the Jets recovered for a touchdown and a 30-3 lead.'

'According to Rapoport, the Buffalo head coaching job is Lynn's "to lose," but adds that the team may also explore other options including Frank Reich (Eagles OC), Teryl Austin (Lions DC), and Harold Goodwin (Cardinals OC).'