Archives for October 12, 2017

' "I think he has to do it from what has been going on. He has to send out a letter, but I think we have a pretty good players association group that, you know, it's gonna go back and forth. I don't know if something's going to be resolved five games, six games into the season. But, you know what, it's something to talk about. The narrative has kind of changed a little bit, because you first started out with kneeling with Colin Kaepernick and now it's all of a sudden about the flag, the anthem and the military. It was not about that before. It was a protest (against) police brutality – and racial injustice, and that is what it's always been about. So now the fact that they're trying to put in some type of rule that you have to stand now – well, you know what? – the rule hasn't been there before, and now all of a sudden because African-American players want to protest against something, now you want to put in a rule. And, that's what we've been saying over the past years, is that, hey, it just has not been equal ground for us and other people in the United States."'

'The Bills' offensive scheme is designed to set up the pass with the run. That hasn't come remotely close to happening since the season-opening victory against the New York Jets. Therefore, opponents can freely crowd the line on early downs, often put the offense in unfavorable down-and-distance situations on third down, and clamp down on sub-standard passing by Tyrod Taylor and a receiving corps that has gone from bad to worse due to injuries.'

'“I suppose there’s a good story there about Ralph Wilson’s rise and the creation of the team, and at the end of the day that’s what I’m always chasing – a good story. But honestly, I think a movie about the Bills would essentially be a movie about the city and the people who live there. Because that’s part of it.”'

'The Bills fell slightly in most national power rankings, but are still thought to be in the top half of the league.'

'Make playoffs: 38.8 percent'

'McCoy had three drops against the Bengals, quite obviously the most he's had in a game this season. The rain wasn't his friend in this contest against the AFC opponent.'

'The 129.5 passer rating White allowed was the highest rating he's given up in a single game all season.'

'Carlos Hyde is in the final year of his rookie contract ($1.17 million cap hit) with the 49ers. The back was rumored to be on the trade block this offseason and the winless 49ers would probably be willing to move the back for an early day three pick. San Francisco is thinking towards the future and that doesn't involve Hyde.'

'The Buffalo Bills sit at 3-2 at the bye week. The team has pulled off two upsets early in the season, so it's time to ask: Are the Bills a playoff contender or pretender? Fans on Facebook, Twitter and TwoBillsDrive.com were asked to share their thoughts on the Bills. Tomorrow, we'll look at the pretender argument, but here are why some fans believe the Bills are contenders this season.'

'Defenses don't respect the pass, so they load up to key on running back LeSean McCoy, and the offensive line has failed to find solutions. It's partly because left tackle Cordy Glenn has barely played, and partly because the right side of the line — guard John Miller and tackle Jordan Mills — has underperformed. Miller was benched Sunday, replaced by Vlad Ducasse who was in no way an upgrade.'

'Basically, what you’d be asking for is a short passing offense with almost no threat to beat defenses vertically and more eight and nine-man boxes. Peterman doesn’t have the ability in the five-step, seven-step or rollout game that Taylor possesses. Peterman would also be thrust into a position where the teams’ top two pass-catchers were absent from the lineup and significant troubles in pass protection.'

'In fairness, Dareus did suffer an injury against the Panthers and missed the better part of the first half — but he did return to the game. Some will argue that he’s bouncing back from an injury against Atlanta and Cincinnati, but he was removed from the injury report on the Friday before the game both weeks, which means he should be ready to play at least 50-percent of the snaps.'

'McDermott is correct, but the Bills offense has been zero dimensional because they haven’t been able to run the ball either. Opposing defenses have been able to bottle up McCoy. After two seasons in which the Bills led the league in rushing, they are ranked in the middle of the pack.'

'Dion Dawkins, who made his third straight start at left tackle against the Bengals, continues to be a guy McDermott can rely on to anchor the left side of the offensive line.'

'The bottom line: Buffalo is better than many expected. And nothing is clinched, locked down or guaranteed one-third of the way into the season.'