Archives for October 30, 2017

‘”It’s a big win, I think, as far as just continuing to separate yourself from the rest of the pack,” wide receiver Jordan Matthews said. “Because a lot of teams have two losses, three losses. There’s only one team with one loss, so at this point in the season you can start really setting yourself up if you can just continue to stack these wins.’

‘“It was a great feeling, man, just to help the team out,” he said. “Anything I can do, just to help the team in a positive way.”’

‘“For him to come out and play in this game is huge for us, because that’s just a hard situation – you don’t even know what to say. How do you deal with something like that? I think our team has done a great job of wrapping our arms around him, loving him up, and have to continue through that process because he and his family are still dealing with this.”’

‘No one uttered a disparaging word about Dareus. That’s not surprising, considering how tight this team has become under first-year head coach Sean McDermott. But they played with an unmistakable passion Sunday, as if telling the world that an underachiever like Dareus had no place among them.’

‘Here’s what I feel: The guy who showed up Sunday at New Era Field was nothing like the guy who played for UB. Mack was a good guy who carried himself with class and humility while wearing blue-and-white No. 46. He would have stood against the character who wore black-and-silver No. 52 and came across like a self-absorbed big-timer afterward.’

‘Glenn’s base salary is $9 million this season, so if a team were to trade for him before the deadline it would commit more than $4 million in base salary to him for the rest of the year. The Bills would be left with $5.2 million in “dead money” by trading Glenn on this year’s cap — in addition to what they’ve already paid him in base salary — and would have a $9.6 million cap charge for him in 2018.’

‘”I had it on my calendar when the schedule came out,” said Holmes, who was with the Raiders from 2013-16. “I was really excited to compete against my old teammates and team.”‘

‘To borrow a phrase from coach Sean McDermott, they have a “playoff caliber” defense that has taken the ball away at least three times in four consecutive games. The offense didn’t play a perfect game, and still put up 34 points. The Bills absolutely smoked an Oakland team that was supposed to be a Super Bowl contender.’

‘For the second game in a row, the Bills’ offensive line controlled the line of scrimmage and incorporated a variety of run plays for which the Raiders had few answers.’

‘Bills cornerback Leonard Johnson used sound fundamentals and dropped his shoulder into Oakland running back DeAndre Washington after a short check-down pass. But the Bills’ defense is on a turnover-frenzy roll, and Johnson said he was thinking turnover all the way.’

‘The Bills dared to leave their unheralded right tackle one on one vs. the Raiders’ sackmaster on a bunch of pass plays. It was not double-team blocking against Mack all the time. Mack had just two tackles. Neither he nor sack-make Bruce Irvin took down Tyrod Taylor.’

‘The Bills entered the game tied for fourth in the NFL in takeaways with 13 and created four more. They lead the NFL in turnover ratio at plus-14.’

‘Did you miss Marcell Dareus? Neither did the Bills. Adolphus Washington started in Dareus’ place next to Kyle Williams and finished with three tackles, while Cedric Thornton chipped in two. Jerel Worthy was held off the stat sheet, but he rotated in, as well. Defensive end Jerry Hughes had the team’s only tackle for a loss. He’s been underrated against the run this year.’

‘The win lifted the Bills to 5-2 for the first time since 2011, when they proceeded to drop their next seven games.’