‘Kearse (10) and Jeremy Kerley (11) criss-crossed deep downfield. Pats cornerback Malcolm Butler (21), responsible for his deep third of the field, had to follow Kerley. That left Kearse wide open down the sideline. The other element that made the play work was the Pats’ four-man pass rush gave McCown (15) all day to throw.’
Archives for November 2017
Defense’s philosophy of ‘takeaways, takeaways, takeaways’ producing big results for Bills
‘“It’s as much a mindset as anything,” defensive tackle Kyle Williams said. “It becomes a part of you at a certain point. A guy’s got the running back wrapped up, receiver locked up, you see the next guy coming in knocking at the ball. You see guys picking the ball up, taking it down field. At some point, when you harp on it so much, you practice it so much, it becomes second nature.”’
Vic Carucci’s Take Five: Prime time is no time for Bills to do any toe-stubbing
‘Josh McCown has shown he is capable of performing better than he did in the opener, when he threw for 187 yards and had two interceptions. The Bills can’t let him do a Fitzmagic on them.’
Bills Notebook: Kelvin Benjamin passes physical, has a chance to play Thursday vs. Jets
‘Benjamin left the Panthers’ Week Six loss to Philadelphia after the bursa sac on his surgically repaired knee started to swell. The following week, The Charlotte Observer reported that he left practice because he was frustrated by the condition of his knee. He played in Week Seven against Chicago.’
Marcell Dareus’ open letter to Buffalo: ‘I want to thank the amazing Buffalo fans’
‘When I got drafted by the Buffalo Bills in 2011, and coming from the state of Alabama, I knew very little about Western New York. As the years progressed, I not only learned about the area, but I learned about you, a community whose heart and soul is built on its devotion to the Bills and its’ players.’
Voice of the Fan: Feelings of new love are intoxicating
‘Pete Rosen is a screenwriter in Los Angeles, lifetime Buffalo fan, and may be found blathering daily at twobillsdrive.com.’
A Football Life: Jim Kelly’s roller-coaster story gets epic NFL Network treatment
‘Regarding Hunter’s death, Kelly says in the film: “Very simple: She seeked the Lord, and I ran from the Lord.”‘
By being himself, Bills’ McDermott gets his players to ‘trust the process’
‘ “The thing with Sean is that he has coached a lot of football, coordinated some talented defenses, gone to Super Bowls,’’ said defensive tackle Kyle Williams, the most tenured Bill at 12 years. “He’s prepared for this opportunity. He has a philosophy and a process and he sticks to that. Now he’s got us adhering to it and so far, so good.’’’
Beat the Jets and tie the Patriots for first in AFC East; a good first half for Bills
‘“It’s a great opportunity,” said quarterback Tyrod Taylor. “Night games give you just a different feeling. Of course, when you know everyone’s watching you, you look forward to those moments. Even with the short week, guys are preparing hard and looking forward to this opportunity to show the other team what we can do, but as well as show the people that are going to be watching — everyone’s going to be tuned into Thursday Night Football — to show that this team is real.”’
Bills vs. Jets: How to watch, listen, plus things to know before kickoff
‘Jim Nantz, play-by-play; Tony Romo, analyst, Tracy Wolfson, Jay Feely, sideline reporters.’
Buffalo Bills QB Tyrod Taylor named trade deadline winner by ESPN’s Dan Graziano
‘After naming Taylor a trade deadline winner, it’s no surprise that Graziano felt that one of the biggest losers of the day was Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton. The writer referred to Benjamin as Newton’s security blanket on the Panthers.’
Buffalo Bills vs. New York Jets 2017: Preview, odds, prediction for Week 9
‘The Jets’ offense has been surprisingly productive considering it is quarterbacked by Josh McCown. Robby Anderson and Jermaine Kearse have provided McCown with solid weapons on the outside, while Austin Seferian-Jenkins is developing into a reliable tight end. The Jets also have a decent stable of running backs in Bilal Powell, Matt Forte and Elijah McGuire. Their offensive line is an issue, however, and the Bills’ defense had little trouble slowing down McCown and company in Week 1. There’s no excuse to not do the same on Thursday night.’
Playoff-o-Meter: Kelvin Benjamin trade has Buffalo Bills fans thinking playoffs
‘”When he’s covered, he’s still open,” Bills GM Brandon Beane said. “When you watch a lot of his catches, he’s out-sizing. He’s not a speed guy, but this guy is 6-5 plus and 240. He’s bigger than most. Like I said, he’ll win the contested balls and he’s a very strong player.”‘
Does Kelvin Benjamin make Buffalo Bills debut and 7 more things to watch versus Jets
‘The Bills traded for Kelvin Benjamin on Tuesday afternoon. Is it possible that he plays on Thursday Night Football? GM Brandon Beane wasn’t sure if the wide receiver would debut with Buffalo against the Jets and said that was a question for head coach Sean McDermott. Even if he played limited snaps, Benjamin could make an immediate impact for Buffalo.’
While not an underdog, Bills players still plan to play like one
‘“You can’t overlook any team in the NFL, it’s not college. In college you beat em’ and you’re like ‘oh we’ll be them again,’” linebacker Preston Brown said. “It’s the NFL, you never know what can happen. Those guys are getting paid to go out there and they’re some of the best players in the world.”‘