‘The Bills don’t do enough on the offensive side of the ball to scare the Patriots once they tighten up. Buffalo essentially has three weapons—Tyrod Taylor, LeSean McCoy and Charles Clay—and the Patriots should be able to handle them. I like the Bills defense, but the Patriots offense is special. Don’t expect this one to be close in the end.’
Archives for December 2017
Tom Brady, the Bills fan
‘Such is the life that one particular Bills fan must lead. Born about 25 years before the five-time Super Bowl champion, Tom Brady, the Bills fan, has been a supporter of the team since he relocated to Buffalo in 1965.’
Top 10 reasons to get into the spirit for Bills-Patriots
‘Okay, snow may not be in the forecast, but since the Bills run game is firing on all cylinders, dashing certainly is. With LeSean McCoy doing what he does best – dipping, diving, ducking and dodging defenders – the Bills are quickly rising the rushing ranks. Sitting at sixth in the League in rushing yards per game, Buffalo has the edge over 16thranked New England.’
How to watch Bills vs. Patriots
‘Play-by-Play: Jim Nantz.’
Bills Today: Both sides treating Sunday like playoff football
‘“For us, the playoffs started two weeks ago. These are all must-wins,” said Richie Incognito. “This is, especially, an important one because they’re so good. The New England Patriots, they’ve had our number for so long. It’d really just be huge for us to go into their house, beat them, keep our hopes alive and just keep winning and get to the playoffs.”‘
TD or FG? Red-zone defense looms large for Bills vs. Pats
‘”It’s a lot better than last year,” said linebacker Preston Brown. “There’s no pointing fingers, all that nonsense that was going on. I think a lot of that has to do with the safeties we’ve got. They’re two very intelligent safeties. Micah and Jordan do a great job on the back end. All our guys on the back end do a great job communicating. And we are very simple in the red zone. We have a plan and that plan doesn’t change.”‘
Stephon Gilmore: ‘Big game’ Sunday; Bills and Patriots ‘different’
‘”It’s a different organization,” Gilmore said. “I’m thankful for my time in Buffalo. I played five years there. This is a new team, different players, different philosophies, different calls. It’s definitely a different team.”‘
Bills Notebook: Fixing run-stopping struggles part of ‘work in progress’
‘”That’s where the building part comes in, also, and the vision of that growth mindset of how we’ve got to continue to improve every week. That’s what makes it fun and exciting, to see how players really embrace that every week, where we’re going and how we’re trying to get there.”‘
Vic Carucci’s Take Five: Bills shouldn’t even think about getting revenge against Gronk
‘The Bills actually did a whole lot right defensively in the previous meeting with the Patriots. Coach Sean McDermott and defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier put together a sound game plan that included coverage disguises that caused Tom Brady to hold the ball too long at times and allowed pressure to get to him.’
Sully’s Mailbag: How about a defensive player for MVP?
‘How about Rams tackle Aaron Donald? With apologies to Todd Gurley, Donald is the best player on a team that made an amazing one-year turnaround. Donald, who is virtually unblockable, has a case for defensive player of the year, which usually goes to an outside rusher. “I was thinking more like most valuable player in the league,” said Wade Phillips, LA’s defensive coordinator.’
This Christmas Eve, it’s Mass versus the Buffalo Bills
‘Keleher recalled that the late Msgr. William Stanton, pastor of St. Ambrose Church in South Buffalo, was a die-hard Bills fan. When a game was going on, he would refer to it after the final dismissal, usually in Latin. If the Bills were tanking, he might say, “Requiesce in pace,” meaning rest in peace.’
If the Bills fall short of the playoffs, season was still step in right direction
‘Imagine that, a relevant Week 17 game. We haven’t seen one of those since 2004, the year the Bills would have earned a playoff berth had they just beaten the Steelers at home, snapping what, at the time, seemed like a lengthy four-year postseason drought.’
Bills vs. Patriots: How to watch, listen, plus things to know before kickoff
‘The Patriots continue to haunt the Bills at every turn as they won the first meeting this year on Dec. 3 in Buffalo, 23-3.’
Syracuse native, former Texans WR Wendall Williams tries out for Buffalo Bills
‘He’s currently at a crossroads. Friday was his first workout with an NFL team since breaking his collarbone earlier this season. He’s also been getting over the flu. At 27 years old, he’s already older than most second-year NFL players.’
Buffalo Bills injury report: Status updates for Kelvin Benjamin, E.J. Gaines
‘Wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin and cornerback E.J. Gaines, who are both dealing with knee injuries, are practicing on a limited basis on Friday and will be listed as questionable for the game on Sunday. That’s a positive sign for two players who did not practice on Wednesday, though neither is a sure bet to play.’