Archives for January 6, 2018

‘Since the trade for McCoy, the Bills have led the NFL in rushing by a wide margin. Buffalo has gained 7,079 yards on the ground the last three years. The next closest team, Dallas, has 6,456 over the same time span. McCoy has led the league with 3,300 rushing yards since coming to Buffalo, 4 yards more than the Rams’ Todd Gurley.’

‘McDermott’s faith that his front seven can elevate its performance is shared by his players, perhaps because it’s all they have at this point. The Bills aren’t bringing in new linemen or linebackers. They aren’t making any radical changes to their base scheme. They are what they are, and can only hope that performing better is good enough to prevent the Jaguars’ offensive line and Fournette from taking and keeping control of the game.’

‘”When you’re going against a team and going against a guy like that, you’ve got to force him out of his comfort zone,” Hyde said. “Get pressure in his face and try to get him to throw the ball up for us.”‘

‘The Bills went 24-40 over Posluszny’s four seasons, and although he wanted to remain a Bill his entire career, General Manager Buddy Nix made it clear Posluszny wasn’t part of their plans. Bills coach Chan Gailey installed a 3-4 defense suited for larger linebackers.’

‘The Bills have been on an incredible high ever since, tapping into the euphoria of a community and a fan base that felt a giant weight lifted from its collective shoulder. They need to let that enthusiasm and energy carry them as far as it can, because it has the capacity to allow them to play at a higher level than their 9-7 record and limited overall talent and less-than-overwhelming statistics say they can.’

‘I said it earlier in the week, you never replace a player like LeSean. I’m not going to sit up here and say that we [can] check that box, we’ve got that. But this is why we coach, this is why we build the depth – part of Brandon’s [Beane] weekly pursuit of finding the right players, maybe not as starters, but as the next group of starters. The coaches do a phenomenal job and the players have really bought into that approach of everyone has to be prepared to play. If it’s a practice squad player, he could be called up as late as Friday into the weekend, so he has to be prepared.’

‘He also has a dubious distinction: Spikes played in 219 games from 1998-2012 without making the playoffs, an NFL record and a personal drought that rivaled the Bills’ 17-year dry spell. Spikes played for three more teams after leaving the Bills, and that team made the playoffs the year after he left each time.’

‘That’s how it went all across the country on New Year’s Eve. Former Bills, many of whom had suffered through the 17-year drought and never reached the postseason, felt a collective surge of joy and disbelief when the Bills got in the playoffs after the Bengals’ astonishing late TD in Baltimore.’

‘“It’s amazing that we’ve had this conversation, on Showtime, or on ‘The NFL Today,’ so many times,” Simms said. “I watch the games closely. Overall is he a cautious thrower? Yes. You can’t have everything. You can’t have a guy score 40 points a game in basketball if you tell him, ‘Only take the really good shots when you’re wide open.’’

‘Jan. 7, 2001: Owner Ralph Wilson fired Phillips with one year left on his contract. General manager John Butler had been fired three weeks earlier. Wilson said Phillips was dismissed for refusing to fire Ronnie Jones after a disastrous season for his unit. The quarterback controversy between Doug Flutie and Rob Johnson certainly didn’t help Phillips’ case.’

‘In Florida, though, Moorman has been a mostly regular guy: a fit, friendly, soft-spoken 41-year-old dad and husband whose cellphone is always at hand, waiting for the next call from someone looking to buy or sell a home. Yes, in a state crammed with transplanted residents, he is sometimes recognized. One time, someone tapped him on the shoulder in a lunch line and asked if he was that guy who punted for the Bills. Or earlier this week, a real-estate caller who happened to grow up in Williamsville noted Moorman’s 716 area code, which led to a discussion about all things Buffalo.’

‘In 17 seasons, 445 players suited up for the Bills to see their seasons end without the playoffs. For those players and the fans whose playoff thirst grew each season throughout the drought — the wait is over …’.

‘Every player gets paid the same in the playoffs. They’ll make more money this week than many people will make in the entire year, but it’s a surprisingly small amount of money by NFL standards.’

‘Back in Texas, he went to a doctor, expecting to learn the cause was something as simple as a pinched nerve. Instead, Castro heard “the worst news of my life.” He had a mass wrapped around his spine, cancer that had spread to his liver, lungs and lymph nodes.’

‘The answers poured in. Here is the entire collection of responses available thus far, more than 100 tales of tributes, exaltation, disbelief and joy, beginning with the memories of the pastor of Ss. Columba and Brigid Church in Buffalo…’.