Archives for January 9, 2021

‘Allen’s development as a quarterback goes beyond his dramatic improvement in throwing accuracy. Throughout the season, he has demonstrated a far greater ability to stay focused and within himself. Allen has discussed the lessons he learned from what happened against the Texans. The biggest is doing his part to prevent the Bills from self-destruction.’

‘“Those are my guys,” Freeney, a member of the Colts Ring of Honor, said this week in a phone interview with The Buffalo News. “These are the dudes who I brought up in the game a little bit, so I always have this fatherly like, ‘Godfather’ type of thing with them, thinking about their successes.”’

‘Prediction: Bills 34, Colts 20.’

‘Leslie Frazier vs. Philip Rivers. It’s hard to imagine the Bills completely shutting down the Colts’ run game. The question is: How much pressure can Frazier manufacture on the immobile Rivers when the Bills get the Colts in obvious passing situations. The Colts have one of the top two guards in the NFL in Quenton Nelson and one of the top centers in Ryan Kelly. Pressure up the middle won’t be easy, but it’s the way to impact Rivers. Look for the Bills to show a lot of A-gap pressure (on either side of the center). In the win over the Titans, Tennessee rushed four and sat back in zones all day. That’s not the way to go. Rivers was 29 of 39, and 27 of his completions were within 10 yards of the line of scrimmage. Rivers has been sacked at the third lowest rate in the NFL. Sacking isn’t key. Making him feel heat is.’

‘It’s the first time that Diggs, who received 48 (third-highest) of a possible 50 votes from the media selection panel, has been named All-Pro in his NFL career. He spent the previous five seasons with the Minnesota Vikings, from whom the Bills acquired Diggs in a trade last March.’

‘If you asked both teams today if they would do the deal again, they would each say yes. That’s a true win-win.’

‘”Have fun, watch the game, do it at home like we’ve done all year. We’ve had good luck with it, the Bills are on one heck of a roll, so why don’t we continue doing that?” Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz said at a news briefing earlier this week.’

‘That was Jaron “J.B.” Bruzgul, in tailgating glory. He was a regular at Bills Stadium since childhood, an admirer of special teams maestro Steve Tasker and the kind of season ticket holder who showed up for December games in the bleakest conditions in the hardest years. Thinking of it all, eight high school friends – tight with him for more than a quarter-century – pooled their money this week and raised the billboard. It will be visible to thousands Saturday as the Bills host the Colts in the first playoff game since 1996 in Orchard Park.’