Archives for September 2022

‘However, until proved otherwise, I’m going with the two teams that advanced beyond the divisional round in the AFC playoffs last year – the Bengals and Chiefs.’

‘Can Elam avoid some clutch-and-grab penalties? Maybe the Bills will rotate Elam with fellow rookie Christian Benford or Cam Lewis. Can the Jackson-Elam-Benford outside trio hold up against the elite receivers they’re going to face early in the season? The good news is the rest of the secondary is elite. Safeties Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer are back for a sixth year together. Slot cornerback Taron Johnson is a huge asset. The pass rush should help the young corners. But the bad-case scenario is coverage problems at cornerback contribute to a 3-4 start. Outlook: Uncertain.’

‘“I think I’ve been in the league long enough and even here, I’ve been a part of some wild, heartbreaking losses,” said safety Micah Hyde, who is entering his 10th NFL season and sixth with the Bills. “Those are always going to stick with you. You’re always going to talk about what could have been, but at the end of the day, you continue to get better, you learn from those losses, you learn from those situations and you move on. It’ll always be with us, but you’ve got to be able to learn from it and keep going.”’

‘Anyway, I’m prone to overthinking picks, but I’m also an advocate of “do it for the plot.” And that’s where picking the Bills makes sense to me. All the storylines are there. The pieces are there. The players, the coaches, the mindset. It’s all there for the taking, and Buffalo seems poised for the challenge.’

‘In a “blue-collar city culture like Buffalo,” Burakowski said, “we wear it on our chests like a badge of honor: ‘Look, I put up with the 17 years of miserable to get two, three, four years of excitement. Even though I’m still nervous that it’s not really going to come together.”’

‘“I’m really excited that my first Sunday night game is not only with the Super Bowl champion Rams, but the team that I really feel comfortable with,” Tirico said in a telephone interview. “I can picture the people who are sitting down in Cheektowaga, Hamburg and Tonawanda that Thursday night with the hopes of this is going to be the year. So that, for me, is a little bit of additive juice.”’

‘“The time is right for companies to partner up with the Bills and their players,” said John Jiloty, senior vice president, specializing in sports media, at Martin Davison Group. “Now that they’re Super Bowl favorites, the opportunity now, especially with the new stadium coming, is so critical for companies to latch on to.”’

‘Both former wide receiver Cole Beasley and former defensive end Jerry Hughes Jr. have put their respective Southtowns homes up for sale, for $1.5 million each. And given their propensity for tweeting about it, they’re not trying to hide it.’

‘We chose not to watch much of these exhibitions because summer’s lease still hath its hold on us, at least until the real games begin.’