Archives for November 3, 2009

‘Byrd’s status is uncertain after he was sidelined late in the game against Houston. His visit to a specialist this week had already been scheduled. It became more than a routine visit after he recently began experiencing groin pain. Byrd said he received treatment but will have to wait until next week to determine whether he can resume practicing.’

‘Byrd chose not to elaborate on what exactly the specialist did in terms of examining how his surgical procedure is holding up while also assessing his current groin injury, which forced him from last Sunday’s game against Houston.’

‘”He’s just has great instincts for the ball,” said fellow safety Bryan Scott. “When he’s back in the middle of the field he’s always around the ball so whether it’s an overthrown pass or a tipped pass he’s just in a position to make a play. You can’t teach that. He’s just a naturally gifted guy when it comes to that. It’s great to see him back there.”‘

‘"It was a tough one to sleep on with the way we performed, with the way I performed," said quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick. "We’re glad there’s a bye week because we have a lot of stuff to figure out. The biggest thing is we have to figure out the problem on third downs."’

‘Wilson isn’t hiring another Donahoe type any time soon. But maybe it’s time he reached out to prominent former players, as Lerner has (Jim Brown is a Browns consultant). How about making Jim Kelly and Thurman Thomas, his fellow Hall of Famers, consultants to the offense?’

‘"[Head trainer] Bud [Carpenter] and his staff refer to this as a transition week," Jauron said. "Now what that means is [Edwards] transitions from a little bit of work to probably full activity."’

‘”That’s about half than what it’s been running,” Orchard Park Police Chief Andrew Benz reported this morning. “I don’t know what to tell you.”‘

‘This offense stinks. End of analysis.’

‘The worst problem for the Bills is an inexperienced offensive line. We don’t know if the young nucleus ever will become a solid unit, but we do know that it now is overmatched. The team’s running backs and quarterbacks can’t fairly be judged because we don’t know exactly how little help they have up front.’

‘But then the Bills came out in the same Wildcat spread, this time with Lynch flip-flopped to the other side of the backfield. The defense, which might have been caught slightly off-guard by the first play, had the play scoped out from the outset. Jackson again faked to Lynch and sprinted left. Safety Bernard Pollard recognized the package, realized Lee Evans and Fitzpatrick could easily be covered on one side by two defensive backs, and came barreling in. That left Terrell Owens to block both Pollard and Glover Quin.’

‘The numbers speak for themselves.’

‘The simple truth, as he made abundantly clear, is the Bills’ offense is absolutely pathetic and it seems to be sinking to new depths every week.’

‘Dick Jauron’s decision to try a fake punt with 12:19 left to play at his own 40 in a game he trailed just 17-10 was another in a long line of blunders. He was looking for a spark for his moribund offense, but the play failed and Houston drove down to a game-clinching TD 2:29 later. The Bills were pathetic on offense with 204 yards and Alex Van Pelt did not call a very good game. On defense, Perry Fewell’s unit was chewed up for 439 yards including 186 on the ground, though in its defense it was on the field for more than 39 minutes.’

‘”Honestly, the defense has been playing their butts off the last four or five weeks and offensively we haven’t been doing anything to help them out,” wide receiver Terrell Owens assessed.’

‘Buffalo held Drew Brees, one of the NFL’s most prolific passers, without a touchdown. But at game’s end, New Orleans held a seven-minute edge in time of possession and the Bills’ exhausted defense, in the fourth quarter, surrendered 78 yards on eight rushing plays including two Pierre Thomas touchdowns. Yesterday was much the same.’