Archives for November 23, 2009

‘If I am a Bills fan I am not too upset with what happened on Sunday in Jacksonville. My team actually entertained me. My coach actually looked like he was somewhat in control. My players, for the most part, showed they do care. And the result in the long run is a good thing because it keeps the Bills in better position for the draft. Now six more weeks of this and we can really start looking ahead to 2010.’

‘”That young man was in pain,” said Fewell. “When I walked out on the field he was in severe pain and it was not a pretty sight to see. You never want to see that as a football coach. That’s part of our game, but as a human being you never want to see something like that happen another person.”‘

‘"Brandon is a marketing guy. He is looking for sizzle and splash to sell tickets," said one league insider. "He has no clue how to build a successful football team and clearly paid no attention to the locker room that is so important when he signed Terrell Owens. At best, he should be in charge of business operations. He is not qualified to be an NFL general manager and has no business evaluating talent, even though he might pretend to act like he knows."’

‘The long touchdown, however, remained the biggest highlight. The Bills trailed 10-9 at the break, and started their first possession of the second half pinned on their own two-yard line. Ryan Fitzpatrick dropped back on a 1st-and-10 play and heaved a deep pass down the right sideline for Owens, who had a step on Jaguars corner Tyron Brackenridge. He ran under the pass, catching the ball in midstride, and escaped a shoestring tackle running to the end zone unscathed.’

‘It was a tough day on the injury front. Running back Marshawn Lynch left with a shoulder injury and the offensive line was damaged again by injuries to Seth McKinney and Eric Wood, who appeared to suffer a compound fracture of his left leg in the third quarter.’

‘”It’s all for nothing when you don’t get the win,” he said. “Honestly, I don’t really play the game for a lot of the records. It’s just part of what I do. I just thank the Lord for the opportunities that I’ve been longing for since I’ve been here.”‘

‘You come to expect it after a while, but it’s no less painful. Despite what Fewell said, the players desperately wanted to hand him a game ball. As implausible as it seems, one victory might snowball into a run and something permanent for Fewell. I don’t have any examples off the top of my head, but stranger things have happened.’

‘Wood was taken to a Jacksonville hospital, where he had immediate season-ending surgery. It is not known when he will be able to travel back to Buffalo.’

‘The announced crowd was 47,757, and there looked like there was 40,000 in the house.’

‘Running game: Offensive line is a mess, but Lynch has to be better. Averaged 2.3 on eight carries with long of 5 yards. Time to make Jackson the featured back. Grade: F.’

‘”It just hurts, period,” said linebacker Bryan Scott when asked if there was added disappointment in not being able to deliver for Fewell on his big day. “It’s kind of the same old sad love song. We get to the fourth quarter, and we can’t pull it out. We got there, but we gave up that touchdown in the end, so it stings all around.”‘

‘The Jaguars had a curious game plan, especially early in the game, as they insisted on throwing against a Buffalo defense that ranked dead last against the run. Then when they tried to get Jones-Drew more involved, they couldn’t do it because the Bills played well. He finished with 66 yards and averaged just 2.6 yards per rush.’

‘ Perry Fewell almost did what no new Bills’ coach since Marv Levy in 1986 has done – win his first game. He had the Bills playing hard and aggressive, but as usual, there were some critical mistakes that cost the Bills, including two penalties, which wiped out touchdowns. Offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt clearly trusted Fitzpatrick to attack down the field, and it paid off with some big completions. The end of the first half was a bit muddled, though, and the Bills almost blew an opportunity to kick a field goal. Also, the call to go for two points that early in the third quarter was dubious.’

‘”I saw [Brackenridge] sitting out there one-on-one with Terrell and it was a matchup we wanted to exploit,” Fitzpatrick said. “It looked pretty enticing. I put the ball up there, with a lot of air under it, and Terrell did his thing and ran under it.”‘