Archives for December 27, 2009

‘Buffalo quarterbacks Trent Edwards and Ryan Fitzpatrick are inactive with ankle injuries, leaving Brian Brohm(notes) to make his NFL debut as the Bills’ starter against the Atlanta Falcons.’

‘”As I look around the league, most of us are in that situation, over half the teams are in that situation,” he said of playing for nothing more than pride. “The team (is) built to play football. If you put out a football on June 3rd, or Jan. 15th, or April 14th, they go play ball. That’s what we do. We’re competitors so there’s no (need for) motivation… I don’t have to get them motivated because that’s what we love to do. We’re going to go play ball. Bottom line.”‘

‘”It wasn’t an easy decision for me by any means, but I think the prevalent things were you have to humble yourself and I’ve been through a lot of experiences that are way more humbling than this one,” said Hamdan, who will serve as the backup to the man that took his roster spot in Brian Brohm. “It’s tough because you think about that kind of stuff, but you also think about your teammates, you think about your coaches, and I’ve never gotten a chance to play in the NFL. That’s a fact, and I really believe that if I were to get a chance that I would do pretty well. So it would be foolish of me to pass up the opportunity to maybe have a shot to play, even if it’s an emergency quarterback role, which is what I’ve been brought in for.”‘

‘With all signs pointing to Brian Brohm getting his first start for the Buffalo Bills, there is an unusual air of optimism surrounding this contest. Brohm is a young quarterback who was highly thought of after his successful career at Louisville. And after being poached off of the Green Bay practice squad, some fans have been clamoring for him to see action sooner rather than later. But with the matchup as it is, if the Falcons questionable players cannot give it a go, the Bills certainly have a shot in this game. If Brohm can get Terrell Owens and Lee Evans involved, and early, then he could torch the young secondary of Atlanta. But it also depends solely on how much they allow the second-year man to do in his first professional start. Needless to say, it gives a reason to watch the football game, and it will most definitely be interesting.’

‘In the spirit of the holiday season, here is a wish list – all the presents the Bills’ organization is going to need to find – to become a legitimate title contender.’

‘Falcons, 17-13.’

‘Shanahan let the Bills know more than a week ago that he was taking himself out of consideration for their head coaching position, a league source told The News.’

‘I spoke with several Bills, all of whom spoke highly of Allaire’s work. They said Allaire can’t be faulted for the siege of injuries that have plagued the roster. Allaire declined comment, deferring injury questions to interim coach Perry Fewell.’

‘Whether Brohm provides the incoming head coach with enough hope or not, the incoming scouts still have to perform due diligence on the quarterback class of 2010. Presumably anyone with the stature to be considered for the task of breathing life into this moribund franchise has already compiled a report on all the best college quarterbacks. The savviest investigators already know their assets and liabilities as pro prospects. Let’s take a look…’.

‘”As I look around the league, most of us are in that situation; over half the teams are in that situation,” he said, referring to the fact that only 12 of the 32 teams will make the playoffs. “We’re built to play football. If you go roll out a football on June 3, or January 15, or April 14, they’ll go play ball. That’s what we do.”‘

‘Can Fred Jackson inch closer to the 1,000-yard rushing mark? He leads the Bills with 811 yards and needs to have a pretty solid final two weeks to achieve that goal. He’ll certainly get carries today because the Bills figure to favor the running game, and Atlanta’s defense ranks 28th overall in yards allowed.’

Falcons Q & A: Mike Peterson (Atlanta Journal Constitution)

Keys to Falcons-Bills (Atlanta Journal Constitution)

‘Reed did not travel with the team to Atlanta due to an ankle injury.’