Archives for November 6, 2010

‘Bills 29, Bears 22.’

‘I like the move a lot, but it was not a shocking move by any means. Nix was the guy who drafted the University of Maryland product 12th overall in the 2005 NFL draft. When your 2009 11th overall pick outside linebacker Aaron Maybin is a healthy scratch the past two games and Chris Kelsay, your other outside linebacker, is awful in tight end pass coverage and is getting burned in the open field by the not-so-nimble Matt Cassel, you may have already seen this move coming.’

‘"Just sitting back and watching film right before I even came here, you see the guys and the talent that’s on the field," remarked Merriman. "You kind of wonder, ‘How is this team 0-7, this doesn’t look like an 0-7 team.’"’

‘”I’ve known Buddy since San Diego and as soon as everything went down he called me immediately,” said Merriman. “We talked for a while and he just asked how I felt about it and asked me if I’m ready to play and I said, ‘Yeah, I’m ready so let’s go.'”‘

‘”They have high expectations for me to come in and make some things happen, and I’m going to do that,” Merriman said Saturday before he and the rest of his new team departed for Toronto for their game Sunday against the Chicago Bears (4-3). “I’ve been working out and I’m just ready to get on the field as soon as possible. Whatever they need me to do, I’m here to work and kind of be a piece of the puzzle.”‘

‘"A lot of games we’ve been playing from behind and some teams just try to pound the ball and eat up the clock," said linebacker Chris Kelsay. "But if we can get ’em in those situations, then obviously it’s a favorable matchup for us. It comes down to playing good on first and second down and putting them in long-distance third downs."’

‘"I see myself more as a defensive player, so I don’t see myself like Ayanbadejo as just being a special teams guy," Graham told Chicago media recently. "But I am good at it. I pride myself on it, and I love doing it. I have high goals for myself, and obviously I’d love to go out there and make the Pro Bowl. Hopefully, if I continue to do well, and people start to see it, I’ll start getting some recognition for it."’

‘The 6-foot-1, 306-pound Williams was a big reason the Chiefs scored just one touchdown. He made nine tackles. Four were for losses, including two sacks.’

‘”Not really,” Whitner said when asked whether the criticism he receives – and there’s plenty of it – bothers him. “Mostly, those are the people that don’t understand the ins and outs of football. People around the league, they understand, and those are the people that matter. Our coaches, our personnel staff, and other players around the NFL.”‘

‘On the national stage, the Bills and Buffalo are of absolutely no account and the only time they get mentioned is in some form or another of a well-worn cheap shot.’

‘That way, the theory goes, they can grab a stud who will turn things around. Others aren’t so sure. “What good’s that going to do?” asks DeMarco. “They’ll screw that up. They always do.”‘

‘“No discussions have taken place,” Lind told the Star Friday afternoon. “We are committed to the NFL, but in what way I can’t say because I don’t know what it is right now. There have been no discussions about extending the series.”‘

‘The crowd in Buffalo is raucous; in Toronto it’s polite. It’s as though you went to see a football game and a golf tournament broke out.’

‘”You won’t see a football at a National Football League stadium now,” he says. “Years ago, every other tailgate group would be out there tossing the football around. They started cracking down on that about 15 years ago.” In its place, less rambunctious games such as Kan Jam, Cornhole, Ladder Golf and Washers have surged in popularity.’

”’The public perception is that the NFL is not close to coming to Toronto, and it won’t happen because this series has not been successful,” Naylor said. ”They’ve lowered ticket prices twice. The games ‘sell out,’ but there are always empty seats. There’s no buzz about the game. But I compare it to when the [Tennessee] Titans played in Memphis. They weren’t Memphis’ team. The Buffalo Bills aren’t Toronto’s team. Sports is about selling emotion and a connection with a team, and that connection doesn’t exist.”’