Archives for November 2010

‘That’s called facing the music. That’s the type of move that earns respect.’

‘Every receiver goes through periods when they can’t hold onto the football. It happens even to the great ones. I saw it happen to Jerry Rice and Andre Reed and, in the past few years, to Terrell Owens. But, like quarterbacks with interceptions, receivers have to experience temporary amnesia. They need to forget about it. They have to be ready for the next opportunity, the next spiral hurtling their way.’

‘Fred Jackson was outstanding for third week in a row, amassing 163 yards from scrimmage, including a 65-yard touchdown catch and run on a screen pass. Ryan Fitzpatrick completed 23-of-45 for 265 yards and a score and would have had better stats had Stevie Johnson not dropped five passes.’

‘This was a heartbreaking, emotional loss that will take a some time to get over. That is a huge improvement from earlier in the year when I was detached to the team and just knew they were going to lose. This team never gives up despite playing a team with so much more talent than they have, they battled back more times than I can count in this game. They just can’t get over the top against good teams as they have now lost to three division leaders in overtime.’

‘Stevie Johnson saw his star drop like a rock at least for one week. He dropped five passes including the big drop in overtime when he was wide open in the end zone. He also dropped a pass that went off his shoulder and was picked off in the red zone.’

‘Down 16-13 Buffalo had a last ditch effort with 46 seconds left in regulation near midfield with no timeouts remaining. The Bills quickly moved 23 yards on six plays and Lindell hit his third field goal of the half to force overtime.’

‘”How would you feel,” asked a visibly upset Johnson. “You go through that whole game knowing you’ve got a big team like the Pittsburgh Steelers and you’ve got this kid coming up in the NFL and making plays and all of a sudden when the biggest play needs to be made you don’t make it. You feel bad.”‘

‘"While Bills fans can’t own the team they cheer for, there is nothing preventing fans from lending to their team," Steve Brady wrote on his Web site, www.billsbonds.com. "Or, more accurately, lending money to a new owner by purchasing bonds (called Bills Bonds). The new owner could use the proceeds from these bonds to help pay the Bills’ hefty price tag and keep the team in Buffalo."’

‘Coach Chan Gailey says, "every week in this league is the ultimate test" and he’s right, but when he said the other day regarding the Steelers that, "This is the ultimate test" you sensed a little more meaning behind the words.’

‘Any win is a good win in the NFL, but some are certainly better than others, and beating Pittsburgh would be a whole lot more impressive than defeating the Lions or Bengals. It would also mark a big stepping stone for the Bills if they can pull it off.’

‘”They present a lot of challenges not only scheme-wise and bringing more than you can block but just matchups,” Fitzpatrick said. “The guys that they have that are blitzing, that are rushing, they’ve got some of the most talented guys in the league and they create problems for everybody every year. It will be a big week for us in terms of not only recognition and identification but going out there and actually doing it and blocking the guys after we put them on the right guys.”‘

‘Steelers, 27-19.’

‘Merriman will get $1.7 million from the Bills, presuming he does not reach an injury settlement. His contract is up at the end of this season. Chronic Achilles pain often is a precursor to rupturing of the tendon. Merriman said Friday he needed to be sure he was fully healthy before playing again. The Bills obviously decided Merriman needs a lengthy period for the Achilles to heal.’

‘”It’s going to be a great challenge for us,” said quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, “to measure where we are right now as a team, as an offensive unit. You want to talk about doing it against the best, this is the best defense in the league. In order to beat them we’re going to have to score points.”‘

‘The most important thing that happened is that since the break in the schedule six weeks ago they found their leader in quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick and they believe in him. I’ll say it again: He’s not the second coming of Jim Kelly, but check out the starting quarterbacks in the last 44 Super Bowls and you’ll find a surprising number of Fitzes. Even more surprising is that not a few of them came out of those games with victories.’