Archives for December 14, 2010

‘The 6th-round pick out of James Madison has 21 tackles and two sacks for the Bills this season and could become a play-making defensive player the franchise has been desperate for.’

‘With his snaps increasing significantly, Moats has provided a sudden impact to Buffalo’s pass rush, and turnovers have been the result.’

‘As far as the secondary, I know interceptions dropped off dramatically this season, but that’s more a byproduct of lack of a pass rush after the team watched Aaron Schobel retire. I think you can bring back the entire starting secondary and backups intact and be fine.’

‘Jackson outrushed Hillis, 112-108, and was especially effective when the Bills needed him most.’

‘The Jets’ next two games are at Pittsburgh and Chicago, two division leaders with top 10 defenses. If they lose both, it could be a very tense and interesting afternoon when the Bills show up at New Meadowlands Stadium next month.’

‘"I know it’s going to be two [weeks] and it may even be a struggle for him to get back for the last one," Gailey said. "They [team trainers] are going to continue to give us updates on a daily basis, but it really doesn’t look good right now. I hate it for him and I hate it for us."’

‘”A couple of those runs early on that first drive, they ran some things they hadn’t run all season because I guess they saw something in our defense,” safety Donte Whitner said. “But after we started sliding our defensive line and getting our linebackers over and putting a hat on them, we did fine the rest of the game. What we did was play fast, and we played physical. Other than that first drive, we really held our own.”‘

‘The defensive staff, led by maligned coordinator George Edwards, made an excellent early adjustment to counter some different looks the Browns gave them in the run game. Edwards slid his defensive line, and the ploy worked well, as Cleveland did not run with any consistency thereafter. The special teams plan of Bruce DeHaven to kick directionally was effective. On offense, Chan Gailey called a good game given the wet conditions, and he put it on the backs and line to run the ball.’

‘”It felt pretty good, and I felt comfortable,” Wood said. “We were able to do some things offensively. Fred (Jackson) got loose a couple of times, and Fitz jacked up those rushing numbers a little bit, and we had a pretty good day out there.”‘

‘Bills ran for a season-high 192 yards behind an offensive line that had to be revamped due to injuries. Eric Wood moved from right guard to center – his position in college – and rookie Ed Wang and Mansfield Wrotto split time at right guard.’

‘Coach Chan Gailey expects Evans to miss the next two games, and isn’t sure the player will be healthy in time for the season finale against the Jets on Jan. 2. Evans was hurt in the second quarter of a 13-6 win over Cleveland on Sunday.’