Archives for September 12, 2011

‘”I’ve always had faith, but now it’s 10 times stronger than it was,” he said. “The Lord is using me as a tool to inspire other people. Just because you get knocked down, doesn’t mean you have to stay down. I’m trying to show people how strong you can be when something bad happens.”’

‘"It’s not a sad story. It’s a happy story," said Dr. Andrew Cappuccino, the orthopedic surgeon who spearheaded Everett’s immediate care. "But a year down the road, two years down the road, everyone forgets."’

‘But as elated as he was with his team’s fast start, Gailey cautioned, “Where we are right now, all those people who thought we were as bad as they thought we were … we’re not. And there’s (also) going to be a lot of people that are going to put us on a little bit of a pedestal … and we’re not there yet.”‘

‘If the Bills would have lost yesterday I would have been saying the same thing. You cannot make too much out of the opening game. But the difference would be losing is what people expect out of the Bills. At some point they have to change that expectation and games like the one in Kansas City Sunday can be the start of that change. Chan Gailey had to feel immense satisfaction yesterday beating the team that fired him, but he knows how quickly things can change.’

‘”The past is in the past,” said Bills safety George Wilson. “This is a new season, a new team, a new set of expectations on our guys.”‘

‘”I wanted to get established early and kind of help Fitz,” said Jackson, who passed Antowain Smith to move into eighth place on the Bills’ career rushing list with 2,972 yards. “We feel like if we get our running game going it allows him to make more plays for us.”‘

‘”For me, it was really exciting to go out there and get a chance to play,” Chandler said after the Bills’ 41-7 blowout. “I’ve had some down times in the last four years but this really makes it worth it.”‘

‘ Gailey didn’t just beat Haley, he beat the pants off him. He and his assistant coaches made their Kansas City counterparts look like amateurs, outfoxing them in all three major phases of football: offense, defense and special teams.’

‘The Bills held the ball for 12 minutes of the third quarter to just 3 minutes for the Chiefs.’

‘Gailey got his revenge against team that fired him two years ago. Dictated to Chiefs with aggressive offensive game plan. Team was prepared and motivated.’

‘”It definitely factored in,” running back Fred Jackson said of the Bills’ motivation to beat the Chiefs. “Nobody talked about it, but it was one of those underlying things. We wanted to come out and get a win for him. He’s a great coach and we like playing for him.”‘

‘Good for Chan Gailey to stick it to the Chiefs. K.C. coach Todd Haley fired Gailey right before the 2009 opener and took over play-calling duties. Well, Gailey sure called a better game Sunday. And as he usually does, Gailey told it like it is and said of beating his old team, “It feels good. You’re lying if you say it doesn’t. It does.”‘

‘Is Ryan Fitzpatrick ready to be the undeniable starting quarterback? He sure looked it.’

‘Fans in Kansas City probably weren’t among the Buffalo detractors entering Sunday’s game. In a scheduling quirk, the Bills have played in Kansas City the last four seasons. Buffalo is 3-1 (the only loss was 13-10 in overtime last year) and outscored the Chiefs 121-61.’