Archives for November 17, 2011

‘His return to the lineup can do nothing but help the Bills who have lost NT Kyle Williams and LB Shawne Merriman to injuries in recent weeks.’

‘The thing that we have, we think we have some good players. The problem is we don’t have experience depth. They’re all young players and they’re having to learn on the fly. They’re having to experience the speed of the game on the fly and that’s not an easy thing to do. I think we’ve got some good players in the making. They just need to get some reps and get some playing time, especially the rookies that we have.’

‘Buffalo’s three-game road swing continues next week with a rematch against the Jets. The Bills face nothing but AFC opponents the rest of the way and likely need to finish 5-2 in the final seven games to make the playoffs.’

‘For the Bills, it starts with taking a suddenly dangerous 2-7 Miami team seriously. The Dolphins have found life under QB Matt Moore, who has led the team to lopsided wins over the Chiefs and Redskins. The Bills have to find a way to get pressure on Moore and slow down a decent running-the-ball-by-committee attack involving Reggie Bush and Daniel Thomas. And by all means, it wouldn’t hurt to stop an opposing tight end. Miami has a good one in Anthony Fasano. On offense, QB Ryan Fitzpatrick is in need of a confidence boost and may find it against a Miami secondary that’s ranked 25th overall and is giving up 256.3 yards per game. But success through the air will depend on keeping Fitzpatrick’s uniform clean against a linebacker corps that has 13 sacks, led by Cameron Wake and the ageless Jason Taylor.’

‘”I don’t know if it’s fully set in, but mentally I’m prepared,” he said. “At this point, I’ve just got to be a realist about it. There’s a lot of hard work to be put in, and a lot of guys come back from ACL injuries and say they’re a lot faster and stronger just because out of rehab you do your hips and knees, so everything gets stronger. Guys that I have talked to and who are the same age as me have come back and have great years. It’s just kind of what I’ve been hearing and that’s what I’ve got to focus on.”‘