Archives for November 22, 2011

‘In 2010, the Bills finished 4-12, so this year had to be better. The way the Bills have looked the last three weeks, it’s hard to imagine them beating anybody, but a 5-11 or 6-10 finish is not acceptable anymore. That kind of a downward spiral would put head coach Chan Gailey and general manager Buddy Nix on the hot seat – or at least it should. A nice start is not enough progress for a team that has been down for so long.’

‘I’m thankful that we have George Edwards. Truth be told, I was really starting to miss the days when we had someone named Edwards screw up the Bills.’

‘How did this once-exciting season go so wrong?’

‘Another fan, writing on a fan site, Two Bills Drive, offered three sarcastic reasons to “look on the bright side”: “1) Our kickoff return team is getting a lot of practice, with 27 repetitions in the last three games. 2) You will be able to buy Bills gear on e-Bay with good selection and great prices. 3) We have a glimmer of reentering the Luck sweepstakes.”‘

‘"The big thing I think is you point to third downs and just staying on the field," Bills quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick said. "That’s something that helps our team, not only the offense in sustaining drives but keeping the defense off the field and giving them more of a breather. That’s something that hasn’t been there that really does need to improve. You can’t sustain drives without converting on third-down and that’s something that’s really hurt us the last few weeks."’

‘It’s been the same sad song for a decade. They’ve hit on a few, like Kyle Williams and Stevie Johnson. They’ve found street free agents. But they haven’t done nearly well enough to compensate for all those bad first-round picks. The chronic lack of talent and roster depth is catching up to them again.’

‘The Bills face a decision on who that next guy is behind Jones. The team has a pair of receivers on their practice squad — Kamar Aiken and Tim Toone — and could promote one of them when they place McGee on injured reserve.’

‘Well, blaming the head coach and the quarterback sure is a lot sexier than blaming, say, the defensive coordinator and the nose tackle. Chan Gailey and Ryan Fitzpatrick haven’t been very good during Buffalo’s three-game freefall, but there is plenty of blame to go around.’

‘The Bills need to finish 9-7 at the worst to make the playoffs. Can you pick out four wins from the remaining six games with any confidence: at New York Jets, Nov. 27; Tennessee, Dec. 4; at San Diego, Dec. 11; Miami, Dec. 18; Denver, Dec. 24; at New England, Jan. 1.’

‘With injuries mounting and offensive production dwindling, the Bills (5-5) seem a shell of what they were when they got off to a 4-1 start. Buffalo again lacked any spark in losing for the third straight time.’

‘The Bills won games earlier this season against teams that are clearly more talented than they are by being opportunistic on defense and catching opponents off guard with some creative offensive play-calling, and then executing those plays. During the three-game losing streak, they have done just the opposite. The Bills have forced only two turnovers from opponents, and Buffalo’s offense has scored a paltry 24 points.’

‘Chan Gailey said he has no answers right now, and that’s not a good thing. He has not had a good few weeks calling plays, but what’s hurting him most is the lack of quality depth on this team. His guys have to throw it and catch it better. On defense, there’s not much more that can be said about George Edwards. Whatever’s he’s teaching and calling, it’s not working, and it hasn’t for two years. The defense is ill-prepared to stop any offense at this stage.’

‘Cornerback Leodis McKelvin is officially in Chan Gailey’s doghouse. Last week before the Miami game, Gailey came right out and said that McKelvin has been struggling, which he has. However, he did not given an indication that McKelvin would be sitting most of the day in Miami. Terrence McGee and Drayton Florence started, and when McGee went down with a knee injury, rookie Justin Rogers took the bulk of the plays rather than McKelvin. McKelvin, the 2008 first-round pick, has never played like a first-rounder, and he continues to struggle with making plays on the ball when it’s in the air.’

‘”He’s banged up. We’ll have to wait and see,” Gailey started. “I don’t know if I can give you a good answer right now. He’s hurting. I doubt he would practice early in the week but we hope to have him late in the week.”‘

‘On if his message to the team is to look in the mirror and see what they can do better individually: That’s exactly what I say to the team. If everybody gets better individually then the segment gets better. If the segment gets better then the team gets better. But it all starts with all of us individually trying to get better and trying to do things that are part of the solution, not part of the problem.’