Archives for September 2012

‘”He wasn’t ready,” said head coach Chan Gailey of Graham. “He’s very similar to where C.J. (Spiller) was two years ago as a rookie. Very talented, but not quite ready to play. Now he’s going to be thrust in there and we were fortunate that we didn’t have to thrust C.J. in there too much as a rookie, but this will be T.J.’s chance.”‘

‘”That’s a really tough loss for us,” said Ryan Fitzpatrick. “Something like that just kills me. I lose sleep over something like that. He’s such a great guy and worked so hard to get to where he is right now. He was primed to have a big year. Our chemistry was great. We were really on the same page with a lot of stuff we were doing. That’s something you never want to see.”‘

‘”It’s a huge blow,” said C.J. Spiller on the loss of Jackson. “Fred got voted as a captain and speaks to what guys think of him on this team. This just means I’ve got to do a great job of making sure that I’m ready to go until we get 22 back. But I have all the confidence in the world that we’ll get this thing rolling.”‘

‘Sunday’s loss has me shaken. I had thought the Bills would win 8 or 9 games, maybe 10 if everything went well. Of course this was based on assumptions that the defensive line would be something for which opponents would need to game plan and that Fitzpatrick would turn in a solid if unspectacular season. Sunday’s loss resoundingly showed both of my assumptions could be well off base, and if that’s the case I fear that the 2012 model Buffalo Bills will look much like previous models, but with a higher price tag.’

‘”We’ve just got too many people running too wide open right now and we’re not getting enough pressure on the passer and that’s something we’re going to address,” said head coach Chan Gailey. “Dave (Wannstedt) and I have already had the conversation of how we’re going to address that. We’ve got to change that so we understand where we are. We don’t like it. It’s ugly and that’s my responsibility.”‘

‘And Fitzpatrick added, “To me it was reminiscent of what happened in Kansas City last year (41-7 Bills’ win in the opener) … except we were on the other end of it this year. To have so many things go wrong early … it was tough on us. It’s disappointing to lose your first game, especially in the fashion we did.”‘

‘”You move on, there’s so many ups and downs during the year in the NFL (though) you never want to have such a down the first week. But, no matter the fashion we lost, we’re 0-1 and that’s how you look at it.”‘

‘Chan didn’t have the team ready and didn’t have a good day calling plays against Rex Ryan’s defenses. Dave Wannstadt’s debut as the Bills defensive coordinator was lousy. And special teams coach Bruce DeHaven had to be pulling his hair out on that long punt return. Grade: F.’

‘”I didn’t think I fully had possession of it, but I’ve just got to do a better job of bringing it in,” said Spiller. “My quarterback did a great job of putting it right where he’d been told to put it in training camp. It’s my job to bring it in. I can’t leave it up to the refs.”‘

‘The Bills’ pass rush looked a lot like last year’s 29th-ranked unit, never sacking Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez and knocking him down only twice.’

‘Williams was credited with just one tackle in the Bills’ 48-28 loss to the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium. He hit Mark Sanchez just once, after the Jets’ quarterback had released the ball.’

‘"David broke out and Fitz thought he was gonna go out. Cromartie squatted on the outside route there," he said. "We read that as a turn in. When he broke out he threw it to him and Cromartie was sitting right there. It was a miscommunication and that’s my fault. I’m responsible for the communication."’

‘Learning experience? Maybe so. Maybe the Bills will quickly rebound from this embarrassment and prove they really are a playoff contender. On the other hand, we might be learning not to overestimate what it can mean to sign a big-ticket free agent and get some key players back from injuries.’

‘Jackson cried in frustration as he paced on the sideline for several minutes. He jogged in place and tried to make some cuts with medical professionals observing. He then went to the locker room and didn’t return.’

‘The Bills added some negative history to their season opener in the second quarter by allowing their first punt return for a touchdown in 11 years.’