Archives for October 18, 2012

‘Bills 23, Titans 13.’

‘In four of his six games this season, Johnson has been held to fewer than 25 yards rushing.’

‘Added up, the Bills are ranked dead last in the NFL against the run. Johnson would be frightening Sunday if the Titans didn’t have the NFL’s worst rushing offense with 421 yards.’

‘”As long as he is in playing shape and everything goes well this week and he gets back into the flow of things, he’s probably going to be right there on Sunday afternoon giving us some help,” coach Chan Gailey said.’

‘Ryan Fitzpatrick, Fred Jackson, Scott Chandler and others will help form a “living ribbon” of supporters stretching across the border to Canada, and the falls will be illuminated pink before a 1980s pop star performs a free outdoor concert.’

‘”Of course I’ve played linebacker my entire life, but when you’re a football player you’re a football player, you can put your hand in the dirt, you can stand up,” Merriman said. “Obviously these guys, if they didn’t think I could play, they wouldn’t have brought me back. I’m happy to not only contribute, but just pick up where I left off and do what they need me to do.”‘

‘”Shawne will take a lot of the scout team stuff just to get him back into playing shape,” Bills’ head coach Chan Gailey said. “He’s probably a lot further along, obviously, than (Bills’ cornerback Ron Brooks) would be, because he’s a veteran players. But we’ve got to work those two guys just back into playing shape.”‘

‘But realistically, it’s become painfully obvious that it’s time to pull the plug on the notion that Fitzpatrick can lead the Bills to anything substantial in terms of a long-awaited playoff run.’

‘People have been getting to the edge on us. And when we get to the edge, we miss tackles. Most of the time when people do not play the run well it is because of missed tackles and the two games that people have run the most on us we have missed more tackles than the rest of the games combined. That has been our biggest issue, missing tackles when they get out on the edge.’

Colin McCarthy shows his value (Nashville Tennessean)

Tennessee Titans welcome return of Jake Locker to practice (Nashville Tennessean)

Harper ensures Titans won’t run out of options near goal line (Nashville City Paper)

Hasselbeck says Locker will be better for having been banged up (Nashville City Paper)

Titans captain McCourty leads by example (Fox Sports Tennessee)

Titans QB Locker limited in return to practice (AP)

Titans Host, Honor and Draw Inspiration from Breast Cancer Survivors (TitansOnline.com)

Winning One-on-One Matchups Key for Titans Receivers Against Bills (TitansOnline.com)

Locker Limited in Return to Practice (TitansOnline.com)

Coach Munchak’s Wednesday Practice Report (TitansOnline.com)

Conference Call: Bills Head Coach Chan Gailey (TitansOnline.com)

‘Preparing for his first practice with the Bills in two months on Wednesday, the pass-rushing specialist sheepishly explained why his face was conspicuously sunburnt. It happened about 10 days ago when he fell asleep on the beach after finishing a workout at his home in Miami.’

”’It looks like the NFL has achieved what they set out to do,” Bills coach Chan Gailey said. ”You hope there’s parity and people have to fight their way to the top and that’s what you try to do. It looks like it’s worked out.”’

‘”We were away from the distractions and it was just us here in Arizona,” said Byrd, the AFC defensive player of the week. “It was a chance for us to soul search, get corrected what we needed to get corrected without the distractions of being at home. It was great for us mentally.”‘

‘”I’m excited, man,” said the freshly re-signed defensive end. “Just being back in the building with these guys and not having to text them every week after games just seeing how everyone was doing. But I’m definitely glad and happy to be back in the building.”‘

‘”No. They’re gonna be out there and do something today,” he said. “But, we still have to see how they do, how they recover for tomorrow — all of that so it’s not any clearer. But at least they’ll be out there doing something today.”‘