Archives for November 2012

Running Backs: Grade A: Best unit on the team but someone needs to tell the head coach that.’

‘With the ball back near midfield, Buffalo again decided to go to the air, but after a Fitzpatrick scramble for six yards, Spiller was dropped for a four-yard loss on a swing pass and a third down pass to Spiller was broken up forcing Buffalo to punt with three and a half minutes remaining.’

‘”I thought the defense played well enough to win the ball game. We didn’t execute offensively well enough and gave up the punt return and that was the game. We had some opportunities and we didn’t take advantage of opportunities when we got them.”‘

‘”I thought we’d come in here and play a lot better than we did and score a lot more points, throw the ball better, get the ball downfield. We missed a couple opportunities and had some other stuff we just weren’t able to either get in because of what they were doing or get downfield. Yeah, disappointment.”‘

‘”The play calling is cool. In the situations, we are the ones out there on the field. He knows what to check into and check out of. It’s different when you are looking from the booth and say, ‘Okay, they might be in this’ than being out there. That’s just my take on it. I just think that he has the ability to control the offense 100 percent. I think we should take advantage of that.”‘

‘”It’s definitely not what we wanted. It’s going to be hard to get where we want to get, but we have to keep fighting. It was good to get back out there, but I didn’t do much. I felt like it was hard to be out there and not do much for the team. Hopefully we get things turned around though.”‘

‘In four seasons with Buffalo, Warlick finished with 90 catches for 1,551 yards and four touchdowns in helping the Bills win AFL titles in 1964 and ’65. He averaged 19.96 yards per catch in 1963, which still ranks seventh on the team.’

‘I want to pick the Bills in this one. They need it so badly to make the rest of the season relevant. Buffalo is coming off a win and a few extra days rest. The Bills defense has played better over the past month and that should give some encouragement. My problem has been that I have not seen this team (and this franchise in general) go on the road and win when they HAVE to win. I want to see it. I hope to see it. I just haven’t seen it.’

‘But the Bills ranked first in special teams three times under coordinator Bobby April during their 12-year playoff drought. Special-teams dominance didn’t get them far.’

‘The Bills should beat Indy. They’re better.’

‘Bills 27, Colts 24,’

‘”In those days, a tight end was strictly a blocking individual,” said former Warlick teammate, Booker Edgerson. “But (head coach) Lou Saban had the great presence to utilize Ernie, with his speed and catching ability, as a primary receiver. It threw a lot of guys off-balance on the defense.”‘

‘Luck has already set the NFL rookie record for 300-yard passing games, his fifth coming last week in New England, breaking the record of his legendary predecessor in Indy, Manning. And his 433-yard performance against Miami a few weeks ago is the single-game NFL standard for a rookie.’

‘Can the Bills succeed on the road in a must-win game? They have two victories away from Ralph Wilson Stadium this year, at Cleveland and at Arizona. Let’s see, the Browns are 2-8, and the Cardinals have lost six in a row after a 4-0 start. The Bills have to prove they can beat a good team in a hostile environment, and it has to happen Sunday or their playoff hopes are dead.’

‘”The Colts are ahead of us in the standings,” Bills quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick said. “This is almost a playoff game for us in terms of one we have to have at this point in the season.”‘