Archives for December 16, 2012

‘With Jackson out (sprained knee) Spiller should have no trouble picking up the 56 yards he needs to reach the 1,000 mark, and says he hasn’t given the matchup with Lynch much thought. “He’s not going to be out there trying to chase me and make tackles,” Spiller told the Bills website. “I’m just looking forward to see how we stack up against another elite defence."’

‘Despite his lack of touches, Spiller needs just 56 yards to reach 1,000 for the first time in his career. His average of 6.6 yards a carry is the highest in the NFL, through 13 games, since Pro Football Hall of Famer Jim Brown in 1963. And yet, he’s carried the ball fewer than 10 times in six games, with just 37 yards on seven carries in last week’s 15-12 loss to St. Louis. The Bills are 2-0 when he has at least 15 touches.’

‘Nearly three quarters of all Americans watch football. Fewer than half attend a place of worship – and that’s amongst the highest attendance rates in the developed world. Given the time Americans spend watching, tithing and fretting over football, it’s become a secular religion. That’s made the NFL rich (not unlike most churches). They might do something in return.’

‘While the Bills have stood on the sidelines, other teams have evolved with the times.’

‘Both will be operating indoors, running on a fast track with lots to prove: Lynch will be eager to show the Bills they were wrong to trade him to Seattle after drafting Spiller two years ago. Spiller will be looking to prove he’s durable enough to handle a full workload in Gailey’s offense.’

‘Adding another round of playoff games might even be a way of getting rid of a week of preseason games, which Goodell justifiably sees as a bad product foisted on the ticket-buying public.’

‘The portfolio certainly looks great, but the Bills have effectively put themselves at a competitive disadvantage because unlike every other team in the NFL, they play only seven actual home games. And let’s face it, if there’s a team that can’t afford any more competitive disadvantages, it’s the Bills, the only team in the NFL to have not qualified for the playoffs in this millennium.’

‘Buffalo’s first-round pick in 2007 had a couple nice years in Buffalo, then made some stupid off-field mistakes and worked his way into the town’s doghouse. When Chan Gailey and Buddy Nix arrived in 2010, their first draft pick was C.J. Spiller, and Lynch was the odd man out. Lynch has gone on to become one of the game’s top backs.’

‘He didn’t have the strongest arm or the size of the prototypical NFL starting quarterback. What he did have, however, was “it.”‘

‘”I played here 12 years but even when I moved back here (seven years ago), now being a member of the community as opposed to a player on the team, you could see what this team means to the community. You can still see it.”‘

‘This series has tripped over itself at every possible turn, right from the beginning. This hasn’t brought Toronto closer to the NFL: If anything, the NFL has never seemed further away from this city as it does right now.’

‘The notoriously sleepy Toronto football crowd surprised some with the way it rallied behind the Argos in the Grey Cup. Hard to imagine a legion of Seahawks fans around the GTA, so is it possible that the Bills get the closest thing to a “home” crowd in this their fifth visit to the Rogers Centre?’

‘”They run their offense around him, and he’ll get even more activity now. And that means that there is a chance for them to score on every play, run or pass. So we’ll see if our defense can get ready for that.”‘

Buffalo offers potential ‘trap game’ for Seahawks (Seattle Times)

Keys to the game: Seahawks at Bills (Seattle Times)

Speedy Spiller next for Hawks (Tacoma News Tribune)

No single factor ignited Seahawks’ offensive improvement (Tacoma News Tribune)

Seahawks proving experts wrong with 2012 draft class (Everett Herald)

Surging Seahawks coming of age (Tampa Tribune)

Seattle signs WR Butler, places Martin on IR (AP)

Can Seahawks take care of business against Bills? (KIRO-AM)

A game with three-appeal (Seahawks.com)

‘”You look at the Blue Jays, you look at the Raptors, they do OK there but they’re not the Toronto Maple Leafs,” said Buono. “And they never will be. I don’t think they can compete with the popularity of the Leafs.”‘