Archives for December 2012

‘Moats had played in each of Buffalo’s first 14 games, registering 25 tackles in 2012.’

‘Urbik, who has started 24 games over the past two seasons, has helped pave the way for Buffalo’s highly productive rushing attack that finished fifth in yards per carry average last season (4.9) and 13th in rushing. This year the Bills run game currently ranks sixth in the league in rushing and is tied for third in yards per carry average.’

‘Jones had been dealing with a recurring calf injury that kept him out of two of the last three games. The injury resurfaced last Friday and kept him out of the Seattle game last Sunday. “It’s been bothering him off and on,” said head coach Chan Gailey. “It shows up and doesn’t show up.” Gailey may provide insight into Jones’ latest ailment later in the week.’

‘Buddy tells us Chan can win but he doesn’t. Chan tells us Fitz can play but he can’t. The Bills tell us there has been progress but your eyes tell you that is simply not true. Sometimes a franchise needs change for change sake. Sometimes the product and the numbers back it up. In the case of the Buffalo Bills both scenarios fit. I know Bills fans deserve a winner, but in the meantime they deserve the hope that there can be one soon.’

‘Some NFL franchises would’ve fired a coach or one of his assistants after a game like this. It appears that Buffalo Bills General Manager Buddy Nix won’t even address the matter until the season is over. I don’t see how the team can expect to win or sell tickets if Chan Gailey and Ryan Fitzpatrick are still here next season.’

‘But look at it this way: Even with a 13-year playoff drought, the Bills have been able to bolster their home crowd with Canadian business. Imagine what they can do if they win.’

‘Nix deserves credit for plugging quite a few holes on a roster that was pretty depleted when he arrived, but his handling of the quarterback has been a massive failure. However, now we see the defense still lacks playmakers. It shouldn’t be enough for the Bills to sneak into the playoffs one year at 9-7 and call it “Mission Accomplished.” The Bills should expect more from themselves and the goal should be to be a perennial playoff contender, and figuring out this defense must be high on Nix’s list of priorities.’

‘The only Nix picks who start are Spiller, Dareus and, incredibly Williams, when he’s healthy, middle linebacker Kelvin Sheppard, safety DaNorris Searcy who shares times with George Wilson, tackle Chris Hairston, now on injured reserve, Gilmore and linebacker Nigel Bradham.’

‘In the last 25 years, only 11 NFL head coaches have survived after starting their tenures with three losing seasons. The most recent was Dick Jauron, who came back for a fourth year in Buffalo in 2009 after three straight 7-9 seasons.’

‘They had many options. Too often, they chose the wrong one.’

‘He’s my favorite Bills coach since Wade Phillips, but the record speaks for itself. Nice guys generally get pink slips in the rough and tumble world of the NFL.’

‘Not that the Bills would have won Sunday playing at home, as Gailey suggests. This was a crappy football team when the Bills In Toronto series began and a crappy football team now. It isn’t our team. It doesn’t feel like our team. It probably never will be our team. And you have to ask yourself, if you’re like me, and you’d love to see an NFL team in Toronto and believes this city remains ripe for a team, this wouldn’t be your choice of teams. As if you have any choice at all.’

‘The bottom line is you can’t rent sports loyalty. It’s borne of decades of the team merging with the resident culture in pain and sadness and, occasionally, happiness. The Bills have supplied none of the above to Toronto (which already has more than enough pain to go around from its own squads). The Bills’ pain and angst rightly belong in Orchard Park till the team’s future is decided.’

”’We all understand the situation we’re in right now,” Fitzpatrick said. ”And I think we all understand the importance of these last two games in terms of effort and the product that we put on the field to show that we have made progress and there is hope with the guys that we have in this locker room.”’

‘Starting center Eric Wood has a chance to return after missing the past two games with a sprained left knee.’