Archives for January 3, 2013

‘”I’m excited about the opportunity here [in Arizona] and the fantastic interview I had with Cleveland last night and going to try to knock Buffalo’s socks off,” Horton said.’

‘”The security people said, ‘People are storming the gates, it’s getting crazy out here!’ ” Polian recalled. “We had a little confab. We said, ‘OK, open the gates. Let them back in.”

‘”The thing that stands out most,” Moon said, “is that it won’t go away.”‘

‘We took a lot for granted in the Super Bowl days. The four years went by so swiftly, you barely had time to stop and appreciate them. Now, after 13 years without playoffs, it’s hard to remember when victory was a given, when the near-impossible could occur.’

‘The Bills had been so far behind, they didn’t so much stage a comeback as they were exhumed.’

‘”It got to halftime, 28-3, I looked at my brother and said, ‘What do you think, do you want to go?’ He was pretty down in the dumps, I was pretty down in the dumps and we said, ‘Yeah, let’s get out of here,’ ” Lindsay said. “Immediately after halftime they picked off that pass and returned it for a touchdown. If I hadn’t left at halftime, I would have left at that point. It was so cold, and like I said, we were wet and miserable.”‘

‘”Nobody ever had a better backup quarterback than Frank Reich,” he said. “Well, look what he did at Maryland. You know his team was down there, 31-0, in the first quarter and the No. 1 quarterback was out of the game, and all he did was go in there and win it, 42-40.”‘

‘On Odomes’ overtime pickoff, intended receiver Ernest Givins was tripped slightly by Darryl Talley. He didn’t fall and there was no call.’

‘Spiller rushed for 1,244 yards (eighth in the NFL), most by a Buffalo runner since Willis McGahee gained 1,247 in 2005. He also caught 43 passes for 459 yards, giving him 1,703 yards from scrimmage, most since Travis Henry had 1,747 in 2002.’

‘Still, the lack of NFL experience should be a major red flag. Kelly’s greatest strength is his offensive ingenuity. At Oregon, he can find top playmakers from all over the West Coast and promise them an up-tempo offense that is going to score 50 points a game (as well as the the coolest looking unis in all the land). It’s easy to sell that to a high school senior. How does that translate to the NFL, though?’

‘Lying there, in the wreckage of a bungled kickoff on the Rich Stadium turf, Maddox locked his hand onto the football, and he managed to pry it out from under Graf’s belly. When the whistle finally blew, Maddox had the ball – and the Bills had possession on the 50-yard-line. Maddox went to the sidelines, feeling a euphoria that made little sense. It was still 35-3, but he had made a big play, and he whipped his arms at the fans, stirring some dormant ember of hope.’

‘Horton told reporters in Arizona on Wednesday that he will meet with Bills officials later in the day. Horton is a Cardinals’ head-coaching candidate to replace Ken Whisenhunt, who was fired Monday.’

‘Bills newly promoted president Russ Brandon and front-office brain trust have been in Arizona since Tuesday conducting their coaching search. According to the Bills’ website, the team interviewed Cardinals defensive coordinator Ray Horton on Wednesday, a day after meeting with former Arizona coach Ken Whisenhunt, who was fired Monday.’

‘What comes first: Buffalo in the playoffs or a balanced budget?’

‘According to a league source, the Bills interest in Whisenhunt as their next head coach is “extremely high.” Wednesday morning on WGR Sports Radio 550, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com said there is mutual interest between the two sides.’