Archives for January 2013

‘Smith has cut his teeth as a coach on the defensive side of the ball and is a proponent of the ‘Tampa 2′ defensive scheme first popularized by former Tampa Bay and Indianapolis head coach Tony Dungy, under whom Smith served as a linebackers coach with the Buccaneers (1996-2000).’

‘”That doesn’t say there will be no changes, and it doesn’t say they’re going to sweep the building out from top to bottom,” he said. “But it’ll be somewhere in there, and there’s just no way to anticipate how it’s going to play out. That person’s personality says it all, as Ralph has done.”‘

‘”What this game boils down to is execution on game day. For us to be where we are, I don’t think the blame lies on one particular area. I think we all have to take ownership of it."’

‘Oregon’s passing game uses a lot of quick throws and receiver screens to stretch the defense horizontally. When it works, that opens things up for passes down the field. That’s similar to Chan Gailey’s attack in Buffalo. It’s just that Gailey wasn’t often successful when he tried to stretch the field.’

‘So it appears Brandon is going to make heavy football decisions here. You’d like to think he’s ready but it’s scary stuff. Look what happened to the Sabres when Quinn got too involved.’

‘The animal rights group is unveiling an ad campaign Thursday featuring a photo of a bare-chested Merriman under the title: “Ink, Not Mink.” The ad features the line: “Be Comfortable in Your Skin, and Let Animals Keep Theirs.”‘

‘Statistics-based analysis isn’t new to the world of professional sports, but it’s relatively new to the world of football. It’s begun to pick up speed the past year or so — the Baltimore Ravens hired a director of analytics in August, and the Jacksonville Jaguars created a football technology and analytics group in the summer. At a recent press conference, Chicago Bears GM Phil Emery went into great detail about his stat-based analysis regarding the team’s woes along the offensive line.’

‘Chan Gailey tried his best to turn around the Bills, but in the end he simply didn’t get the results on the field. When you go 6-10 for the second year in a row — and have a 16-32 overall record in Buffalo — that’s a failing grade. Gailey’s reluctance to give Spiller his rightful share of the load was perplexing throughout the year, as his best player averaged just 13 carries a game. Gailey was also loyal to Fitzpatrick to a fault, as Fitzpatrick was Buffalo’s best option under center, but he just wasn’t cutting it this year. Gailey also put too much faith in Wannstedt, as Buffalo’s defense was horrendous throughout Gailey’s three-year tenure and is the biggest reason for his dismissal.’

‘I’ve learned something in the 10 years I’ve been on WGR. Pessimism is rarely the more fun or fulfilling approach. Make a run at Chip Kelly. He can’t say yes unless you ask.’

‘You might even need different people in charge of helping Nix and coach and grading them so as not to blur the lines with ego.’

‘Here is some background on the coaches who have interviewed or will interview with the Buffalo Bills for their head coaching position…’.

‘To his credit, Brandon was frank and almost brutal in his appraisal of the franchise’s image. His line that “The brand has been tarnished,” is exactly how I put once last week. He’s right, and it’s important that the leader of the Bills recognizes this.’

‘”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.”