Archives for October 2013

I just wrote an article for Bills Digest last week on how Aaron Williams’ performance against the Ravens was an incredibly-pleasant surprise, so I don’t feel bad playing the other side of the coin. Aaron Williams was a crime scene against the Browns, looking like a more muscular Justin Rogers. This is apart from the soon-to-be-mentioned penalty below. His coverage was miserable. An argument can be made that if he made just one more (?) play, the Bills still have a look at this game.

‘It’s hard to get too upset with loss since there are times you just have to throw your hands up and just shake your head. The Bills injury woes continued and when they lost Manuel it just took all the air out of their sails offensively and defensively. I don’t remember a game with so many major momentum shifts.’

‘Quarterback; Grade F: Need to get another quarterback on the roster quickly.’

‘With a drive that began at their own 20-yard line, backup QB Jeff Tuel had to put together a touchdown drive with just over two minutes remaining. A screen pass to Fred Jackson gained 13 yards and a first down to move the ball to the Bills 33. A completion to Chris Hogan moved the ball out to 40, but on the next play, Tuel’s pass for Robert Woods was intercepted by T.J. Ward, who returned it 44-yards for a touchdown to put the game away with 1:44 remaining.’

‘Johnson appeared to wrench his lower right back when he turned to cut on a route in the first half. He didn’t return. A timetable has not been given on either player’s injury.’

‘”E.J.’s a tough kid. He took a shot, he scrambled, he made a first down (and) he was trying to score a touchdown. What do you say? ‘Don’t scramble, don’t score touchdowns.’ What do you think?”‘

‘”He just didn’t think it would be best for me to go,” said Byrd. “It was his call once I gave him the green light. He controls all that.’

‘The Browns are tied for eighth in the NFL in fewest points surrendered and an impressive third in least yards given up, fourth overall against the run.’

‘”I think most people have the same schedule. Monday, you want to push the players (practice) back as far as possible to give yourself more time to game plan so you can have it prepared. We pushed them back; we kind of handled all the stuff from the Baltimore game quickly. Then we immediately try to turn their attention on Monday night towards Cleveland.”‘

‘”Up front they’re stout,” said Bills center Eric Wood. “They have good linebackers who play downhill. They’re pretty instinctive. They pull their safeties down in the box and they really aid in the run-stuffing.”‘

‘Few NFL franchises know melancholy like the Bills and Browns. Their fans have been sucked into a vortex of heartache and, over the past decade-plus, ineptitude on the field. And when they play each other, the games seem programmed to inflict even more abuse on those who’ve dared to care.’

‘”Um, money?” said Stevie Johnson. “But the fans want to see this. We want to be part of it, too. So we’re not complaining, even though we’ve got guys who are injured. You’re not going to turn down a chance to play on Thursday night, with family, friends and high school coaches watching.”‘

‘Bills 27, Browns 20.’

‘”I think we all like this situation that we’re in,” said Bills wideout Stevie Johnson. “We don’t get many times to play on national televised games, so this is big for us. So hopefully we can go out there, show who we are, get a ‘W’ and let the world know we’re for real.”‘