Archives for December 3, 2013

‘It’s hard to swallow this, but fans need to try and embrace the Toronto series because it’s served its purpose for the Bills. Rogers Communications might sing a different tune since the attendance of those games has dropped dramatically (Sunday’s game against the Falcons had the lowest attendance of the six regular season games), but the Bills are getting a huge check each year for that game, probably doubling the revenue they would normally get for a home game in Orchard Park.

‘These incomprehensible losses continue to pile up for a Bills team that has shown plenty of promise this season. There are signs that things are different and Marrone and Manuel are leading a new age. However, there are also an alarming number of signs that these are just the same old Bills.’

‘A football fan who slid down a stadium railing during a Buffalo Bills game and fell into the stands below is scheduled to answer criminal charges. Rob Hopkins is to be arraigned in Orchard Park Town Court on Tuesday.’

‘Had Atlanta fallen behind 14-0 in the first 10 minutes with the chilly temperatures and light precipitation in Orchard Park and a packed stadium in full throat, one can easily imagine the Falcons quickly losing interest in the game. Not so much in a 72-degree, windless, two-thirds-full dome with a surprising amount of fan support.’

‘”We’ve got to take that next step, and I know we’ve been saying that for a long time. I’m so tired of saying it,” Chandler said Monday. “It kills me that I wasn’t part of the solution yesterday. I want to be a part of the solution, not a part of the problem. It hurts to let the fans, your coaches, your teammates down, but we’re going to move on now.”‘

‘In an age of increasing parity, there’s a narrow line between triumph and despair, between playoff contention and the dregs of the sport. That has to make it even more maddening for Bills fans to know their team has missed the playoffs 13 years in a row – and soon to be 14.’

‘They did what 4-8 teams do. They found a way to lose.’

‘Marrone doesn’t want to say it, Bills fans surely don’t want to hear it, but this is a work in progress and there’s a lot of work to do. This is not a playoff team and it was never going to be a playoff team in 2013, no matter what ESPN’s playoff machine Internet toy says.’

‘Alonso has gained national recognition in his rookie season in the NFL, and for good reason. The 6-foot-3, 238-pounder was in on 112 tackles through the first 11 games of the season. Alonso has a couple of quarterback sacks, four pass interceptions and he’s forced one fumble and recovered another.’

‘”It kills me that I wasn’t part of the solution yesterday,” Chandler said. “I want to be part of the solution and not part of the problem. It hurts to let the fans, your coaches and your teammates down.”‘

‘Running back C.J. Spiller had to hobble off the field on a couple of different plays due to his ankle flaring up once again, but played the majority of the game. Cornerback Stephon Gilmore had only a leg cramp and linebacker Arthur Moats ran to the locker room with only a few minutes left in the game, but neither were serious enough for Marrone to declare it a problem for Week 14.’

‘Like I’ve said before, I’ve been to places before and you look at that, you try to learn from it. I don’t think anyone ever really sits around and says maybe losing doesn’t hurt as much. It’s got to hurt bad and it always has to hurt bad. You take that pain and you put it to good use and that’s how you turn it around. Make no mistake, I think that you do fight those things, but that’s why we’re here. That’s why I’m here, that’s why our staff is here, that’s why the players are here, to change that. That’s what our job is and that’s what we need to do.’