Archives for August 2015

'"Remember, I'm not going to make that decision until we play Indy," Ryan said. "Competitive reasons, whatever. Go for it. We don't need to tell them. Until the league makes us tell them, we can just go right up in there and say, 'We're not gonna say anything.''

'"We're still waiting. I feel like they don't want me here as bad as I want to be here, as bad as the fans and my team wants me here. I feel like they're saying, 'Whatever. You come a dime a dozen."'

'Manuel's success doesn't make the Bills' quarterback competition any easier to settle. Both quarterbacks who played Thursday — Manuel and Tyrod Taylor — had good outings. Taylor had a couple of good drives with the first team unit and finished with 65 passing yards and 41 rushing yards. He definitely didn't hurt his chances in the race to be named the Bills' starting quarterback.'

'Since then, if you compare Dareus and Suh, it's clear who is putting up the better statistics.'

'In front of as many empty orange seats as people at FirstEnergy Stadium, Taylor was sharp through the air (7-of-10 for 65 yards), deadly on the ground (four keepers for 41 yards) and smart with his decisions on his three first-half drives.'

'“For competitive reasons, whatever, go for it. Until the league makes us tell ‘em, we can just … not say anything. We may know, but why would we say any different? … So plan for all three of them. I think that’s smart on our part.”'

'Manziel threw a touchdown pass and maybe closed the gap on presumed starting quarterback Josh McCown before Manuel rallied the Bills to an 11-10 victory Thursday night.'

'One person said the sides haven't exchanged offers in a few weeks, raising concerns that a deal won't be completed before the start of the season in three weeks. The season opener is not considered a hard deadline.'

'Burton signed with the Bills as an undrafted free agent from the University of Florida.'

'Buffalo then lost wide receiver Chris Hogan late in the first quarter. He was carted to the locker room after suffering an ankle injury. Hogan, who was hunched over on the cart with a towel over his head, was ruled out for the remainder of the game.'

'Dareus believes the Bills aren't properly valuing him in contract talks. A fifth-year lineman entering the final year of his deal, he is a two-time Pro Bowler and was the third-overall draft selection in 2011.'

'That's enough for the Bills with this defense, but can Cassel (or Taylor) get there consistently? It could be the difference between a playoff team and an also-ran with a really good roster.'

'Buffalo, already without LeSean McCoy, Sammy Watkins and Robert Woods, among others, suffered back-to-back injuries in the first quarter. Goodwin and Chris Hogan both went down with ankle injuries on consecutive plays. Goodwin returned to the game, but Hogan was carted off the field with a towel draped over his head.'

'Taylor’s pocket presence was close to perfect except for the one sack. His throws were dead on and he went 3-for-3 on his first three third downs. He only went 1-for-4 after that, but I think this outing was so much better than last week. The points weren’t there, but a quarterback was out there.'

'Ryan admitted he and his coaching staff may very well know who the starter will be for the game, but that he has no reason to announce it publicly. He even went so far as to include all three QBs – Taylor, Manuel, and Matt Cassel – in the “keep them guessing” discussion.'