Archives for September 18, 2015

'“You can fight a hot day in camp,” Williams said. “You can fight a minor surgery. You can fight pain. You can fight all of that when you see a kid go through chemo, go through treatments and still keep an up-tempo spirit about life. Every time I felt bad, every time I was sore, I look at my wrist and ask, ‘Would Kase want me to quit?’ No. Would Kase want me to give up? No.'

'“Whatever is going to help the team win, I’m all for it,” he said. “I’m not a stats guy, I’m not a guy who’s looking for stuff for me. I just want to win. I want to go to the playoffs and I want to go to the Super Bowl. If I gotta ride the bench the whole season and we go to the Super Bowl, I’m fine with it.'

'“I know the first thing is going to be, whoa, whoa, whoa, what’s up with McCoy’s hamstring,” Ryan said. “It was a little tight, a little sore, so I think that’s where it is. Do I expect him to play? I certainly hope so. He just felt sore, so we backed him out.”'

'There’s certainly cause for concern. The Bills are already about $6.8 million over next year’s projected $150 million cap after wrapping up Dareus. Terry Pegula, welcome to the high roller room of the NFL, where showering huge bonuses eventually comes back to haunt you.'

'The world record of 142.2 decibels – louder than a jet plane flying 100 feet overhead – was set last Sept. 29 at Arrowhead Stadium, during a Monday night game when the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Patriots.'

'This guy sure knows how to make a debut. Scoring on his first carry in both college and the pros is certainly unique, and it's something — at least in the NFL — that doesn't happen all that often. Williams became the first player since Michael Westbrook of the Redskins in 1995 to score a touchdown on a play of at least 20 yards on his first career NFL touch. Amazingly, the feat was matched later on Sunday when Detroit rookie Ameer Abdullah ran 24 yards for a touchdown on his first NFL carry.'

'"Chandler Jones is a great. … The first thing you notice is that length and the motor he plays with," Ryan said. "Obviously you don't want to get in a martial arts fight with him. You know because the bloodlines with Jon Jones and all that. So you know you make note of that too."'

'"I don't even want to think that way, but yeah, it would be definitely (next man up)," Ryan said. "But like I said, I'm not giving up on McCoy playing."'

'"I think we're going to break the record," safety Aaron Williams said. "Last week, besides the Green Bay game, was one of the loudest games I've seen at the Ralph. The game has to be sold out. We have the craziest fans in the league. I would be shocked if we didn't break the record."'

'"He's an excellent player, real smart and long," Glenn said. "Definitely going to have to do a lot of studying and homework on him. But we've played. I know he's going to bring his 'A' game, I'm going to bring my 'A' game. I'm looking forward to it really."'

'But the Bills have a better pass rush than the Steelers and a better secondary, suggesting they can have more success taking away Brady's safety valve when Ryan and defensive coordinator Dennis Thurman get their blitz packages rolling.'

'Ryan’s outgoing, shoot-from-the-lip manner is not his biggest detriment. The biggest detriment for Ryan is that he has never had anything close to a franchise quarterback at his disposal.'

'“This dude, he’s going to make catches,’’ said Ryan of Gronkowski, the NFL’s biggest nightmare matchup. “His size, his speed, his strength, this just in — he’s pretty good. We’re not going to ask one guy, ‘Hey, this is your guy [to cover].’ Shoot, he’d have to look like King Kong or something. ‘You got him! You’ve got the Gronk!’ Put Kong on him.’’'

'“I think that’s something that maybe when I’m done playing I’ll think about more,” Chandler said. “Right now, like I said, I’m just focused on doing what I can do to help the Patriots win on Sunday.”'

'It seems fair to say, then, that Ryan spends a reasonable amount of time leading up to the season scheming for his early-season matchups against the Patriots, and that New England’s early-season offense has had its fair share of misfires against those defensive designs. The Patriots provide Ryan with an opportunity to try to make a statement – an opportunity from which he rarely shies.'