Archives for September 20, 2015

'"Yeah, if your blitzes don't work then absolutely you feel like that," Ryan told me earlier in the week about the danger of the Patriots using aggressiveness against the Bills. "You don't go in there just tap dancing if you come after him than so be it. You understand there is always risk involved especially against a quarterback of that stature. But at the same time you don't want to make it a seven-on-seven where he just sits back there all day and he throws it wherever he wants, you don't want that either."'

'So much of their game plan this week is centered around slowing the quarterback, and if they can’t get pressure on Brady, it’ll make things tough for Buffalo. The Bills would also love to control the clock and keep Brady away from the action for long stretches of time through a still-burgeoning ground game. If they can’t do that, it significantly lessens their chances of winning.'

'Although Ryan was not sending text messages to U.S. District Court Judge Richard Berman lobbying (begging) him to uphold Brady’s four-game suspension — I have been unable to acquire his phone records — his life would be a lot easier if he was preparing for Jimmy Garoppolo. Even so, if the Bills win, it will mean a lot more beating Brady. Ryan has the Bills fans all worked up and it’s going to be a madhouse.'

'“He’s a true leader, man,” Hosley said. “A guy that works hard, man, that’s humble. He pushes the guys around him. He’s a true leader, man, and a helluva player. And the people are getting to see that now around the league.”'

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'"We've had some great matchups against them. His teams always play hard. I know he's a very good coach," Belichick said. "They do a great job of defending or attacking each team uniquely based on the characteristics of that team."'

'"I definitely noticed ever since we beat Indy, everybody's been talking about it," Williams said. "Since literally the last game, as soon as that game ended, they were screaming, 'We want Tom Brady.' For us, it's definitely exciting, we've been waiting for this moment ever since last year."'

'“Most definitely,” he said when asked if the Bills winning without him touching the ball will cause concern for other defenses gong forward “They can see you can take me out of the game but you’re going to have to leave a number of guys one-on-one, which, that creates a different matchup. If you’re going to double me the whole game, why not run the ball to the right side, why not throw the ball to the right side the whole game and pick on the other guys who are matching up with (Charles) Clay or (Robert) Woods, or Percy Harvin, and that’s the strength to our offense.”'

'On multiple occasions, Rex’s defense had the defensive linemen and linebackers all standing up and even moving around before the snap. When Brady finally takes the snap on this play, there isn’t a single Jet with his hand on the ground. Interestingly enough, there are only two players on defense between the tackles as both outsides are loaded.'

'Prediction: Bills over Patriots.'

'Love him or hate him (well, we know your thoughts), Tom Brady will be making his return to Buffalo and its scenic hotel views on Sunday, in a game it seemed he might not be a part of for much of the offseason. Rex’s track record against Brady is good, and the Bills defense is better, so we’ll see whether that lands Brady on the turf or in the endzone on Sunday. (At any rate, he might lose hearing!)'

'“We used all of it,” said Lawson of his additional duties last week. “So everything that was asked of me, everything that I had to prepare for was all put into play so you have to be ready for that. Some of it can be used, none of it can be used, all of it can be used. In this case all of it was used.”'