Archives for December 2015

'Former second-round pick Cyrus Kouandjio, in almost two full seasons, has one start to his name. He has only two appearances that have offered meaningful snaps at one of the five starting positions along the offensive line. It was defendable when Seantrel Henderson was available to the team due to his long term potential for the Bills, but, he’s been absent for a month now due to an illness. Instead of Kouandjio getting the time on the field, the Bills have been starting Jordan Mills — who has been among the worst starters on the team since taking over the right tackle position.'

'Hankerson (6-2, 211) was most recently with the New England Patriots, who was claimed off waivers following his release by the Atlanta Falcons. The former third-round pick of the Washington Redskins (2011) was placed on injured reserve by Atlanta in early December with a hamstring injury, but was waived a week later in an injury settlement.'

'“There’s a guy that obviously… what a game he played,” Ryan said. “He gets the interception, forces a fumble. He just did a tremendous job.”'

'“Shoot, man, in the words of the great [Ravens veteran receiver" target] Steve Smith, ‘It’s going to be a bloodbath,’ ’’ Pace said. “Oh, yeah, Rex will have them ready, I know he’ll have them ready. They’re gong to be fired up. We know the type of guy, the type of competitor Rex is, the motivational guy he is.’’'

'But it was the 5-foot-11, 220-pound Gillislee who stood out.'

'But next Sunday’s game back at “The Ralph” has little to do with the Bills … it’s all about the Jets.'

'Signed by the Bills were seventh-round draft choice Dez Lewis off the practice squad and two other free agent wide receivers Greg Salas and Walt Powell, the latter assuming Thigpen’s kick return chores. Also signed was defensive tackle Jerel Worthy. All four were active Sunday.'

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'On a day when the Bills’ offensive game plan was all about the run, Williams finished with 76 yards and Mike Gillislee contributed 93, including a 50-yard touchdown sprint that put the game out of reach with 2:25 remaining. Combined with the 67 rushing yards of quarterback Tyrod Taylor, the Bills had 236 yards on 40 attempts and averaged 5.9 yards per carry. Taylor attempted only 18 passes (his third-lowest total of the season), completing 13 for 179 yards.'

'“We were chirping about it a little bit,” Incognito said. “We’re in this building every day. We know what we are. We know what we’re good at. And we went out there and proved it again.”'

'All right, so this wasn’t what Rex Ryan had in mind when he promised the playoffs. But next week at The Ralph, the Bills could have a chance to spoil it for Ryan’s former team, the Jets, who will likely need to win here next week to get into the postseason.'

'If it were up to me, he wouldn’t be back coaching the Bills. I don’t see him turning them into a championship team. Buffalo was better with an inferior roster under Doug Marrone. The Jets are better without him. He came aboard as a defensive genius and watched the unit become a liability amid numerous player complaints.'

'“I think now more leaders are speaking up and calling people out,” Watkins said. “That’s what we need. Even if I get called out, I’m fine with that. We’ve got to become our team, not the coaches, not everybody else, not the outside world. We’ve got to control what we can control, and I think it’s getting there. That’s why everybody’s having fun, it’s the time of the year to build off that and come together.”'

'“With Bryant being out, we knew he was going to have a key role in their offense being successful,” Lawson said. “We double-teamed him. We had safety help, there were several looks we gave him to not allow him to be successful.”'

'Almost a quarter of the Bills’ active roster – 11 of the 45 players who got on the field – belonged to a practice squad inside the past four months. The Bills were down four offensive starters, including LeSean McCoy, the team’s solitary Pro Bowler.'