Archives for September 15, 2016

'Vegas has the Bills as 1.5-point underdogs, so a close game is expected. In the season opener, Carpenter had a chance to tie the game, but missed a 49-yard field goal on the opening drive of the second half. Just like that, a good preseason went out the window.'

'Sheldon Richardson will be loaded for bear after sitting out the first game on suspension, and his return only makes Muhammad Wilkerson and Leonard Williams better. The Bills offensive line, coming off a game Richie Incognito correctly deemed a “stinker” has a humongous challenge trying to win up front against this group.'

'In order for Taylor to get back on track, he’ll be going up against a talented New York Jets defense that showed well against a talented Cincinnati Bengals team. The Jets had some early success, but then the Bengals ultimately settled in once they went mainly to a three wide receiver set.'

'If you were an Offensive Coordinator, the number one focus of your game plan had to be, where is Bruce Smith? Teams tried and tried and tried, but he was unstoppable.'

'“I think (our fans are) going to help. I'm excited to see it. The big thing is, we can't let them down. We know how focused (the Jets) are … how much they want this game. We’ve just got to play a smart, physical football game.”'

Click here

'“Obviously at that time, with Rex Ryan as head coach, we knew they were very unconventional on defense,” Nelson said. “In a lot of ways they were going to present a challenge to us. We really thought it was that ‘prove it’ game. We felt like that Washington game we won, we proved it to ourselves. We felt like the New York game was one we could really prove to the media and the fans.”'

'Ryan hasn’t been 0-2 through two weeks in his seven seasons as an NFL head coach. Until last Sunday, in fact, he had won five consecutive season openers (and didn’t finish with a winning record in any of them).'

'Jets 20, Bills 17.'

'"It's really seamless," Bryant said. "It's something that happens behind the scenes. The feed is the exact same thing you'll see on TV, the content we provide will be live streamed right on Twitter, so for us, we're not doing anything different."'

'With the bright lights of prime-time national television coverage and the retirement of Bruce Smith's jersey, this should easily be the most stoked a home crowd has been in quite a while. The Bills must feed off of that and do everything at a much faster tempo than they did against the Ravens.'

'“I’m a bit concerned that the fans are going to say, ‘You’re here for your first Bills game, so you’ll have to go on the burning table,’ ” Matt Wild said with a laugh. “I’d prefer not to, but I will if I have to.”'

'Darryl has always been a student of football, and when old Bills games are televised the person he is most in awe of is Bruce. He illuminates at the sight of Bruce turning a corner. The way his body defied gravity. The way he aligned his shoulders and hips, akin to a speed skater, and was still able to run full-on. And his hands, Bruce was a master at using his hands. He possessed incredible strength. He could grab a 300-pound man with one hand, sling him, keep his balance and still run in a straight line to the center. Once he grabbed a lineman with his meat hooks, it was over for the quarterback.'

'It was the worst of his 15 career starts as he threw for just 111 yards, and he didn’t look anything like a franchise QB. Now, he’s confronted with a tremendous Jets defense that last week, in a loss to Cincinnati, sacked Bengals QB Andy Dalton seven times. Now, the good news is that while Dalton was getting beaten up, he also managed to throw for 366 yards, so if the line can protect Taylor and give him a chance, he could make some things happen in the passing game. He needs to.'

'“We are a very prideful group and we know what we’re capable of and we didn’t play up to our potential,” said Incognito. “When you have a poor showing like that early in the season it leaves a poor taste in your mouth. So we’re coming out extra motivated. We’re fired up.”'