Archives for September 2016

'Ronald Darby/Stephon Gilmore: It's impossible to separate the starting cornerbacks for this — they took turns making one terrible play after another against New York. There's no better way to describe their performance than embarrassing. Ryan Fitzpatrick should not be made to look like Joe Montana. In Gilmore's case, fans are going to have a hard time shaking how awful he was when the topic of a possible contract extension comes up.'

'“Much more active in terms of the fights, in terms of the traffic-related issues,” Wehrfritz said. “It seems like we had a lot more calls – fights, disturbances before the game. Normally, when the game starts, things calm right down, but we were still getting calls about fights and intoxicated people.”'

'If nothing else, Roman’s firing deflects some of the attention away from the Bills’ defeat, but it won’t stop me from sharing some thoughts Upon Further Review.'

'The Bills offense scored 24 points in the 37-31 loss to the New York Jets Thursday, but that was definitely deceiving. The offense really only made two big plays, long touchdown passes from Tyrod Taylor to Marquise Goodwin and Greg Salas. Otherwise, there wasn’t a whole lot of production, and Roman’s play-calling for a second week in a row was highly questionable.'

'"That never came up," Ryan said. "You know, I'm here to do a job. That's my ability and I'm accountable for everything. I'm accountable for the offense, defense, special teams, you name it. I'm accountable for it. And as I mentioned, I'm accountable for making decisions like this. It falls on me, and I accept those responsibilities."'

'Well first off, I think, as I've mentioned, I think Greg is an outstanding coach, there's no doubt. To be honest, I'm going to answer questions that are about moving forward. I'm not going to get into the past and all that, I'd rather look at the way Anthony is and understanding that we have a coaching staff that's been together and it'll be an inclusive staff that obviously Anthony is going to be the guy making the call, but we have a terrific coaching staff and we're going to lean on that expertise of the coaching staff as well, and that's why I think it's going to be very successful.'

'Buffalo also was among the league's worst teams in three-and-out drives. The Bills were 31st in the league last year with 50 of 186 offensive drives (26.88%) resulting in three-and-outs. Through two games this season, 19 total drives, the Bills have gone three-and-out seven times according to Sporting Charts.'

'Roman's fire comes at a strange time, however. The Bills lost 37-31 to the New York Jets on Thursday night largely because the Bills couldn't stop Ryan Fitzpatrick and the Jets' passing offense, which finished with 374 passing yards.'

'"It's really kind of tough to tell right now what the major change will be," Bills guard Richie Incognito said. "We'll have things grouped differently. Our bread and butter will change. As we go through the week, we'll go through the process a little differently. We'll see. I'll be one of the first to see it next Sunday when we play the Cardinals. We have to find our identity now, and obviously our identity is going to change."'

'Being beaten by an opponent is one thing. Being beaten by yourself is another, and it’s inexcusable.'

'To fire Roman two games and six days into the next season looks, feels, and seems exactly like what it is — a classic, panic-coated, scapegoating move by a short-sighted, over-reactionary front office and a head coach who must believe his own neck now rests squarely on the guillotine.'

'Running backs coach Anthony Lynn will take over as coordinator. Lynn also serves as an assistant head coach and has spent the past eight years working under Ryan.'

'"I'm accountable for everything that goes on," said Ryan. "And I'm also accountable for these decisions."'

'"Shocked. You can definitely say that," outside linebacker Jerry Hughes said of a defensive meltdown that saw the Bills allow 28 first downs and 493 yards, including 374 through the air by Jets quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick. "We just didn't play good football today. Just bad all the way around. We just didn't show up."'

'"I think we have a lot of weapons, it's just how we disperse it and go about doing that and that's where the focus is going to be," Ryan said, indicating that he believes Lynn can get that done. "With Anthony, I know the kind of coach he is, the kind of person he is, and the direction he can take us.'