Archives for October 20, 2016

'FiveThirtyEight.com has Buffalo's playoff odds at 72 percent. This is up seven percent from last week's odds. In addition to Buffalo having 72 percent odds of making the playoffs, FiveThirtyEight also gives the Bills a 39 percent chance of winning the AFC East, a 25 percent chance of a first round bye and a six percent chance of winning the Super Bowl.'

'“Getting used to pads and things like that,” Lawson said.'

'Behind McCoy, Mike Gillislee has 18 carries for 116 yards with two touchdowns, Jonathan Williams has eight carries for 23 yards and Reggie Bush has six carries for five yards.'

'“’All in’ had nothing to do with Mario. It’s just what everyone has to be in this building. (Williams) wasn’t here when we came up with it,” Ryan said.'

'“I let him know everybody makes mistakes in life,” Ryan said. “I'm one that's made several in my life. But everybody deserves another opportunity as well. There's no do-overs; he owned it and did everything. He has been unbelievable here. He's a leader here. Every teammate respects him. People in our community look up to Richie. Everybody loves him. He's been outstanding on the football field and in our community.”'

'"I think the story has kind of played itself out. Jonathan and I were close friends. I cared about him. If anybody was there for Jonathan it was me. Jonathan had his troubles. He had his demons, like we all do," Incognito said. "He left for whatever reason and he handled it the way he did. Then the story takes on a life of it's own.'

'Look out for more smash-mouth football, then, from a Buffalo bunch that led the NFL in rushing last year and are doing it again at an average of 5.61 yards per carry. If McCoy is unable to play against Miami because of a hamstring injury that popped up this week, the job probably goes to Mike Gilleslee, a former Dolphin and Gator, and he probably makes it work.'

'"Yeah, I did hit the bag hard," Lawson said. "I wanted to test it out a little bit. But it felt great. Everything."'

'"We feel good about the guys that we do have, but that's assuming he won't play," Ryan said, when asked how McCoy's possible absence would affect the game plan. "We'll see how it goes."'

'Martin retired last year. He posted on Facebook that difficulties in the profession led him to attempt suicide multiple times.'

'Williams said he feels no extra motivation facing his former team, which may elicit snickering from Bills fans who complained he lacked motivation last year.'

'Buffalo has taken a winning record into a game at Miami four times since 2000 and lost all four of those games.'

'The Bills have some wiggle room because Lorenzo Alexander has played so well in the edge rusher position the Bills thought Lawson would be occupying when they picked him No. 19 overall out of Clemson in the 2016 draft.'

'McCoy's 587 rushing yards rank second in the NFL this season and his 5.6 yards per carry is tops in the league. McCoy trails only Dallas rookie Ezekiel Elliott (703) in yards, but the Bills have surpassed the Cowboys as the No. 1 rushing offense in the league, averaging 166.1 yards per game, including an average of 211.8 the last four games.'

'"He was tight in the hamstring, so we'll see what happens with our medical evaluation and all that," Bills coach Rex Ryan said after practice. "I'm not going to look into (his availability Sunday), but we'll see how he comes back."'