Archives for December 21, 2016

'"It's kind of hard to take in sometimes because that's our teammate and we love Aaron," cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman said. "I know I love Aaron and he's been battling injuries this whole season. Things were just getting good for us on that back end with him back there. From that standpoint, I feel like he took one of our guys away from us."'

'The Bills keep hovering around the .500 mark and not just this season. Buffalo is 24-22 the past three seasons but have no playoff berths to show for it. The Bills are still technically alive, and a win against Miami on Saturday could keep them in the hunt.'

'"There's so many things that he gets blamed for that's out of his control," McCoy said. "I think as players, we need to step up as men and be accountable, be mature. There's certain things that happen during the course of games that he's not out there playing."'

'I'm projecting the Bills to move on from Tyrod Taylor because I don't think they see him as an $18 million-a-year franchise quarterback. They could get out of his contract after the season for a small cap hit. Taylor is 14-13 as a starter in his career, and he hasn't gotten an endorsement from the front office or Rex Ryan, who might be out after the season. Taylor's completion percentage has dropped from 63.7 percent to 60.6, and his yards per attempt are down from 8.0 to 6.8.'

'In fact, Williams started all 15 games he appeared in for Buffalo last season, while this season he started the first five but hasn’t the past six. Despite that, he doesn’t miss Western New York, the place he’ll be returning to for the first time as a member of the Miami Dolphins on Saturday afternoon.'

'While it’s his first season as a defensive starter in the NFL, Alexander was named to the 2012 Pro Bowl as a special teamer while with Washington.'

'Injuries usually aren't an excuse in the NFL, but the Bills have been hit hard by some significant injuries this season. The lack of roster depth shouldn't be blamed on Rex Ryan. (That's on general manager Doug Whaley.) A healthier defensive unit could've made a difference in at least one or two games this season."'

'Here’s the Coles Notes lowdown on the contract situation that’s facing (if he survives a potential house cleaning) Bills GM Doug Whaley: Bring Taylor back on a one-year deal in 2017 for the ridiculous price tag of $27.5 million (not happening), exercise options in the contract for 2018 through 2021 and commit, renegotiate the deal completely based upon another season of up-and-down work, or cut the dual-threat pivot outright and move on.'

'He has nearly single-handedly been the key reason why the Bills (7-7) are still mathematically alive in the AFC playoff race.'

'Alexander, in his first season in Buffalo, is heading to his first Pro Bowl having racked up a career-high 11.5 sacks, including a three-sack performance against the Rams in Week 5. Alexander has also tacked on 47 tackles and one interception, coming in Week 14 against Pittsburgh.'

'"It was like the tides flipped," linebacker Preston Brown said following practice on Tuesday. "We were riding high, they were kind of on their way, then they just kept it going. That game didn't [disrupt" target="_blank"> our season. We could've found ways to win other games, but it definitely was a turning point in our season."

' If they intend to bring back the head coach for the 2017 season, they could very easily issue a team statement that he’ll be back and all the rumors swirling around him would cease to exist.'

'The biggest snub on the Bills roster has to be defensive lineman Kyle Williams. Throughout the entire season, Williams has been a dominant player on the interior of the Bills' defense and, at least in my opinion, was more worthy of a spot in the Pro Bowl than Alexander was.'

'So here I sit, wanting a quarterback without one available and wanting change without too much change. I see a team that all evidence shows is systemically broken, but I don’t want to wait for wholescale change and yet another rebuilding. I guess I want what can’t be given and that’s a problem.'

'The MVP of Buffalo’s offense, McCoy has the highest yards per carry average of his career, and has reached double digits in rushing touchdowns for only the second time.'