Archives for December 2016

'In short, we did not learn anything about the Bills that we didn’t already know. They simply beat an inferior opponent, which also shouldn’t be a surprise. Their season has been defined not by the ability to beat the teams behind them in the standings, but rather the inability to defeat those ahead of them.'

'But you have to feel for Browns fans, whose team fell to 0-14. The product on the field in 2016 is so bad that one draft (even a great one) is not going to pull the franchise out of its hole. The Browns have jettisoned talent over the past year and are at a big competitive disadvantage against the Bills, who aren’t even a playoff team. That was evidenced in Sunday’s 33-13 Bills rout of the Brownies before a two-thirds full Ralph Wilson Stadium crowd.'

'Dan Carpenter missed his fifth extra point of the season after McCoy’s second touchdown. He entered Sunday 27th out of 29 qualifying kickers in extra point percentage (88.9%). He missed six extra points last year.'

'LeSean McCoy capped a six-play, 75-yard drive with a 3-yard touchdown that made the score 24-10. He earned his sixth 100-yard game of the year midway through the quarter. Cleveland added a field goal near the end of the period.'

'Charles Clay caught a 19-yard touchdown with 34 seconds left in the quarter to stretch the Bills’ lead to two possessions. Taylor threw behind his tight end, but Clay made an athletic play to stop his route and dive backward to make the catch. It was Clay’s second touchdown in as many weeks after being shut out for the first 12 games of the season, a career-long touchdown drought.'

'After Cleveland tied the game, Mike Gillislee scored his seventh rushing touchdown of the season to put the Bills ahead on the final play of the quarter. The key play on the drive was a wildcat reverse from Mike Gillislee to Brandon Tate that gained 30 yards.'

'Glenn, who did not practice all week, was listed as doubtful for the game against the Cleveland Browns at New Era Field. Cyrus Kouandjio will start in Glenn's place.'

'If only the Bills could occasionally beat quality opponents, home or away, then maybe they wouldn’t be sitting at 7-7 and barely clinging to hope in the playoff chase following their ho-hum, never-in-doubt 33-13 victory over the still winless Cleveland Browns.'

'I mean, what’s the point when the Browns entered the game ranked 31st in defense and 30th in offense? When they ranked in the bottom five of nearly 20 statistical categories overall? When they are actually worse than even the numbers say?'

'And Bills fans just trying to get through the dog days of yet another December where making the playoffs is as likely as a man in a red suit coming down their chimneys later this week.'

'The Browns managed five first downs and 90 yards of total offense in the first half.'

'Hip hip, hooray. Let’s hear it for the Bills who took care of business against one of the worst NFL teams in recent memory. If you take the win against the Jacoby Brissett-led Patriots out of the mix, the combined record of the other six teams the Bills have beaten this season is 17-65-2. Not exactly much to be proud of. Now, yes, it’s true that every win is a good win in the NFL so kudos to the Bills for not stumbling in this game and suffering what would have been a legendarily horrific loss. They did more than enough against an opponent that was helpless on both sides of the ball, but it didn’t prove a thing to anyone.'

'"Can I say that I never heard about it until you just said it or is that going to be another weeklong discussion?" Ryan said after the game. "Because I never did, and I really don't care because I can tell you this, here's what we all have in common, everybody in here: Nobody knows what my future is. A lot of you don't know what your future is, either, so to me, I just prepare the team to the best of my ability, and that's what I'm going to do."'

'"I mean, he's not really, he's whatever," Gilmore said at his locker after the game. "I followed him the whole game. There's a lot of receivers better than him."'

'With a 33-13 win over the Cleveland Browns in Week 15, the Bills are back to 7-7. However, they could still be eliminated by days end on Sunday if the Denver Broncos manage to beat the New England Patriots. This, Ryan's new favorite team.'