Archives for January 2, 2017

'They surrendered 20 points on sheer gaffes.'

'“The main thing with A-Lynn is he needs to be evaluated on what he’s done through the season,” veteran defensive tackle Kyle Williams said. “To throw a guy out there with basically three days (to get ready) and try to be a head coach … I don’t think that’s a fair assessment.'

'A sellout of 78,160 was announced but the in-stadium attendance looked to be half that at most.'

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'They gave an atrocious performance in all phases. You can say that their chances for victory were heavily compromised by the fact they chose to sit starting quarterback Tyrod Taylor rather than expose him to a possible injury that would force them to pay him $27.5 million whether he would be physically able to play or not next season.'

'“He’s got to step in and play,” interim coach Anthony Lynn said. “He didn’t have the reps all year, but he had a good week of practice and I fully thought he was going to play better than that.”'

'Whaley took Washington in the third round, rather than get more needed help at wide receiver. Washington regressed as the season went on and sat for Deandre Coleman on Sunday. In the fourth round, Whaley drafted quarterback Cardale Jones, knowing that Jones wouldn't be a factor this season – and so he wouldn't threaten EJ Manuel as backup. Interim head coach Anthony Lynn said he played Jones on Sunday only because Manuel was ineffective.'

'The Bills even left us with their signature 2016 play Sunday. On a kickoff return in the fourth quarter, Mike Gillislee watched the ball roll into the end zone, where the Jets jumped on it for a free touchdown.'

'“Obviously it wasn’t a smart decision. He was thinking that the ball rolled in the end zone, that it was dead ball,” interim coach Anthony Lynn said. “You know, it just wasn’t a smart decision by him. You would think he’d know that, but he didn’t. You never expect that to happen in the National Football League from anyone, at any time.”'

'The last player to finish in negative yardage on at least 10 rushes, excluding quarterbacks, was Chicago fullback John Adams in 1961, per Pro Football Reference data.'

'A win in the season finale would've dropped the Bills back to 13th. Cleveland (1-15) and San Francisco (2-14) have the first two picks. The first tiebreaker is strength of schedule.'

'The interim head coach even admitted after one of the more embarrassing performances in franchise history that his expected interview for the full-time job might not happen based on the way the game went. Presumably, he was half-kidding, because it's hard to imagine team owners Terry and Kim Pegula would base their assessment on a single game.'

'The Bills’ offensive philosophy was a bit hard to understand Sunday. They opted to smash into the teeth of the Jets’ defense. On 18 first-down plays with EJ Manuel at quarterback, the Bills ran 15 times for just 38 total yards. Why not use more play-action passes? Maybe the coaches didn’t trust putting the game on Manuel’s shoulders.'

'Could there be a more perfect coda to the Bills’ 17th straight non-playoff season? Mike Gillislee failed to pick up a fourth-quarter kickoff that rolled into the end zone, and Doug Middleton scooped it up for a touchdown.'

'Jets running back Bilal Powell. He became another in a line of opposing running backs to rumble through the Bills' defense with 122 yards on 22 carries.'