Archives for October 2, 2017

'Also out for the Bills against Atlanta are: Guard Vlad Ducasse, running back Joe Banyard, tight end Khari Lee, wide receiver Brandon Tate and left tackle Cordy Glenn, who was previously ruled out because of injuries to his left foot and right ankle.'

'It was a huge performance for the defense, and it came down to a stop on fourth-and-1 from the Falcons 10 when Ryan threw incomplete to Taylor Gabriel in the right flat.'

'Well, four weeks into 2017, the Bills are laughing at everybody, and that is certainly their right because they’ve proven all of the naysayers wrong. They already have three wins, and that’s good enough for sole possession of first place in the AFC East thanks to another wonderful Patriots home-field loss Sunday.'

'“It’s a great win, but there’s no statement wins in Week 4 of the NFL season,” the always even-keeled Williams said. “We’ve got a long way to go and we’re just going to continue to work and get better. We’ll take them as they come.”'

'Sean McDermott has the Bills fully engaged and buying into everything he’s teaching. He has his team ready to play every week, and they rarely make the dumb mistakes that haven’t often derailed previous Bills teams. Rick Dennison discovered that throwing the ball downfield can be useful, and he smartly found ways to get Charles Clay deep a few times. On defense, Leslie Frazier has turned the Bills into a smart, fundamentally sound group that doesn’t wilt in the big moments, and makes big plays when they are there to be made. Tremendous job.'

'Start with a complaint persistently issued by lifelong Bills fans: “they never seem to get a break.” Buffalo got a ton of them on Sunday, of which four were enormously important.'

'Atlanta wide receiver Justin Hardy’s game-tying touchdown reception with seven minutes to play was the first TD pass surrendered by the Bills this season.'

'It’s tough to say enough about the Bills’ secondary. Micah Hyde had a pair of interceptions, and Tre’Davious White returned a fumble for a touchdown. Meanwhile, the Bills held Matt Ryan to 5.8 yards per attempt.'

'Clay had Buffalo's edge rushers ranked 27th in the league, linebackers 24th and, as previously mentioned, the cornerbacks and safeties as dead last in the league. The only unit to fare well in Clay's preseason rankings was Buffalo's interior defensive line (6th). Overall, Buffalo's defensive rankings had them 30th in Clay's projections before the start of the season.'

'"It changed a little bit," Bills safety Micah Hyde said. "All week we had been game planning around (Julio Jones). With him going out of the game, it kind of freed things up for us. Then when (Mohamed Sanu) went out, we sort of had a sense of 'We need to step on their throat.'"'

'He's not been the prolific weapon the Bills paid him to be, but Clay showed what he is capable both with ball in hand and blocking on the edge against Atlanta. His 112 yards led the team and it was built on some good work after the catch. He forced three missed tackles as the Falcons struggled to bring him down. His 5.33 yards per route run leads all tight ends so far this week.'

'"We practice these situations a lot more than we have in the past," Bills defensive tackle Jerel Worthy said. "When we get out there, it feels a little bit more comfortable than it did in the past. To be honest with this team, we attribute our success to preparation. I think we prepare a lot differently. Coach McDermott keeps us on our toes in team meetings. He'll call you out in team meetings and ask a random question about the offense. You have to know the situation and know what the offense is thinking. He just tries to make the game a little slower for us."'

'“I’m happy for the team. Those guys worked hard, the coaches worked hard, the players worked extremely hard. We have a group of hard workers. The coaches put together a good game plan across the board and they stayed with it. This is a tough place to play. They are the defending NFC Champions, with one of the top quarterbacks in the league. Things didn’t always go our way. We had some things we would like back so we have some work we have to do in that regard, but I am just extremely happy with the way the guys battled, they are a very resilient group and extremely appreciative of the fans that showed up to cheer us on. I can’t say enough about that. It was just a great showing by our fans both from Buffalo and from this region that just showed up. I really appreciate the support.”'

'"Y'all picked us to lose, so y'all come talk to the winners!," McCoy shouted. "Come on. Come talk to us. We want to talk! Y'all picked us to lose, but we want to talk to the winners, right? Come on, come on! We all around. We were supposed to lose today, but we won, so come talk to the winners! Yeah, in Atlanta!"'

'Remember when Gilmore & Gillislee went to NE, Boldin retired, Darby & Watkins were traded and this was a "throw away" season for the #Bills?'