Two Bills Drive

‘Despite their obvious struggles, the Buffalo Bills will continue to use young, inexperienced players on special teams. Coach Wade Phillips said he has no choice. "They have to play," he said. "I think a lot of them are going to be good, so we’ve just got to keep going with them."’

‘Tight end Jay Riemersma, one of the team’s few reliable offensive threats, suffered a sprained medial collateral ligament in his left knee that will sideline him at least four weeks, general manager John Butler said.’

‘I don’t know how Polian could have prevented the special teams breakdown that cost the Bills last season’s playoff game against Tennessee. I believe Phillips is doing a decent job (23-13 regular-season record) and I would describe Butler more as a life jacket than an anchor. The Bills had the NFL’s second-best record in the 1990s and Polian left after the 1992 season, which means most of the current Bills came aboard under Butler’s watch.’

‘Did the Bills play the New York Jets on Sept. 17, or did they just play themselves in some intra-squad scrimmage? Apparently, it was an intra-squad scrimmage because most of the Bills said they beat themselves after the 27-14 loss in Giants Stadium to fall 2-1 on the year.’

Straight from the coaches and players…

Photos from the Bills/Jets game.

‘"We made mistakes, certainly," Phillips said. "We felt like we could’ve won the game. Certainly, we could have if we don’t make the big mistakes that we made. … You can’t do those things and win. But those things are correctible, easily correctible in my opinion."’

‘For the first time since 1966, when a fellow named Namath was their quarterback, the New York Jets find themselves 3-0. :That’s a long time to not be 3-0," Jets cornerback Marcus Coleman said with a grin Sunday shortly after his team dumped the previously unbeaten Buffalo Bills 27-14, a win in which Coleman was an unlikely hero. "But I’ll tell you what. We’re not going to stop at 3-0. We’re going to keep this thing going."’

‘Come November, this is one of those games the Buffalo Bills will look back on with regret. The scoreboard at Giants Stadium on Sunday afternoon read: Jets 27, Bills 14. But Buffalo quarterback Rob Johnson didn’t see it as a New York victory. "We feel we gave the game away," he said. "We didn’t lose it."’

‘Jones, the Bills first-year special teams coach emphasized he’s not one to make excuses. But he did have some explanations why his unit gave up a 97-yard kickoff return to Kevin Williams. “It’s really a trickle down effect with special teams when you lose someone off the starting units,” Jones said. “For instance, we lost Sam Rogers, so Corey Moore becomes a starter. Then he gets hurt. Now, you’ve got guys shuffling around playing different positions that they haven’t taken reps at. “Because you’re very limited on your numbers going into a game, so you’re coaching guys on the run,” he continued. “(On the touchdown return) it was a breakdown of one player that didn’t read the return right. It’s a return we worked on all week, there was nothing tricky about it. “Everyone came down and worked to the right, one guy worked to the left, there was a crease there, then a missed tackle or two and it’s off to the races,” Jones added.’

‘When the Buffalo Bills’ special teams unraveled in last season’s playoff game, low-lighted by the ‘Music City Miracle’ kickoff return that turned victory into defeat, there had to be a scapegoat. Sure enough, shortly afterward, DeHaven became the ex-Bills special teams coach. And when his replacement, Ronnie Jones, was hired, head coach Wade Phillips made it clear that he would be ‘more involved’ in that aspect of the game. Thank goodness. Imagine how badly the Bills would have lost on Sunday afternoon had he not had a hand in the not-so-special teams.’

‘Maybe it shouldn’t have been, but it was an easy victory for the New York Jets over the Buffalo Bills on Sunday at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. That’s because the Bills made it easy. "We shot ourselves in the foot too many times," Bills safety Keion Carpenter said.’

‘As the Bills players looked around the locker room afterward, they were forced to admit one thing: We have found the enemy, and the enemy is us.’

‘Nobody has to tell Ronnie Jones what’s coming this week. He knows. The Buffalo Bills’ rookie special teams coach expects to be the target of criticism from the media and fans after his unit contributed greatly to the team’s 27-14 loss to the New York Jets on Sunday. However, Jones claims he won’t see or hear any of it. "No offense, but I don’t read newspapers, which is probably a good thing this week," he said outside the Bills’ locker room. "I don’t listen to talk shows. I’m not a total idiot, so I know when we didn’t do well." Saying the Bills didn’t do well on special teams is putting it mildly. The kickoff coverage, ranked 29th in the NFL before Sunday, has been lousy since the preseason and it does not appear to be improving.’

‘Before the Bills went to training camp, coach Wade Phillips said he intended "to become involved in the special teams." Wade wouldn’t want to have his fingerprints discovered on this game.’