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Bills Spoil Jets Postseason Hopes
Gameday Grades: Rex Ryan's scheme may have been the downfall of the Bills season but the players fit it today for their beleagured head coach and got the win for him that kept his old team out of the playoffs. Gameday Grades.
Bills Blitz: When push came to shove the old Ryan Fitzpatrick returned to Ralph Wilson Stadium. Fitz threw three interceptions in the fourth quarter to allow the Bills to shatter the Jets postseason dreams with a 22-17 victory to close out the season 8-8. The Bills struck early with Tyrod Taylor running 18 yards for the first score followed by a Karlos Williams two yard plunge to give the Bills an early 13-0 lead. Dan Carpenter missed the extra point but he did hit three field goals from 20, 37, and 42 yards out to give the Bills the points they needed for the win. Fitzpatrick did throw two touchdown passes hitting Brandon Marshall for a 17 yard score and Eric Decker for a 21 yard score before he got charitable against his former team. Bills Blitz.
Injury Update: IK Eemkpali left the game with a foot injury while Karlos Williams was lost with a knee injury. Neither returned to action. John Miller gave it a go but once again missed playing time with the ongoing ankle injury. Kyle Urbik replaced him in the lineup. Ronald Darby aggravated his groin injury late in the game. Injury Page.
Gameday Inactives: Nigel Bradham and LeSean McCoy were ruled out on Friday and are the injured inactives for this game. Three other injured players, Marcus Easley, Charles Clay, and Ron Brooks were placed on injured reserve this week so they don't count towards the inactive list. The five healthy scratches are Josh Johnson, Max Valles, T.J. Barnes, Dezmin Lewis, and Lavar Edwards. Bilal Powell will not play for the Jets.
Wintry Weather For Finale: What else would you expect for weather in Western New York in January? Snow showers expected throughout the day in Orchard Park with 1"-3" of snow possible. Temperatures will hover around the freezing mark but drop throughout the afternoon. Wind will also be a factor as it will be out of the west at 20mph possibly gusting up to 30mph.
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Friday January 1, 2016
Bradham, McCoy Ruled Out: The Bills have ruled out LeSean McCoy and Nigel Bradham with their injuries. They are added to the list of three players who were placed on injured reserve earlier in the week, Marcus Easley, Charles Clay, and Ron Brooks. The team expectes Ronald Darby to play which is good news considering the depleted secondary corps. He is probable along with Tyrod Taylor, Chris Hogan, Mario Williams, Bacarri Rambo, John Miller, and Marcel Dareus. Speaking of Dareus he was late to practice because of the snow in Orchard Park. He had to be picked up by Jerry Hughes and driven to the stadium. Cordy Glenn was back practicing after being out on Thursday with an illness. Injury Page.
Thursday December 31, 2015
Dareus A Full Go: Marcel Dareus was a full go in practice today putting him on target to likely play. Cordy Glenn sat out practice with an illness but it appears he will play on Sunday. LeSean McCoy and Nigel Bradham sat out Thursday's practice. Bradham was limited on Wednesday and it appears unlikely he will go in the finale. Bacarri Rambo and John Miller returned to practice on a limited basis after sitting Wednesday. Tyrod Taylor, Mario Williams, and Ronald Darby will limited once again. Injury Page.
AP Report: Mario To Be Released: John Warrow of the Associated Press is reporting that the Bills have made the decision to release Mario Williams at the end of the season. This is not a surprise since he has a cap figure north of $12 Million next year and he doesn't fit in well with Rex Ryan's defense. He has also been a staunch critic of the scheme. The only odd thing is the timing of the news break. The report cites a person with direct knowledge of the discussions. There is no timetable for when the release will happen. The source also tells AP that Kyle Williams will be brought back as long as he recovers from his knee injury which is expected.
Jets Game Preview: There is plenty of high drama for a regular season finale that means nothing for the Bills as far as making the playoffs. Rex Ryan tries to keep his former team out of the playoffs that is led by a quarterback that was once viewed as the Bills franchise quarterback. Ryan Fitzpatrick makes his first trip back to the Ralph since being released by the Bills after the 2012 season. He brings his former coach in Buffalo with him as Chan Gailey coordinates the 8th ranked offense in the NFL. Some Bills are calling this their Super Bowl and no doubt Ryan wants it bad but make no mistake so does Fitzpatrick and Gailey. They likely want it more because a win gets Fitzpatrick to the playoffs for the first time his 11 year career. Complete Preview.
Wednesday December 30, 2015
Taylor Limited But Playing: Tyrod Taylor was limited in practice with a right shoulder issue. He said it isn't a problem and he is definitely playing on Sunday. LeSean McCoy, Bacarri Rambo, and John Miller did not practice. McCoy is almost certainly not going to play, Ryan said it doesn't look good. Rambo will likely sit as well or be limited on Sunday with Jonathan Meeks getting the majority of the snaps at safety. Miller may be better off sitting as he aggravates his high ankle sprain everytime he plays. Ronald Darby was limited and being brought along slowly. They are hopeful he will be able to return from his groin injury for the finale because they certainly need him at the depleted corner spot. Nigel Bradham, Marcel Dareus, and Mario Williams were also limited. Bradham is likely the biggest question mark of that group. Injury Page.
Pegula Keeping Ryan & Whaley: Terry Pegula issued a statement pledging his support of his head coach and general manager. The move was not unexpected although a statement before the end of the season wasn't anticipated. It read: "As our first full season as owners of the Buffalo Bills draws to a close, management, coaches, players and fans all feel that our expectations were not met. Kim, Russ and I look forward to working and collaborating with Doug Whaley and Rex Ryan in forming a winning future for the organization. Our management team and coaching staff are very capable and work well together. This stable foundation is necessary to achieve long term success in the NFL.”
Two Elevated: As expected the Bills promoted two players from their practice squad. They bolstered their very banged up cornerback corps by elevating Merril Noel and Sammy Seamster from that unit. The two will likely see playing time with just two healthy corners in Mario Butler and Leodis McKelvin. Rex Ryan said today he does hope that Ronald Darby will be able to play. They will bring him along slowly this week in hopes that he can go but they will have to wait and see. The team replenished the practice squad by adding a third tight end, Manasseh Garner and S Phillip Thomas. Front Office Page.
Tuesday December 29, 2015
Two More To IR: The Bills have added two more to the injured reserve list heading into the season finale. Charles Clay and Ron Brooks will not play Sunday so they placed them on the list leaving two open spots on the active roster. The Bills are really hurting heading into the finale at corner with just three healthy players at the position to go up against the Jets four wide receiver attack. They are hopeful Ronald Darby will return from his hamstring injury. The team will likely fill the roster spots by elevating players from the practice squad. Prime candidates are corners Merril Noel and Sammy Seamster and tight ends Blake Annen and Jacob Maxwell. Depth Chart.
Monday December 28, 2015
Bills Claim WR: The Bills have claimed WR Leondard Hankerson off of waivers from the Patriots. He was a starter in Atlanta at the beginning of the year. He suffered an injury and was later released and picked up by New England. The Pats waived him but had hoped to re-sign him. He was a third round pick of the Redskins in 2011. The team placed Marcus Easley on IR to make room for him.
Rex Ryan Presser: Rex Ryan addressed the media today and updated the injury situation. He said Marcus Easley suffered a major, major injury. He dislocated his knee cap and broke his knee in three places. He is expected to be ready for next season which is surprising with such a horrific injury. He hopes to have Marcel Dareus back. He suffered loss of feeling in his fingers after suffering the neck injury yesterday but he has since regained the feeling and he said he will play. The team is not sure if they will have LeSean McCoy back it does seem to make sense to let him sit with his MCL injury. Charles Clay is not expected to play with his back injury. The coach hopes he has Ronald Darby back since the Jets use 4 WR sets often. Bacarri Rambo has been gutting it out with knee and shoulder injuries but he expects Jonathan Meeks to get a lot of playing time in his place in the finale. Other tidbits from the presser, the coach questioned Bill Polian's assertion the offensive line his too old and unathletic. He feels Mike Gillislee has earned a spot on the team next year. He spoke to Percy Harvin who had surgery and expects to resume his NFL career. The coach said he needs to talk to Tyrod Taylor about not running so much. He praised the play of John Miller but he keeps re-injuring his ankle. He also likes A.J. Tarpley but he needs to get bigger.
2016 Opponents: The Bills are now locked into third place in the division as is the intra division opponents they would face. That means the 2016 list of opponents is now set. Besides the home and away games within the division the Bills will host Arizona, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, and Jacksonville. To get ready for your road trip the Bills will travel to Baltimore, Cincinnati, St. Louis, Seattle, and Oakland. Of course the Oakland and/or the St. Louis games could end up being in Los Angeles. That could mean up to three trips to the West Coast. The home schedule will bring a lot of visiting fans for the Steelers and Browns fans since they are within a few hours drive of Buffalo. 2016 Opponents.
Finale Remains At 1pm: The buzz after yesterday's game was that the finale against the Jets may be flexed to Sunday Night Football or maybe to a 4:25pm start. The reason for that buzz was because the Jets can get into the playoffs with a win thanks to their victory over the Patriots and a Steelers loss yesterday. The game was not flexed however and will remain at 1pm. The NFL wanted the Jets and Steelers to play at the same time since their results will directly effect each other's fate. The Sunday Night game will be the battle for the NFC North title between the Vikings and Packers.
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