Bills look ahead to 49ers at Candlestick
By: John Kucko
Updated: October 3, 2012
The Bills are looking ahead to Sunday's game in San Francisco. The following are comments from the team beginning with head coach Chan Gailey:
On the strengths of the
49ers:
That is what you are looking for--they play from the
front so to speak. They know what they want to do and they go do it. They have
the people to do it and they are doing a great job of controlling the tempo and
controlling the game.
On this being a tough group to play on the other side
of the line of scrimmage against:
They are physical offensively and defensively on the
lines. They are very strong and to move either side is very difficult. It will
be a great challenge to go play against a team like this.
On the Bills and 49ers aspiring to be similar style
of teams:
Yeah, probably go about it a different way but yeah. To
be honest with you, I think everybody would like to be able to run it as much as
you want to run it. Pick and choose your times to throw it. Play great defense
every time you walk on the field. That is what everybody is trying to get
to.
On having to be mentally tough against San
Francisco:
I think that when you come off of a loss, you have to
travel all the way across the country and you have to go against a good football
team you are going to be challenged mentally. Your toughness mentally and
physically is going to be challenged. That is what we have to get ready for--and
we know that. Everybody on our team understands
that.
On the decision to stay out West before the Arizona
game:
San Francisco has done it the last couple of years. I
talked with (Jim) Harbaugh and he thought there were some real positives of not
making your team fly back-and-forth, putting them on a plane for five to six
hours both ways and adjusting to the time change twice during the course of a
year. That was the decision. I have never done this to be honest with you. It
made a little bit of sense to me not to put your players through that. It is a
little bit of a pain for everybody else involved: for the coaches, for the video
people, for equipment and trainers. But it is better for the players. That is
why you are doing it.
On how much of a hassle it is for the
players:
We will be able to do our job, hopefully without the
jetlag and all of that being a major issue. Taking that out of the equation.
(The players) will still be able to do their
job.
On if DE Mario Williams' wrist has been hampering
him:
Only he can answer that. He has been getting some
treatment, but it has not been a thing that has kept him from ever practicing or
anything like that. How much it bothers a guy, we have guys with ankles, knees,
hips and shoulders. Everything bothers you during a season. How much? Only a
player can answer that. But it is not enough for him to not make every rep in
practice and do what he is doing.
On Williams never appearing on the injury
report:
No, we do not put every ankle, every sprain, shoulder
that hurts or elbow. We do not put that on every injury
report.
On assessing Williams'
performance:
He is trying to play the best he can play, that is for
sure. I think what happens a lot of times is that there is a great deal of
respect for him. They chip him and put a couple of guys on him. Bang him around
in there. Can he play better? Yeah, he can play better but there is a lot of
guys that fall in that category. There is a lot of guys that can play better. I
can coach better. Everybody can do better.
On if it is a disappointment Williams' has not been a
difference maker:
Well I think if he had been one-on-one a lot we would
have seen a lot different. You do not know how much of an impact it has been
just by presence. Does everybody wish the numbers were up? Yeah, we wish the
numbers were up. Sometimes that does not happen. Wait till we get to the end of
the year and then evaluate everything.
On how he defines mental
toughness:
Not letting things affect you that you have no control
over. You cannot let things affect you that you do not have control over. We
have no control over what has happened up until this point. It has happened and
it is there. Now, what are we going to do from here? How strong can you be from
here on? We learn from it and we go forward. We still have our destiny in our
hands. We still have that. How strong can we be? How strong do we need to be to
finish this season the way we need to finish
it?
On if mental toughness can be changed during the
course of a season or if it has to come in leading up to a
season:
That is a great question. If you had that answer you
could probably make a bunch of money. I do not know if anybody knows that. I
think you either have it or you do not have it. Can it get better? Yeah. Can it
worse? Yeah, during the course of a season.
On 49ers S Donte
Whitner:
He has done a great job out there. Donte has made a lot
of plays for them. He is playing that deep secondary safety spot for them.
Getting involved in run. He is playing well for them and there is no need to
talk about what happened here when he played here. He just felt like it was a
better situation out there.
On if the 49ers can stop the run with seven and how
he would characterize their defensive
style:
Yeah, that is what they do. They play a soft secondary
and then when they read run they come 100 miles-per-hour up there. For the most
part, they are trying to keep everything in front of them and trying to play the
run with the front seven.
On the 49ers front
seven:
As good of a tandem as there is in the league. They are
big, strong, physical and they play pass and run. They do it all. They are very,
very good players.
On Williams getting one-on-one matchups against the
Patriots and not excelling:
I cannot speak to that really. I will be honest with
you, I cannot. A guy goes out there and he is trying to do what he does best.
Sometimes you get it and sometimes you do not. You would like to see him have
the opportunity to do that on a regular basis to see exactly what would happen.
It comes sporadically and he has to take advantage of it just like every one of
them do. You have to take advantage of it when you get the
opportunity.
On Williams being the target of
criticism:
Yeah, that comes with the territory. Everybody
understands that. I am the object of criticism, (Ryan Fitzpatrick) is the object
of criticism, everybody is the object of criticism when you do not
win.
On the public perception of
Williams:
I cannot control people's
thoughts.
On S George Wilson saying it is the players
responsibility to make plays:
That is nice of him to say that, but we are all in this
together.
On how much better the offense can be with a healthy
RB Fred Jackson and RB C.J. Spiller:
It is a lot better having both of those and knowing you
are going to have both of them. You never know for how long but that is the
nature of the game. It sure helps our planning to know you have both of those
guys and going to be able to do some of the things you hoped you were able to do
earlier in the year.
On if he has figured out a rotation for how to use
Spiller and Jackson:
Not yet. To be honest with you, I would like to get them
through two or three games before we get back to all of that about how we are
going to use them. There may be a spot or two to use them in the game at the
same time but you really do not want to do that too much.
On if S Jairus Byrd will
practice:
Not today. He will not practice today, but I think he is
going to be fine for the game.
On how WR Ruvell Martin is coming
along:
He is going to practice today. He is coming along
better.
On if TE Scott Chandler and WR Donald Jones are
OK:
Yeah.
QB Ryan
Fitzpatrick
Wednesday, October 03,
2012
On the 49ers being more of an old-school football
team:
It is interesting to see that and to see that they have
been very successful at it. That is another thing with this team. They are able
to possess the ball and sustain long drives. You have to be able to take
advantage of when you have the ball. You have to be able to take advantage of
putting seven points instead of three on the board. That goes into it too. We
have to be able to do a good job of that this
week.
On if this is a daunting stretch of the schedule
upcoming:
I think as a player you try not to look ahead at the
next game or games coming up. We all know the schedule. We know going to the
West Coast and playing is a tough thing. We have two of them in a row. We are
going to put all the focus and effort into San Francisco. This is a stretch of
games here that we are really going to figure out what kind of team this
is.
On if he has been able to let the Patriots loss
go:
Yeah, we are ready to hit the practice field and go. I
think it is human nature to still be pretty disappointed about it. Disappointed
about my performance. I think everybody is disappointed in their performance and
how we played in the second half especially. It is human nature. That game
happened, you cannot just erase it from your memory. But we are professionals
and we are going to move on. We have to because we have another great opponent
coming up this week.
On if this team can step up on the road against
really good teams:
That is exactly right. The East Coast-West Coast thing
is harder. It is not an easy thing so that adds to it as well. The fact that we
are playing two teams in a row here that take care of business at home, that
will be tough for us. I am from Arizona so it is kind of a home game for me.
On spending a week practicing in
Arizona:
It will be interesting. I have not done that before. I
think a lot of that stuff we will talk about next week. We are leaving on
Saturday just like a normal away game and playing on Sunday. That is where our
focus is right now. After the San Francisco game we will be able to talk about
and figure out if that is a good strategy and all that. We are looking forward
to getting a great week of practice here, leaving Saturday and playing on
Sunday.
On what stands out about the
49ers:
They have been very dominant. Not just solid in areas.
They are very dominant in terms of being able to be physical up front and really
setting the tone for a football game. I think that jumps out on film, which is
not something you see all the time.
On what he saw on tape from the New England
game:
The turnovers were the biggest thing. There were a lot
of positives coming out of that game that we had offensively, but you cannot
turn the ball over like that and expect to win games in this league. You cannot
turn the ball over once or twice and expect to win games. The way that got out
of hand at the end, how sloppy we got by the end of that game was not what a
professional football team needs to do and it was not us as an offense.
Unfortunately we have had two games like that this year. I have had two games
where I have been pretty careless with the ball and we have lost both of those.
That is the thing that has been fairly disappointing in my
mind.
On what leads to the
turnovers:
I wish I had the answer for you. We evaluate that game
and try to figure it out. There were just so many different factors that went
into it. Chan (Gailey) talked about our mental toughness and really kind of
challenged us in that area. And I think rightfully so. I think everything did
snowball in that game and it affected us.
On not matching the high expectations of the
preseason:
I think it was gone after the first game and after the
next two it came back a little bit. We cannot continue to lose games in our
division and expect people to expect things out of us. Especially in the fashion
we have lost games in our division. This is a big stretch for us. A big stretch
of games not only for us as a team but being away from home for a couple of
weeks, coming back and really trying to get everybody reenergized.
On how to still be aggressive but not worry about
turning the ball over:
It is something as a quarterback that you have to be
able to do. We are always going to be aggressive. We are always going to try to
take our throws in one-on-one coverage and that kind of stuff. Interceptions are
going to happen at times, but I have to be able to limit them and not be
careless with the ball like I was on Sunday.
On the 49ers performance against the
Jets:
That was an impressive game. I watched the defensive
film obviously. The way that they were flying around, hitting people, taking
away the run game and not giving any big plays in the pass game. It was
definitely a statement game for them. I think everybody in the league, they have
their attention in terms of what they did last year. But to come out this year
and come out the way they have. For us, it is an unfamiliar opponent. To be able
to watch them on tape a little bit, it has been as
advertised.
On needing mental toughness against the
49ers:
It will be a great week for us to show that. Plugging in
different guys in different positions. For us this will be a big game in terms
of where we are mentally.
On the persona of the
49ers:
I have not played them in the last few years so maybe I
will be able to answer that better on Sunday. It jumps out at you that they are
a physical team that flies around, I think that is apparent when you watch the
film.
RB Fred Jackson
Wednesday October 3,
2012
On having the better rushing
attack:
Yeah, I mean it is something that is going to control
the game. If we can go out there and get a ground game established it will take
the pressure off a lot of people. Also it will be a good thing for us to do. We
know we are going to go up against two good running backs out there. I think
that Brandon Jacobs says that he is healthy so he will come in and so will Frank
(Gore). We know what he is capable of doing and it will be a good challenge for
our defense, but we feel that we can run the ball
too.
On his thoughts about matching up with their physical
front seven:
Yes, it is the best for a reason. They do some
tremendous things so for us to go out there and be able to move the ball
effectively, running the ball, is going to be huge for us. It is a challenge I'm
looking forward to.
DT Marcell
Dareus
Wednesday October 3,
2012
On having a bounce back game this week as a
defense:
Yeah, we have to have a bounce back game. That was a
tough loss, like I said a tough two halves. We have to bounce back and have a
moral victory for us. We need something.
On his thoughts about improving from Sunday and
having a stand out game against the run:
We really just have to focus in all eyes on the run and
pass, just them all the way around. They have a lot of run plays that we have to
defend against and we are going to do our best. We are going to do the best we
can to stop them.
On his thoughts about playing a physical San
Francisco team:
Well you know I am a tough guy and guys around me play
tough. I rise to the challenge. I don't care whatever they got. We are going to
do the best we can to be ready for them.
On his thoughts about playing the next 4 out of 5
games on the road:
We don't look at it we just play; don't really look at
it just go out there and do the best you can and play. Don't put too much
thought into it.
WR Stevie
Johnson
Wednesday October 3,
2012
On if staying on the west coast will be
disruptive:
It is not going to be disruptive. Every team has done
this before so we know it is nothing new. We just have to go out there and take
care of business at the end of the day, no matter if you're traveling to San
Francisco or traveling to New York City to play the Jets. It is still another
game that we have to play.
On if it will feel special playing in Candlestick
Park:
Yes, I have never played there but I have been there two
times. I think it is going to be something cool just for when I come out onto
the field, but after that it is all done.
On if his friends and family will be attending the
game:
Yes, if they are not there they will be watching. I know
everyone in the whole area will be watching the game. Hopefully, I can do what I
do and we bring a win and I have the bragging
rights.
On his thoughts about playing a tough road
schedule:
It is a great opportunity for us. It is not going to be
easy; no one said it is going to be easy. It is going to be tough, but you know
at the same time we look at it as an opportunity to elevate our status and in
this division and overall as a team. We got these tough opponents, first the
(San Francisco) 49ers then Arizona (Cardinals). If we win them then we will be
back where we want to be, back where we need to
be.
On the 49ers
defense:
They are fast, they are aggressive. They're not too
complicated as far as mixing things up with blitzes and all that. They are
pretty confident in their schemes and stuff, but they don't make too many
mistakes as a defense. It is pretty much the same people on every play. They are
a smart defense and we have to be able to be on the same level if not better
when we go out there and play on Sunday.
DT Kyle
Williams
Wednesday October 3,
2012
On if he knew the fine was coming on
Monday:
I figured it was but I mean at the same time I asked the
official during the game 'what do you want me to do?' He didn't say anything and
I wasn't exactly calm when I asked him. But I am trying to figure out when you
are getting blocked down and you are going down and the guy still has the ball...
I didn't dive into the side of his leg or spear into the side of his leg... I
hit him with my forearm in his calf and he went down. I mean you have guys out
there hitting (Ryan Fitzpatrick) Fitz in the chest with their helmet when he is
going down. I don't know what you are supposed to
do.
On rebounding from last week and defending against a
good running attack:
Well you know I think it is a little different running
game. These guys more are going to come off and try to knock you off the ball
and out play you physically and give it to the guy downhill and let him get his
yards. They have a lot of different running games that you have to be prepared
for. We have to be pretty sharp on what we are doing. It is going to be a big
game and a big challenge.
On if their running game is pure
power:
A lot of it is. They line up and they will come off on
double teams and try to knock you off the ball. They try to be physical. They
want to run the ball no matter what you are in and to step up their pass game.
It will be a big challenge.
DE Mario
Williams
Wednesday, October 03,
2012
On shutting down the 49ers rushing
attack:
We have to get back to our assignment football, playing
our keys and being in our gaps when we are supposed to. Get after
it.
On the 49ers trying to copy the run plays New England
found success with:
Yeah, it is a copycat league. As long as we go out and
fix the mistakes of being in the proper gaps and assignments we can handle
it.
On if he is satisfied with his
play:
I have to have more impact, more of a role in things and
get back to playing like I used to play. Just get back there. Being able to use
my hands and stay healthy. Just get better.
On what is wrong with his
wrist:
Just a little deal going on, but we have already
mentioned that before and it is just lingering a little longer than expected.
Just have to get back out there, try to deal with and play better with
it.
On what his wrist limits him from
doing:
I am a hands-on player. It is all about power with my
game. It has just been a little odd having a little nick or not being able to
use it to the full extent. You have to play. When you are out there on Sunday
you have to play regardless of what is going on the field. You have to make it
happen. The biggest thing in just finding ways to heal and get out there and
play at full speed.
On how long his wrist in going to hinder
him:
I do not expect it to hinder me all year, but it has
already been almost six weeks now. It is a little longer than normal. I did not
expect it. It is what it is and we have to find a way to get through it. Be able
to play like normal.
On if it is
frustrating:
Yeah it is definitely frustrating for it to happen when
it did happen and not when anything counted. That was the biggest thing. Coming
out of the fourth preseason game and that happening with the whole wrist and
everything. But it is fine. Like I said, it just limits you and it is kind of
frustrating.
On how much pressure he puts on his
wrist:
I put a lot of pressure on it. It comes down to finding
a way to do it and try to overlook it. It is a big part of my game and I just
have to go out and do it. If I am playing on Sunday, I have to go out there and
do it. At the end of the day, that is the way it
is.
On if his torn pectoral muscle (from last year) is
still bothering him:
No. That is fine. That is fine. That is not a big
deal.
On how frustrating Sunday's game
was:
When you sit there and you go out play assignment
football, respond to turnovers like we did in the first half and for the second
half to be totally different. Across the board, we did not play assignment
football. We did not respond to turnovers. Even though there were more turnovers
in the second half, we were on the field a lot mo
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