Bills Monday Review
By: John Kucko
Updated: September 17, 2012
The Bills returned to work on Monday following Sunday's home opener win over Kansas City. Below is a transcript of comments beginning with head coach Chan Gailey:
On if there is an update on RB Fred Jackson:
On FS Jairus Byrd's
foot:
He played the whole game and it came out today a little
bit more swollen than all of us had hoped. I think he will be fine for this
weekend.
On if anyone else is banged
up:
No. It looks like we came out pretty good in the ball
game. Nothing major for sure. Some little minor things may keep guys out of some
work during the course of the week, but I think we will have everybody for
Sunday.
On if Byrd's x-ray came out
clean:
Yeah.
On if WR Ruvell Martin had an
x-ray:
He had one, too, and it came out negative. So that was
positive.
On CB/PR Leodis McKelvin making an impact on special
teams:
The same thing happened last year if you remember. We
started playing Aaron (Williams) a lot more and Leodis (McKelvin) went, played
special teams and did an outstanding job. That is the way he is. He is a true
professional. We felt like with the match-up we had with this ball game we were
going to give Justin (Rogers) a chance to go out there and play. He was playing
so well we just left it the way it was. He was doing a good job. He did not do
it all right, but he did a good job for his first time out there. Leodis has a
big impact on our team in special teams. He played 24 or 25 snaps on special
teams and did a great job.
On if CB Justin Rogers will remain the nickel
corner:
He will stay there right now and (Rogers and Leodis
McKelvin) will both keep practicing there. We will see how it goes in the
future.
On how big McKelvin's punt return for a touchdown
was:
You can never understate how big a punt return or a
kicking game play is in a ball game. I would venture to say if you look at the
first couple games overall in the season the kicking game has had as big of
impact on wins and losses as maybe anything has. And that is the way it normally
is until they settle in. That is what happens in
games.
On if McKelvin has trouble getting over mistakes and
moving on:
I do not know that, you would have to ask him. I do not
get that feeling but you would have to ask him about that. That is just
something that each individual deals with and handles in their own way. I have a
hard time judging that. All we can judge is how they
play.
On the defensive line's performance
yesterday:
I said it again yesterday and I will say it again today,
it all works together. We had tighter coverage, which allowed the defensive line
to get some pressure on the passer and to create some sacks and some turnovers.
It all works together. You cannot be bad in one area or average in one area and
expect to be a good defense. It has to all work together, but they are playing
the run extremely well right now. We got some pressure on the passer but we have
to continue that. That is not a given every week. You have to go make it happen.
On how the defensive line responded after their Week
One performance:
I would expect them to respond, but I thought our entire
team responded that way. It was not just that group. Everybody had something
negative about the first game. We all did. We all wanted to do something to come
out and rectify that.
On how DT Marcell Dareus is
doing:
I think he is OK. He left last night and I think he will
be OK. He understands exactly what he needs to do in the next couple days so
that he can get back here and be ready to go whenever he gets back, whenever
that is.
On when Dareus is expected
back:
I do not know yet.
On watching DT Kyle Williams
play:
It is always been great to watch him play. He is
100-miles-per-hour every time the ball is snapped. He is hard to handle
one-on-one for anybody whether it is run or pass. It is fun to watch those
guys.
On having Williams back being as big of an impact as
brining in DE Mark Anderson and DE Mario
Williams:
Sure it is. And when you start writing it down on paper,
he is the guy that you have penciled in there to be an impact player. When you
started adding these other pieces and you got Kyle back, that has a huge impact
on your defense.
On QB Ryan Fitzpatrick using his body to try to make
plays:
I probably do not get on him, but I do not encourage it
for sure. But that is who he is. I just ask him to be smart. He is a Harvard
grad. Hopefully he is smart (jokingly).
On how far along the offensive line has
come:
I give a lot of credit to those guys, but to Joe
D'Alessandris as well. He does a great job of making sure those guys are on the
same page. They are working together as a unit and communicating extremely well
right now. They have given us two excellent performances, really, in the last
two weeks. We have to continue to use them and what their abilities allow us to
do.
On TE Scott Chandler filling WR David Nelson's
role:
I do not think there is a role to fill. Who is going to
get the catches? It is probably going to be spread around. Is Scott (Chandler)
going to get some more? Probably so. I do not know that you say OK who is going
to take his spot. It is not taking a spot. We are going to try to have the same
production in the pass game and he is going to have more of an impact in the
pass game because of it.
On the biggest difference in RB C.J. Spiller's
game:
Patience is a word I would use. He is not just seeing
the first cut and saying I am going to take that 100-hundred-miles-per-hour. He
tries to see everything and read everything. Then when he makes a good decision,
he is exploding through the crease. The thing to me is that he is running with
confidence which means he runs stronger. He runs through arm tackles. I see that
a lot more than earlier in his career.
If Spiller could handle 25 carries per
game:
Can he? Yes he can. Will we ask him to? Probably not. I
would like to not go out there and just run him 25 times a game, but if that is
what it takes to win the game, that is what we will do. You would rather not.
When we get Fred (Jackson) back, and (Tashard) Choice did a great job, he really
did do a good job yesterday. But when you get Fred back, you feel a lot more
comfortable with splitting those carries and keeping both of them
fresh.
On if there is an update on RB Fred Jackson:
Nope. Same.
On giving the Chiefs a lot of different looks
defensively:
Yeah. That was the plan going in to balance the pressure
and the eight drops. Try to keep them off balance a bit more. That was Dave's
(Wannstedt) plan I believe.
On concerns over the replacement
officials:
I think coaches in general, and players in general,
complain about officials. I do not care who they are. That is just our nature.
We want everything to go not only perfect, but our way. And they do not. If you
are looking for a perfect scenario you are never going to find it because the
human element is involved.
On the defensive creativity being a product of a poor
performance in Week One:
No. That was Chiefs stuff. We wanted to do some things
against them that we felt like would be good in that ball game. It may change
this week.
QB Ryan
Fitzpatrick
Monday, September 17,
2012
On getting past a win and moving onto the next
game:
You have to make sure when you have a win like this,
everybody is happy and upbeat but there is still a lot we can learn from that
game moving forward. You do the same thing; you evaluate what went right and
what went wrong. You learn from it. You put it behind you and move onto the
Browns. That is the nature of the NFL. You saw when we went out there (that) we
did not carry what happened the week before with us in terms of hanging our
heads or being discouraged. We went out there facing a new opponent with a new
week and we played well. That is what you have to do in this
league.
On the offensive line setting a physical tone right
from kickoff:
Yeah. They were nasty out there. They did a great job.
It is really nice to see them getting some credit. The way C.J. (Spiller) is
running the ball right now, no sacks in two games--the things you can look at
stats-wise for an offensive line. They have done a pretty outstanding job the
first two games.
On the offensive line's
development:
They have worked together for a while now and you bring
someone like Cordy (Glenn) in; to have all of that experience around him, with
those guys being able to bring him up to speed, and the communication that goes
on during a game, these guys have done it together now for a little while. The
continuity up front, we always talk about it in general, but those guys up front
it is a big deal. The communication is much smoother. Being able to block
various schemes with the way people are defending us, they have done a really
good job with a lot of that.
On his own
performance:
The first throw of the game was not a good one. It was
one of those games where essentially with the way we were running the ball, I
was just asked to manage the game. Not turn the ball over, let's get with the
right runs and make the right decisions. That is one of my favorite ways to
play. Sit back there and score a lot of points and watch the guys up front do
work. Stevie (Johnson) had a nice little run after the catch. Scott (Chandler)
made a nice play on a naked (bootleg) to get a bunch of yards. But that is fun
as a quarterback to be able to sit back there and win a game like
that.
On the use of play action with RB C.J. Spiller being
so effective:
Yeah, that should be good for us. I think when you look
at us and the success we have had early on this season, when you are facing us
you say stop the run. That is the number one thing. That is something we want to
be able to continue to do is run the ball and let C.J. find those hole and
creases. That is how we want to exploit defenses. They have to be able to
respect that and we have to be able to do some play action off of it and get the
ball down field. We are going to keep building upon what we have done so far the
first couple of games on the ground and
improve.
On being perfect in red zone touchdown efficiency so
far:
That is a big deal, in terms of converting those drives
to seven points rather than the three. That is something we really take a lot of
pride in. I think we have some good weapons down there. I think when you are
able to run the ball effectively like we have, that really helps in the red zone
as well. We have some good targets. We have some guys that are great versus man
and guys that are great versus zone finding holes. I think that is why we have
been successful.
On if TE Scott Chandler can be the key guy in the red
zone:
I think so. You saw it last year, especially the
beginning of the year the way he was able to catch some of those touchdowns
early on. He is a guy that has really emerged, really since last season he has
improved so much. I think how comfortable I am with him running his routes, the
communication we have and really he is just a huge target. That makes a big
difference down there in the red zone. He has done a great job for us, not only
in the red zone, but in the field in terms of being a real viable threat in the
passing game.
On if Chandler can be WR David Nelson's
replacement:
I think in general we are moving a little bit away from
the four-wide stuff this year because of what he has been able to do, what he
has shown this offseason and what he showed last year. Now with David (Nelson)
being out, we do not really have that four wide receiver option as much as we
did. We will have to lean on Scott (Chandler) even more. I think he welcomes
that. I think that is something we feel good about because he is a great
receiver.
On not sliding when he
scrambles:
When I go to the sideline there is usually about three
or four guys who talk to me and then in film, the same
thing.
On if it annoys him when people get on him for not
sliding:
No. I understand where they are coming from and I
understand I need to be smart.
On how you even out the highs of a
win:
A lot of the time, like today we are excited and we are
happy. But once you dive into that next opponent I think it is very easy to stay
level and put all of your focus and energy into that rather than reading the
newspaper, talking to you guys, getting pats on the back or booed--whatever it
is. I think when you dive into your next opponent and put your energy into that,
that is an easy way at least for me to put everything behind you and move
on.
On the offensive blueprint the team used from the
start against the Chiefs:
I think in looking at what we did this offseason that is
what we wanted to do, limit turnovers. You saw with some of the additions we
made having a dominant defense, which I think we have a good shot at doing that.
Just have our playmakers step up and make winning plays. That is a great winning
formula, and as we saw yesterday, one that is going to work in this
league.
On the defense coming up with stops
yesterday:
That was great. We feed off of the defense and what they
do. They feed off of us in terms of when we put points on the board and make big
plays. It was good to see yesterday, the team effort, the way they were getting
after the quarterback and all of that. That helps us, fuels us and gets the
crowd into it.
DT Kyle
Williams
Monday, September 17,
2012
On feeling like the defensive line can dominate the
opponent:
We have so many good guys up front I think different
weeks are going to unfold differently. Some guys are going to have a hot hand
some weeks and some guys are going to be getting the double one week or holding
the point one week. If we continue to play hard, we have a chance to put people
in some pretty difficult positions as far as mismatches, but we have a long way
to go.
On the team's mentality going into the
game:
There is playing to your potential and going out, trying
to play dominate football, impose your will on somebody and intimidate somebody.
And there is a way of playing football of saying I just need to do my job. Not
that it is timid, meek or anything like that but I just think the other way of
football is a lot better. Obviously, from what you saw yesterday the other way
is a lot better. It is a lot better for us and a lot better for our win column.
It was really just challenging guys to play up to the potential we have; do not
hide behind a piece of paper that says 'hey, we have good papers and everything
is just going to fall in our lap.' Everybody in the NFL has good players whether
they are household names or not, they are in the NFL. They are in the NFL for a
reason. So you have to make things happen. I think we did more of that
yesterday.
On knowing the Bills dominated yesterday after
preaching it before the game:
We knew that we could do it. We knew the players that we
had and we just had to go out and do it. The first game was bad and we were not
going to get too low over that. This game was good and we are not going to get
too high over that. We have a long way to go and a long season in front of us.
We have to keep pushing each other in practice. Keep working and continue to lay
it on the line. We talked about just really straining your gut on the plays that
you are in the game and trying to make things happen.
DE Chris Kelsay
Monday, September 17,
2012
On living up to the expectations as a defensive
line:
If we can pile up the stats and the wins like we did
yesterday, I am all for it. It is nice having a rotation and keeping guys fresh.
The fourth quarter rolls around in some of these games and you look at years
past where we had 70 to 75 defensive snaps and you are taking every one of them.
It is tough. The tank is empty sometimes there in the fourth quarter. With a
rotation like this we are always going to keep guys fresh. Obviously production
goes up and with the guys we have on the defensive line we are two across pretty
much the entire front.
On how DT Kyle Williams is
playing:
(Kyle Williams) is great. He is a force to be reckoned
with out there. And anytime you have a guy like that on your team, it opens up
things for other guys. Some of the things he does are amazing. He is a
tremendous leader and obviously a great player. I am biased because he is a
close friend but definitely a huge asset to
us.
On if the team was more physical against the Chiefs
than the Jets:
We go into every game with the mindset of playing
physical. (Being more physical) than other teams, Coach Gailey preaches about.
We all work on it and prepare for it. A lot of times if you are more physical
than your opponent, run the ball, stop the run and play well on special teams
then you are going to win games--we take that mindset. Kyle (Williams) addressed
the defense first in pregame and the entire team before we took the field that
we have to have that mindset of being physical. We are not going to be pushed
around. We are going to do the pushing around. If you can do that and everybody
buys into it, then good things are in store for us. I think yesterday we were
more physical.
LB Bryan Scott
Monday, September 17,
2012
On simply having to do your job
defensively:
It really is that simple. It is just having that sense
of urgency. You know your coverage, get to your man and cover him. Make (Matt)
Cassel kind of pad his feet and go to his second and third read. That is what we
did.
On validating the defense after week
one:
No question. You always have to take things you have on
the practice field onto the game field. Last week we obviously did not do a good
job of it. This week we kind of lit that fire under it and said 'look, we only
have 16 games to get this done. We cannot dig ourselves into a hole and start
this season off slow.' Guys responded.
On the entire AFC East being
1-1:
It is a long season and everything will play itself out.
One-and-one, it is still so early and anything can
happen.
On his fumble
recovery:
It was like that last scrap of food that everyone was
fighting for and I was able to get to it.
On how big of a turning point the fumble recovery
was:
It was a huge momentum swing. To be able to not let them
get points right before half time and come out, and I think we scored on that
first drive coming out after halftime. That is a 14-point swing. That is pretty
big for us.
