Bills lose Nelson for season, Jackson for a while
By: John Kucko
Updated: September 17, 2012
The Bills have lost WR David Nelson for the season with a knee injury and RB Fred Jackson for an undetermined period of time. Below is a transcript of comments from Monday at One Bills Drive, beginning with head coach Chan Gailey:
On if WR David Nelson will be out for the season:
On if WR David Nelson will be out for the season:
Yeah, he is going to be
gone.
On the status of RB Fred
Jackson:
Fred (Jackson) is going to be a few weeks. It is not
going to be three but I do not think it is going to be eight. It is probably
somewhere in there in between. Hopefully sooner than later and the prognosis is
decent.
On how much of a setback the two injuries
are:
It is a setback and you have to get some other people up
and going. That is just part of it. I feel like we have some other players who
can come in and play, but not to the level of these two guys yet. Obviously C.J.
(Spiller) was going to play a lot anyways so that was not an issue. (Tashard)
Choice is just going to have to step up, be available and do his part. He is a
good player. I feel pretty good there. T.J. (Graham) is going to get a chance to
show what he has.
On the fan base panicking after Week
One:
I understand that. Bills fans live and die with us. I
understand that. I understand how they feel. I keep trying to tell everybody
that I believe we are going to be a good football team, but time is the only
thing that will tell on that and winning is the only
healer.
On how players put a tough loss behind
them:
Let me tell you, if it was easy you have the wrong guys.
You want it to hurt. You want for them to be disappointed, but you look at the
film and you see where you could have done better and where you can correct the
mistakes. You can go out onto the practice field with the attitude of
understanding a sense of urgency without a sense of
panic.
On if WR Donald Jones will now play in the
slot:
Let us determine all of that. We have Brad Smith, we
have Ruvell (Martin) and we have some other guys who can play some different
spots. Whether T.J. (Graham) plays 10 snaps or 50 snaps, I do not know yet.
On how much versatility he loses without having
Nelson on the field:
It is hard for me to put a percentage on that, but you
lose some experience and you lose some versatility. You do. I think our guys can
adjust. We have been around long enough. We know the ins-and-outs of things. We
have to work through some issues with T.J. (Graham) to make sure that he is on
the same page because he has been here the shortest amount of time. But I think
we will be able to work through things.
On if he is considering promoting WR Marcus Easley
from the Practice Squad:
We are still at the decision making point right now
about how exactly we are going to handle that
scenario.
On if the team will add a running back to the roster
before Sunday:
Possibly.
On why WR T.J. Graham was inactive against New
York:
He was not ready. To be honest with you he is very
similar to where C.J. (Spiller) was two years ago when we had him as a rookie.
Very talented but not quite ready to play. Now he is going to be thrust in
there. We were fortunate that we did not have to thrust C.J. in there too much
as a rookie. We wanted him to play some. This will be T.J.'s
chance.
On what Nelson
injured:
It was a bad knee. I do not know all it
was.
On CB Terrence McGee's play against the
Jets:
He came through very well and he alternated some series.
It ended up getting out of whack as far as alternating him every other series or
every two or three series. He got some good reps and came through OK. Hopefully
we can continue to increase his reps.
On why OT Chris Hairston's reps increased in the
second half:
It was not a health issue at all (with RT Erik Pears).
That is the way the series ended up running. He was in there for a little bit
more of the series that we stayed on the field the
longest.
On what the film showed about QB Ryan Fitzpatrick's
play:
It is about what I felt yesterday. I felt like we could
have helped him out. The receiving core and me could have helped him out a
little bit more on two or three things that would have kept us from maybe
turning the ball over the way we did. I still think we are in good shape and are
going to be headed in the right direction. We are not there now. I know
that.
On if what the Jets did offensively will be a
blueprint for other teams:
I think we are in much more of a coverage, I do not want
to say dilemma, but we need to tighten up our coverage which will help our pass
rush. If you let them get it out in rhythm they will. The key is to not let them
get it out in rhythm. We have to tighten things up and if we tighten things up I
think the pass rush will be much more in play.
On DE Mario Williams'
performance:
He was doing alright. He did not do the power rush maybe
as much as, if you go back and ask him I think he might say he should have used
the power rush a little bit more than he did--the edge rush. He is getting back
into the flow of things. I think he will be a factor more and more as time goes
on. And he played well against the run.
On if the injury Williams suffered last season is
still hampering him:
He has been bothered by that wrist a little bit and it
probably had some effect. I think that it is becoming smaller and smaller every
day.
On if he expected more out of
Williams:
I think it is hard to put too much pressure on guys like
that. For me, I do not. You just want every guy to be a factor in the game at
whatever position they play. That is what you want in them all. I want them all
to be more of a factor. We point out him because he is a highly touted signee
and all of that. He is going to be a good player here for a long time. I do not
have a problem with that.
On the replacement officials and if they missed some
calls on hands to the face penalties:
There is some of that which goes on and we probably had
a couple, too. Our offensive guys probably had a couple. That is going to
happen. Maybe it happened more to (Mario Williams) than to some other people,
but it is going to happen. We just have to keep fighting through that kind of
stuff.
On if lack of composure was a factor in the
loss:
I do not think it was. I think our guys handled
themselves OK. They did not get caught up in the rah-rah, trash-talking junk
that can happen in a Jets game. Were there times of disappointment on the field?
Yeah, there were. You have to handle ups-and-downs. That is part of being a
football player. You have to handle the ups-and-downs of a game and you have to
handle the ups-and-downs of a season.
On what his message to the team was
today:
I do not talk about injuries. I really do not. I expect
the next guy to step up and get ready to play. I talk about how we correct what
was wrong. I talk about major things in the team meeting. I let the coaching
staff handle the details of all that. And then I just talked about a sense of
urgency on the practice field and carry that to the game
field.
On if Hairston will take any practice reps with the
ones:
No. I think Erik (Pears) will still be the
starter.
On the back-up quarterback
position:
(Tarvaris Jackson) is still not ready to go. He still
has got a lot to learn. That is a tough situation he was in and he still is
learning the whole system. He is.
On if QB Tarvaris Jackson is the still the number
three QB:
Yeah.
On if anyone else got hurt outside of Nelson and
Jackson:
Not really. I think we are OK other than those two. That
is a big two though.
QB Ryan
Fitzpatrick
Monday, September 10,
2012
On the fan base being deflated and how the team can
change that:
We have our home opener coming up and we just have to
come out and play like we are capable of. There is a lot of disappointment in
this locker room as well. The only thing you can do is correct your mistakes and
get better. We still have a ton of confidence. We just have to go out there, win
and play well. That corrects everything.
On moving forward despite
injuries:
We obviously want everyone healthy and out there. Part
of the NFL, and every year it happens at different times during the year, but
you have to be able to adjust to injuries. You have to have the next guy step
up. The last few years it seems like we have had to do that a lot in terms of
guys going down and other guys having to come in and pick up where they left
off. The next guy is up and we will see how they
do.
On how he puts a rough game behind
him:
I have probably had to do it too many times in terms of
the bad games. I think everybody deals with it differently but, for me, I am a
very level guy. Not just with football but in life. Stuff does not tend to get
to me. It eats me up in terms of throwing three interceptions, us losing the
game and me really hurting our team. That stuff hurts me. I have been waking
up, staring at the ceiling and just thinking what the heck just happened. For
me, you move on and shake it off. It is the same with the great game. You gain
some momentum from that stuff, but next week there is a new challenge out there.
There is a new team and that is part of the great thing in the NFL. You are able
to put it behind you and go to the next one.
On what the biggest reason for his struggles
was:
A lot of different stuff, but in terms of my turnovers
there was a decision and a throw. You cannot put your finger on one thing and
say 'OK, if I do this better then we are going to be great.' I think in general,
and Chan (Gailey) stressed in the meeting, is we really have to put an emphasis
on ball security. That is an easy thing to say but it is something we have to be
conscious about, go out there and do it.
On if working on his fundamentals has caused him to
think too much:
No. There was a little bit of a pump and then a throw
but nothing mechanically. It had nothing to do with my fundamentals, just a
little indecision on my part.
On the block he threw for RB C.J.
Spiller:
Those guys block so much for me, I figure if I ever get
a chance, both guys are such good cutback runners. In the past, with (Fred
Jackson) or C.J. (Spiller), I have been able to do that a little bit just to
hopefully get a body on somebody. I am not a very vicious blocker. I slowed him
up just enough to where C.J. could make a move and get by him. To me, that is
part of being out there and trying to make a play for one of your
teammates.
On if composure was an
issue:
I do not. I said this in the post-game. Even in the
locker room at half-time, as bad as the first half was, we were able to draw on
some of those experiences from last year and years past about coming back.
Unfortunately, the pick six I threw right away in the second half was kind of
the nail in the coffin, so to speak. We still fought in the end to try to get it
close. Really, we get the on-side kick and who knows what happens. I do not
know, it was like the snow ball effect. Stuff just kept happening and I do not
know if it was a matter of our composure. I think it was just Murphy's
Law.
On if he threw the block because he was having a bad
game:
I think that is just my mentality in general. Sometimes,
and this was especially the case for me in college when I ran a little bit more,
sometimes you want to get that first hit. Whether it is tucking the ball and
running into a linebacker, or getting hit by a d-end off the edge. Whatever it
is, sometimes it takes you a hit or something to get going. I was not really
searching for anything there, it was more of just a natural reaction.
On if the team burnt up some of the goodwill in the
Buffalo community by losing:
Yeah, but it is easy to bring back. You just have to
win. You look at last year and what happened at the beginning of the year with
how much optimism there was. That was not there before the season. That was
built up through good play and winning. That will bring it back--by putting a
good product on the field.
RB C.J. Spiller
Monday, September 10,
2012
On losing WR David Nelson and RB Fred
Jackson:
It means a lot because you lose two play makers--Fred
(Jackson) and David (Nelson). That just means somebody in each group is going to
have to step their game up. I have to do a great job of making sure that I am
ready to go until we get 22 back. Whoever is in the receiver room, we have to
have a guy step up. I have all the confidence in the world that somebody will
and we will get this thing rolling.
On being pleased with his individual
improvement:
Definitely not pleased with a loss. I hate losing. I see
you have an Ohio State shirt on and we could play a checkers game. I want to
win. That is the beauty of the sport and that is what you play the game for is
to win. My offensive line did a great job, tight ends. I forgot to mention my
quarterback did a great job. Anytime your quarterback goes out there and lays
his body on the line for one of your runs, why not give it all for this team? It
hurts that we lost but we just have to regain focus and get ready for Kansas
City.
On having been the number one running back before and
having success in that role:
It definitely gives you confidence to know that you can
do it. But like I said, the quote that I am going to stick by for the whole year
is past success does not guarantee future success. I cannot just bank on the
last six weeks to say I am capable. All I can do is have another great week of
preparation. I thought I had one of my best weeks of preparation last week going
into the game. I really was not surprised because I was really in sync with the
offense, in tune with my offensive line and how they were blocking. It was just
a matter of getting out there and doing it. I just have to do that consistently
throughout the weeks.
On how his vision of a game changes when someone in
front of you gets hurt:
You just (have to) be ready. You prepare just like you
are going to be the starter. You never know what is going to happen on any play.
We did not think Fred was going to get hurt on that play or in the first game,
but if I had not prepared like I was going to be the guy then I would not have
been ready. I prepared like I was going to be the guy. I was ready and I stepped
in. That is pretty much my mindset since I began playing the game of football.
CB Stephon
Gilmore
Monday, September 10,
2012
On how to put the loss behind
them:
You just go over what we made mistakes on. Yeah, we are
mad about it but you have to put it behind you and not let it affect us against
Kansas City.
On if he has to have a short
memory:
You have to at cornerback because there are great
players out there and they will catch some balls. You have to have a short
memory and try to make plays.
On having an understanding of what went
wrong:
It was not that it was faster, I think the majority of
it is people were smarter. Yeah, I wanted two plays back but you cannot get two
plays back. You have to focus on the next plays and the next game. I just have
to put it behind me and get ready for Kansas
City.
On teams coming after CB Aaron Williams and him
because they are young:
We have to be prepared. That is what we do. We have to
go out there and stop the big plays. Stop any pass
plays.
On how they can correct what went wrong:
We just have to be more physical, play with confidence
and make plays.
On what he took away from watching the film of the
game:
I learned a lot. Just technique-wise and different
players have different ways of getting off the line. Just try to get better for
next week.
WR T.J. Graham
Monday, September 10,
2012
On losing to the
Jets:
I hate to lose. Whether it is a video game or an actual
game, I hate losing. Period. Not being able to help made it hurt a little worse
but I had to motivate the guys some other way. But I hate
losing.
On if he knew he was not going to play against the
Jets:
I knew. I prepared to play the game and when Stevie
(Johnson) was good to go, I knew I was going to have to sit down and figure out
another way to help the team out.
On being prepared to play with WR David Nelson
injured:
Coach says I was kind of slow to learning (some) things.
I feel like I learned a lot of things the last week or so. Trying to figure out
how to practice for a game week or even prepare for a real NFL game. I feel like
coming into Week Two I will be a lot more prepared for all of this.
On staying focused on the job in front of
him:
Run fast. That is what I have to do. Stretch the field
and I have to know my assignment, too. Get in the books and stay a little
longer. I am going to stay here for a couple more hours today trying to watch
Chiefs tape.
On why Coach Gailey told him he was not ready to
play:
I am playing catch-up to the other guys. They have been
here for a couple years and they know a little more than I do. I am learning
from them while they are learning on top of that. I am a quick learner but I
still have to ask more questions and figure things out. My time will come and I
will make plays. If they do not trust me out there, I have to study a little
more.
