Head Coach Doug Marrone
Monday, November 17th, 2014
Q: Is there a decision on Leodis McKelvin?
A: Yeah. I think we’re working on that and finalizing it. I think something will come out later today. I talked to Doug [Whaley], asked him what the thought process was and we’ve discussed it. I think that later today that’ll be all cleared up.
Q: So it’s looking like he’s going to be out for an extended period of time?
A: I’m not going to comment on that.. Later today everything will be out and you guys will be able to see that.
Q: What has been the issue at home this season?
A: I just think that we have to execute. Obviously, home field advantage is an important part that we have to take advantage of. We have outstanding fans and we have to be able to play well at home. Those games that we’ve lost, we haven’t. In one of them we weren’t able to put a team away and finish. It’s disappointing from that sense. You want to be able to win your home game. I think we have an opportunity now. We have two coming up, which I think are going to be very important.
Q: How difficult is it to ignore where you guys stand in regards to the playoffs?
A: It’s the same thing. We put ourselves in this position. If you put yourself in that position and you’ve shown not to be able to do it and, at times, you put yourselves in a position where you were feeling pretty good, then you have to work to get back to that position. It doesn’t start by looking at the whole body of it. It starts by just looking at the next game. Even after that the questions will still come until you can just keep putting those wins together. Our focus is on this upcoming game against New York and doing everything we possibly can to get a win.
Q: Are you sticking with Kyle Orton?
A: Right now, I’m planning on sticking with Kyle. Again, what I believe with every player is who gives us the best chance to win. That’s the way I’m headed this week.
Q: Will his toe injury affect his availability?
A: I don’t think so. No.
Q: How has EJ progressed?
A: He’s doing a nice job. He’s working. He’s doing everything that we’re asking him to do.
Q: What were some of the things that stood out to you about the red zone problems?
A: I just don’t think we’re doing a good of a job up front of running the football. At the end of the day, when your 25 percent efficient running the football, that’s a major issue.
Q: How concerning is the rush defense?
A: I think if it turns into points scored.. That’s the one that you’re looking at, but we’ve done a good job in the past and we’ll continue to work on it. The plays that are hurting us and trying to get people to play behind the chains. Defensively, there’s always things you can improve on. Those guys are working, but that’s not our main issue right now. Our main issue is scoring.
Q: How much might the return of Fred Jackson help the red zone offense?
A: Yeah, anytime you get a good player back, whether you’re handing him the ball, throwing him the ball. He’s one of our leading receivers plus, in a protection standpoint, he’s been an outstanding player for us. Obviously, when you can get that type of player back, it helps.
Q: Do you think he’ll be back in full capacity?
A: I do. Barring any setback, I feel comfortable with him being back unless there’s a setback that happens during the week.
Q: Is it fair to say that you’re conservative with fourth down decisions?
A: No, I think I do what’s best for us to win. I don’t put a [label] on it. I don’t look at it as being conservative. It’s a matter of what we have to do to win.
Q: What are your thoughts on Sammy’s production the last few weeks?
A: I think we’ve got to do a good job with Sammy and still try to target him and move him around and see how we can get him the football. Obviously, he’s an outstanding player and he’s a guy that can make plays. We’ve got to always look to see how we can get him the football.
Q: Do you think he’s been slowed by that groin injury?
A: I think we’ve got to be smart. I think we’ve got to get good rotations going and things like that to keep everyone going at 110 percent throughout the whole game.
RB Fred Jackson
Monday, November 17th, 2014
Q: What do you have to do to get things turned around at home?
A: We’ve just got to play more consistent. There are times that we’re doing good things and then there are times where we’re wondering what we’re doing. We’ve got to take advantage of opportunities in the red zone, things like that. We’ve got to be able to protect Kyle, have him see down the field. Anytime you do that, he’s going to make plays for us. We’ve got receivers that can get open. More than anything, we’ve just got to play consistent, play up to our abilities and the rest will take care of itself.
Q: It seems like you guys have come out flat at home. Why would you come out flat?
A: I wouldn’t say that we’ve come out flat. I would just say that we haven’t come out and gotten done what we set out to do. Whether that’s defenses doing things to take us out of it or just us not executing. I would say that’s more than anything what it is. We’re not executing what we’re trying to get done. Whenever you do that, you get behind the eight ball. We’ve got to play better. Bottom line. Season’s not over, but we have to play better to get to where we want to be. Plain and simple, if we don’t do that, we’ll be looking at another season where we’re wondering what happened.
Q: What happened?
A: Nothing yet. Not playing consistent is what I’d say. We’ve still got 6 games left. We’re not going to come in here and cash it in. That’s what we can’t do. That’s what the guys in this locker room will not allow ourselves to do. We’ve still got six games, granted we’ve got some tough opponents in those six games. We’re not going to show up in here, cash this season in and say that it’s over with now. We’ve lost to two good teams. We lost to Kansas City. We were 5-3. Now we’re 5-5. We’ve got to start over, reboot and get this thing turned around.
Defensive Tackle Marcell Dareus
Monday, November 17th, 2014
Q: What’s the feeling like after returning?
A: Hard loss. We played our butts off, but just didn’t get the result we wanted.
Q: Is there a sense of frustration due to the missed opportunities?
A: Yeah. It’s pretty hard. There’s a lot of heartache going around. We’re not going to keep our heads down. We’re just going to keep moving forward and see what the outcome of the season brings for us.
Q: Is it hard to come in this week?
A: Losing a game in general, it’s hard to come in. At the same time, we still don’t know the outcome fully so we’re just going to continue to wait and see what we can pull out for the rest of the season.
S Aaron Williams
Monday, November 17th, 2014
Q: Is it hard to be excited about the team’s playoffs hopes?
A: I’m going to keep playing, regardless of what the outcome is. My job is to go out there every week and give it my best. This team is not quitting by any means. We’re going to keep working hard. We’re still in this thing. We’ve got to prepare every week like it’s our last. We’ll be ready this week.
Q: What is the feeling inside the locker room?
A: We all know that we’re all in this thing. We’re not really worried about what the outside people have to say. Everybody has their own opinions, but they don’t know what we go through each and every day, working and preparing ourselves. We’re still very confident in this team and very confident in making the playoffs.
Q: Is there still frustration at the missed opportunities the last two weeks?
A: We let two of those big games go. You see, this week, the outcomes of each game and you’re thinking to yourself, ‘We should beat those teams.’ You can’t look back at it. It happened. We lost. We’ve got to focus on these next six games.
Filed under: Buffalo Bills
Tagged with: Buffalo Bills, Doug Marrone, Fred Jackson
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