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 Geplaatst: 16-07-2019 02:24:22 Onderwerp: more than 38 minutes, their offen |
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| ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- Bills centre Eric Wood was not at all surprised hearing team president Russ Brandon raise concerns whether Buffalo loses a competitive edge playing annual home games in Toronto. Brandon first questioned the benefits of the "Bills In Toronto" series during a meeting with Wood and fellow team captains about a month ago. "He knew that a lot of players have expressed some harsh feelings toward Toronto," Wood said Wednesday. "And he basically told us as captains that he was going to do whatever it takes around here to win. And thats something he wanted to address." Brandon went public with his concerns during his weekly show on Buffalos WGR-AM earlier in the day. While noting the Bills games north of the border have boosted the small-market franchises revenues, Brandon added that they havent paid off in wins. Following a 34-31 overtime loss to Atlanta on Sunday, Buffalo dropped to 1-5 in Toronto since the series was established in 2008. "It has been a challenged market there, and certainly has not translated into enough wins for us there," Brandon said. "Nothing comes above winning. When I took over the reins on Jan. 1, I said that was the No. 1 focus, and that will be the No. 1 focus. Thats one of the reasons that this will be reviewed in a grand manner." Brandon stopped short of saying the Bills would consider or be allowed to opt out of the four remaining years of the deal, which they renewed in January with Toronto-based Rogers Communications. "Im going to look at everything. Ill just leave it at that," Brandon said, before being asked a second time whether the Bills can opt out. "My focus in this organization is simple, to put ourselves in the position to win championships and sustain success. Period. Nothing comes above that." Wood has been among several players who have criticized the series. He called the games in Toronto "a joke" last year following a 50-17 loss to Seattle. Last week, receiver Stevie Johnson questioned whether the warm-weather Falcons "fixed" the schedule in getting to play indoors at the domed Rogers Centre, and avoid the wintry conditions -- and traditionally more raucous environment -- at Ralph Wilson Stadium in Orchard Park, N.Y. The loss put a big dent in the Bills chances of staying in the AFC playoff race. At 4-8, Buffalo plays three of its final four on the road, beginning with a trip to Tampa Bay (3-9) on Sunday. Buffalo is in jeopardy of extending the NFLs longest active post-season drought to 14 seasons. And the Bills will go a ninth straight year without a winning record. The Bills are 0-4 at Toronto during December. Their lone win came on Oct. 30, 2011, when they defeated Washington 23-0. Rogers officials declined to comment on Brandons statements. So did NFL vice-president Christopher Parsons, who heads the leagues international offices. The Bills made the decision to play games in Toronto, about a 2-hour drive from Buffalo, in a bid to expand their fan base and generate additional revenue from Canadas largest city and financial capital. A lack of home-team support and poor attendance remain issues since the series started. The announced crowd of 38,969 on Sunday was by far the smallest of the series, and well short of the stadiums NFL capacity of 46,470, not including suites. Rogers did announce the first four regular-season games had been sellouts before later acknowledging the totals included thousands of free tickets. The games also attract a larger than usual contingent of visiting team supporters. Several Atlanta players were pleasantly surprised to see a notable number of fans wearing Falcons jerseys in the stands on Sunday. "The crazy part is we had a lot of support here," Falcons safety William Moore said. "It didnt feel like we were in Canada." The series has generated revenue and lured more southern Ontario fans back to Buffalo. The Bills estimate Canadians now make up about 15 per cent of their season ticket base. That rivals the number of season ticket holders the Bills get from nearby Rochester. As part of the initial five-year deal, Rogers agreed to pay $78 million to essentially lease eight Bills home games: five regular season and three preseason. The final preseason game was eventually dropped because of scheduling difficulties. In exchange, the Bills earned more than double what they usually generated from hosting games in Buffalo. The value of the most recent deal has not been revealed. Tom Jackson Jersey . The 18-year-old centre was the Senators first-round pick (17th overall) in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft. The six-foot 196-pound native of Salmon Arm, B. 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In some ways, maybe it is, because the Bombers know they have to find ways to correct flaws in their game that Mike Reilly and the Eskimos did a very handy job of exploiting. "It might have been a little bit of a wake-up call," said Winnipeg quarterback Drew Willy, who was sacked five times as his offence was held to just one field goal. "Obviously they are a good defence but we need to play better over all to give our defence a chance, because they played really well." And a lot. Winnipegs defence was on the field for more than 38 minutes, their offence just over 21 in the lopsided game that went bad early. It isnt encouraging that two key starters on that defence could be missing in action when the Bombers visit the B.C. Lions on Friday. Coach Mike OShea says defensive back Johnny Sears and lineman Jason Vega are doubtful. He says Sears has a hamstring issue that will be evaluated later in the week while Vega has a few ailments that likely will keep him off the field. The coach wasnt pushing the panic button, however. "Weve also got guys that have been practising very, very hard behind them," he said. "Were set up nicely depth-wise on defence, thats for sure." On Monday, the Bombers also shuffled players on their offensive line and they got their newest quarterback into the game, as Josh Portis learns Winnipegs offence. He was picked up last week from the Toronto Argonauts to add CFL experience to their backup pool. "Ive learned a lot, being in Toronto," Portis said after practice, praising Ricky Ray as a great teacher. "The game is different up here," he added. "Youve just got to pay attention to small details and the dimensions of the game, the angles of the game are a little different." With Mason Mills on Winnipegs practice rroster, plus backups Robert Marve and Brian Brohm, who have been around since rookie camp, the Bombers now have five pivots.dddddddddddd Receiver Aaron Kelly was practising again Monday and says he feels fine after being sidelined last week with a swollen knee, but OShea says they will also decide whether hes ready to return later in the week. While the Bombers are coming off that 26-3 home loss to Edmonton, the Lions are riding high after their 41-5 thumping of the Montreal Alouettes. This Friday also has been officially declared Geroy Simon Day in Vancouver, to honour the receiver who helped lead the Lions to two Grey Cups and added one more ring to his collection with the Saskatchewan Roughriders last year before retiring. Simon, who spent his first two seasons with the Bombers before joining B.C., is the CFLs all-time career leader in receiving yards with 16,352, ranks first in pass receptions with 1,029 and third in touchdown receptions with 103. The Bombers also added two more players to their practice roster Monday, international running back Sam McGuffie and Canadian linebacker Kyle Jones. Jones is in his sixth season in the CFL, with stints in Hamilton, B.C. and Toronto. He has a career 34 special teams tackles and seven defensive tackles. "Not only can he play special teams and do that well for you, he can get you out of a game in a lot of different spots," said OShea, Torontos former special teams co-ordinator before he took over the Bombers., "One thing he cant do is snap to himself, hold it and kick his own field goal. But I havent asked him to do that, so maybe he can." Thay may not be a talent he needs in Winnipeg. Rookie kicker Liram Hajrullahu was pressed into handling punting duties for the Bombers last week as well, after Mike Renaud injured himself during practice. The Bombers didnt suffer for the switch, with his 10 punts averaging just over 45 yards, a little better than Renaud this season. Hajrullahu says he feels comfortable handling both but wants to get better at punting, which is more complicated. ' ' ' |
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