Week 2 Bulletin Board: Notable Quotables Heading Into Patriots - Bills
When Rex Ryan is involved, the Bulletin Board needs to work overtime.
Ryan has moved across the state of New York to Buffalo, where he coaches a talented Bills team that welcomes the New England Patriots to Ralph Wilson Stadium on Sunday, in what looks and feels like the biggest showdown between the two teams in over a decade. And just like Rex's typical bluster, the rest of the team carried his kind of swagger leading into the game.
Like any Ryan-coached team, the Bills radiate confidence. It's important when playing the Patriots not to fear them, or play that way on Sunday. The Colts played scared in Week 1 and got steamrolled; the Patriots won't roll over like they did, but neither will the Bills' stout defense.
As one would expect from a Patriots vs. Ryan showdown, Rex's guys brought the usual rhetoric about how much everybody hates the Patriots. It's understandable for Buffalo to hate the team that has dominated their division for 15+ years, and whose quarterback is 23-3 against them in his career.
Obviously, the Bills' trash talk will take them in one of two directions come Sunday: either they will back up their bravado with a win and act like they've won the Super Bowl and overtaken the division for good, or they will leave the game hanging their heads after the Patriots demoralize them for a loss.
Ryan's teams have backed up their talk with the Patriots before, most notably in the Jets' 2010 AFC Divisional Round win in Foxboro. But it doesn't happen all the time. With the Bills Ryan has as talented a team as he's had in years, and certainly one of the most talented defenses. They have reason to be confident. But if they're expecting to blow the Patriots out they'll be disappointed. Whoever wins this game is going to have to grind it out, and maybe win the game with a field goal at the end.
That said, here are the most notable quotables heading into Patriots - Bills this weekend...
Rex Ryan on his gameplan against the Patriots: "The plan is ready, that plan has been ready for a long time."
Don't take this literally. Rex didn't gameplan for the Patriots back in July and is just now dusting it off; certainly he's not that stupid. He's saying that no matter who else is on the field, the overall plan is the same it's been for years: get to Brady and clog up the field for his receivers.
When the Patriots have the ball, whoever can win the battle in the trenches might be the difference in who wins. The Bills' stacked defensive front led by Marcell Dareus is a massive favorite in this area on paper, but perhaps the rookies on the Patriots' O-line are gems. Maybe they have the stones to neutralize the Bills. Maybe they step up and protect No. 12 enough for the win. Patriots fans will have to hope.
Marcell Dareus on the Patriots: "Don't nobody likes the Patriots. Let's just be honest about it now. Put it out there."
Headache-inducing grammar aside, you know what Dareus is trying to say here. The Patriots were the most hated team in the NFL even before last season, when they got embroiled in another cheating scandal and won their fourth Super Bowl. Now it might actually be the Patriots vs. The World, and Dareus' comments encapsulate that.
It's nothing new for Belichick, Brady and the Pats. Nobody likes the King of the Mountain. The Bills want to bring them down and Dareus will play a major role in making that happen.
Aaron Williams on the Patriots: "I don't like New England, so yeah it's definitely personal for me...That's just the way I feel...Just the way they carry themselves on the field and stuff...All the stuff that has happened to me in the past with some of the players has definitely gone through the roof for me. That's a reason it's personal for me and they're our rival. It's the history. So it's not just personal. It's the Buffalo Bills' history."
This rant is a little more detailed and insightful than Dareus's direct jab. He is not a fan of the Patriots' on-field behavior, which is probably just like the same trash talk and swagger any team would have. It just stings more because the Patriots are the champs. They're historically the big bully in the AFC East, and nobody likes a bully.
Williams made it clear that he does respect the Patriots and that they're a great team - not one of these tinfoil-hat truthers who actually believe they only win because of "cheating". But that doesn't mean he has to like the Patriots. It's probably best for no team to like the Patriots, and for the Patriots to have that backs-against-the-wall, us-against-the-world feeling when they go into other team's stadiums.
Chandler Jones on Williams' Comments: "That's how you're a professional...Professionals should carry themselves that way. Let your pads do the talking, not your mouth."
Bill Belichick already coaches his players how to deliver masterful non-answers to the media. But when facing a Rex Ryan team, he zips it up even further.
There's no doubt in my mind that Belichick primed his players (the inexperienced ones, anyway) on the Bills, knowing they would run their mouth early and often. He absolutely told them to deflect at all costs. Jones' response here is perfect and hopefully for Patriots fans' sake comes to fruition on Sunday.
Rex Ryan on Covering Gronk: "We're not going to ask one guy to cover him...Yeah, he'd have to look like King Kong."
Gronk responded to these comments as if he's actually preparing to face a 25-foot ape. But of course that was just typical Belichickian deflection. Ryan knows how hard it is to cover Gronk, but his defenses has had some success with him before.
Can the Bills defense neutralize Gronk and also cover Julian Edelman, Danny Amendola, Scott Chandler and Brady's other weapons? If Ryan sells out to "stop" Gronk, someone else will rule the day.
Alright, I'm exhausted. Can't freakin' sleep with all the yapping coming from Buffalo. See you Sunday.
Matt Dolloff is a digital producer for CBSBostonSports.com and worries about Rex Ryan killing forests with the paper needed to print his quotes. His opinions do not necessarily reflect that of CBS or 98.5 The Sports Hub. Read more from Matt here and follow him on Twitter @mattdolloff.