Web Rumblings: Buffalo Bills News, 9/22

Sound FX: Ryan Fitzpatrick - BuffaloBills.com
Check out the video where Ryan Fitzpatrick was wired up against the Raiders. It's epic. Then take some time to view the press conferences from yesterday and see how the Bills are prepping for the Patriots.

Jackson lights fuse for Bills' offense - The Buffalo News
"Jackson is just the third running back in Bills history to eclipse the 100-yard mark in the first two games of the season (joining O.J. Simpson in 1973 and '75 and Thurman Thomas in 1991). He also passed Cookie Gilchrist (3,056 yards) for eighth place on the team's all-time rushing list with 3,089 career yards."

Stakes rise when facing New England - Jerry Sullivan
"You know the deal is getting big when you struggle to get your tape recorder through the knot of reporters and cameras in front of a player's locker. You see a couple of new faces, a national writer in the fray. The Bills are 2-0, the talk of the NFL, and oh, here come the unbeaten Patriots."

Spiller stepping forward - BuffaloBills.com
"He only touched the ball six times in Buffalo’s Week 2 win over Oakland, but C.J. Spiller had a noticeable impact on the game and the Bills comeback effort. It’s the kind of progress the club was hoping to see from the former first-round pick in year two."

Inside The Bills | LB Eddins released from I-R
"Bills LB Robert Eddins, who landed on injured reserve following Week 1 with an undisclosed injury, has been released from the team’s I-R list."

Inside The Bills | Nix: Likes Bills being sleeper
"We are a sleeper," he said. "There’s been very little written or said about us. It’s kind of like we’re an afterthought. That’s how it seems to me and I’m not complaining about no respect. You have to earn respect. They don’t give that away.

Inside The Bills | Nix sees Spiller progress too
"Nobody drafted in the top 10 can ever live up to the expectations of the fans and the media," said Nix in reference to Spiller. "You can’t do it. It’s impossible. You get too much money and everybody expects too much. That being said we did get C.J. a little more involved (last Sunday)."

Inside The Bills | Urbik targeting next week
"I’m looking to be back practicing by next week," Urbik told Buffalobills.com. "My range of motion is coming along so hopefully it’ll be better next week."

Inside The Bills | Belichick on Fitz
"Ryan did a great job against us in the first game last season," said Belichick. "He’s very smart, we all know that, and does a great job in reading defenses and checking the plays, getting them into the right play against different looks, and he’s accurate. He makes good decisions with the ball, and makes quick decisions. He’s certainly good with the ball in his hands."

Inside The Bills | Merriman’s workload
"I feel good," he said. "I don’t think I’m ever going to play every play throughout the whole season. Like Coach had said that’s unrealistic. When I’m in there I want to be 100 percent. I want to feel like I have my legs up under me. That’s being able to go out and play that game, and the rest of the games and beyond."

ProFootballWeekly.com - MVP Meter: Circle the wagons
"Bills QB Ryan Fitzpatrick wasn't even in the MVP discussion two weeks ago, but has moved up the charts with big games in the first two weeks." He sits at No. 10, with Fred Jackson just outside.

Bet on Brady and Buffalo: Three Lessons Learned From NFL Week Two - TIME
TIME's Sean Gregory breaks down the lessons from football's second week, including Buffalo's big comeback.

Buffalo Bills' Ryan Fitzpatrick a real heads-up player - AZCentral.com
"The summer before his junior year at Gilbert's Highland High, Fitzpatrick was engaged in a quarterback duel with a senior who had transferred to the school. The senior was 6 feet 4 inches tall, blond with a strong arm and big ambitions. Fitzpatrick was growing, but he was still a gangly kid, all hands and feet. Then-coach Mike Reardon decided that both quarterbacks would play in the first game but he was unsure who should start. So he flipped a coin. Fitzpatrick called heads. The coin obliged."

Roosevelt ready to make most of his chance - The Buffalo News
"I'm excited, but I'm doing a lot of studying, a lot of watching film, a lot of meeting time with Fitz [Ryan Fitzpatrick] and the receivers and getting the understanding of where I need to be."

Bills 'D' turns the page against Pats - The Buffalo News
"You know they're going to make some yards," Bills coach Chan Gailey said. "You're trying to make sure you don't give up the big play. You're trying to make sure you're playing great red-zone defense. If you don't let the big play out and you make them go down the field methodically, you give yourself a better chance of stopping them. Make sure you limit the run game. If you get enough hats to the ball, maybe you knock one free. You make them earn it all the way down the field."

NFL's all-time skids - The Buffalo News
"The Bills' streak vs. New England is the fourth longest in NFL history. The longest series winning streaks:"

Chan on streak: It's irrelevant - The Buffalo News
"They have only seven total players on the roster now who have been around for more than six of the losses (the others are George Wilson, Kyle Williams and Bryan Scott)."

Buffalo Bills need to overcome spell Tom Brady has on teams | Democrat and Chronicle
"Regardless of how much Belichick wishes to minimize Brady's role, he's not fooling anyone: Brady is the key to the Patriots' pinball machine-like offense, and if you were to take him away, New England wouldn't be nearly as dangerous."

Video: WR Slater on Buffalo matchup - AFC East Blog - ESPN
"New England Patriots' wide receiver Matthew Slater talks about the huge matchup with the Buffalo Bills this Sunday."

AFC East coach approval ratings - AFC East Blog - ESPN
"Approval rating: 85 percent Analysis: Gailey is the toast of Buffalo after a surprising 2-0 start. He's the catalyst behind the Bills' explosive offense, which has scored 79 points in two games. Are the Bills a contender? We're about to find out."

Schein Nine: Buffalo Bills have franchise QB in Ryan Fitzpatrick | FOX Sports
"Try this one on for size: Ryan Fitzpatrick, franchise quarterback. Say it out loud a few times. Practice in the shower. Write it five times on a sheet of paper. It looks weird. It sounds odd. But for the Buffalo Bills and Chan Gailey, Ryan Fitzpatrick is proving he’s just that."

Barnett: Bills developing winning culture - sportsnet.ca
"I’m not saying I came in here and changed (the culture). It’s the guys they brought in last year, and the guys they brought in this year like Shawne (Merriman) and Marcell (Dareus). It’s the attitude change and culture change that we have to go through," said Barnett in an exclusive interview with Sportsnet.ca.

Roosevelt ready to seize opportunity - Tonawanda News
"Working with Fitz and getting timing down with him and knowing where I have to be and know where he wants me to be," he said. "It’s definitely more offense and understanding where I need to be just to help the team out."

Fitzpatrick makes the Bills better and kills the chatter - CBSSports.com
"It's not so much what the Buffalo Bills did before this season that I admire. It's what they didn't do. They didn't draft a quarterback. They didn't trade for a quarterback. And they didn't sign a veteran free-agent quarterback to replace the guy they already had. Nope, they stood by Ryan Fitzpatrick, figuring that if they can improve the team around him he would improve, too. Two games into the season, they look like geniuses."

Ryan Fitzpatrick Conference Call Transcript - 9/21/2011
"Read what Buffalo Bills QB Ryan Fitzpatrick had to say as he addressed the New England media via conference call on Wednesday, September 21, 2011."

Chan Gailey Conference Call Transcript - 9/21/2011
Ready what Buffalo Bills head coach Chan Gailey had to say as he addressed the New England Media via conference call on Wednesday, September 21, 2011.

Bills RB Jackson still 'annoyed' by contract - Yahoo! Sports
"We’ve approached them, and it’s not gone the way we would’ve liked it to," Jackson told The Associated Press prior to practice Wednesday. "I’m annoyed by it. I’ve been playing at a high level for three straight years now. I would like something to be done about it this year. I want something done that’s fair for myself and the team."

Pay heed to Bills - BostonHerald.com
"We played them here last year in the first game and they certainly gave us all we could handle,’’ Belichick said of the Bills, who lost 38-30 to the Pats last season. "I know we have a lot of respect for Buffalo and the way they play. It’s always competitive against them, and they’ve done nothing but get better since early in the season last year. They have a good experienced quarterback, good running backs, good receivers and tight ends, an offensive line that has really improved. Add (defensive tackle Marcell) Dareus to a strong defense . . . We’ve got our hands full this week."

Catching up on Tryout Tuesday | ProFootballTalk
"The Bills worked out guard Keith Williams."

Victory! (And a podcast) | Podcasts | Buffalo Wins
"Before we get into the post, be sure to check out this quick 15 minute podcast (Which is the fastest ever for a podcast here) I conducted with Matt Warren over at Buffalo Rumblings. We do a recap of Sunday's epic comeback against the Raiders, possible contract extensions and preview the Pats/Bills game."