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ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. - The Buffalo Bills were better. In the end, they werent good enough.Thats the message general manager Doug Whaley intends to present the franchises new owners, Terry and Kim Pegula, after Buffalo (9-7) closed its best season in a decade, but still extended the NFLs longest playoff drought to 15 seasons.Were encouraged, but were not satisfied, Whaley said. Weve got things that we can build on. But again, we cant be satisfied until we get into the playoffs.The Bills showed signs of being relevant and having resilience in a year full of distractions — from the death of Hall of Fame owner Ralph Wilson in March, to a severe snowstorm that forced the team to relocate its home game to Detroit last month — in matching their best finish since 2004.Buffalos strength was a dominating defence that produced three Pro Bowl linemen: Mario Williams, Kyle Williams and Marcell Dareus.More bitter than sweet, Kyle Williams said.A sputtering offence and inconsistent play at quarterback dragged them down. EJ Manuel was benched after a 2-2 start, and 10-year journeyman Kyle Orton was erratic down the stretch after providing an early spark.That puts Buffalo in the all-too-familiar position of having a big question mark at quarterback. Manuel will be back, but the 2013 first-round draft picks status as a franchise player has been compromised. Orton surprised the team Monday by announcing his intention to retire.It will be up to the Pegulas to determine what approach to take in the coming months.Whaley and coach Doug Marrones jobs are considered safe entering their third seasons. The Pegulas havent ruled out adding a veteran presence to oversee the football operation, with former Bills GM turned broadcaster Bill Polian mentioned as a candidate to fill what would be a newly created role.Here are a number of things that stood out for Buffalo, which finished second in the AFC East after six straight last-place seasons:NOT GOING ANYWHERE: A year after defensive co-ordinator Mike Pettine left Buffalo to take over in Cleveland, Kyle Williams vows to put up a fight should anyone attempt to lure away Pettines successor, Jim Schwartz.Im going to chain him to a car in the parking lot, Williams said. Obviously, wed be happy for him. But hed probably have to leave town with people hanging on his legs.Its premature to tell if the former Detroit Lions coach will be considered for any NFL vacancies. Whats evident is the stamp Schwarz placed on the defence in his first season in Buffalo.The Bills led the NFL with 54 sacks, were third with 30 takeaways, and fourth in yards allowed. They made a marked improvement in stopping the run. After giving up 2,063 yards rushing under Pettine, the Bills allowed just 1,703 this season, the teams fewest since 2004.PEDESTRIAN RUN: Injuries and inconsistent offensive line play led to the Bills finishing with 1,482 yards rushing, the teams fewest in a 16-game season.Fred Jackson was slowed by knee and groin injuries, while co-starter C.J. Spiller missed seven games with a broken collarbone.We failed miserably, Jackson said.TURNING POINTS: Two losses stand out that put huge dents in the Bills playoff hopes.Coming off their bye week at 5-3, Buffalo squandered a 10-point second-half lead in a 17-13 home loss to Kansas City. With the Bills leading 13-3, the game turned on their opening drive of the third quarter. Running back Bryce Brown was three steps from scoring before fumbling into the end zone, where the ball bounced through tight end Scott Chandlers hands and out of bounds for a touchback.Then came the dud at Oakland on Dec. 21. A week after beating Green Bay, the Bills were eliminated with a 26-24 loss to the then-2-12 Raiders.WATKINS CATCHES ON: Sammy Watkins set franchise rookie records with 65 catches and 982 yards receiving, along with a team-best six touchdowns. The trouble was his inconsistency, though he finished fourth in yards among NFL rookies.The Bills traded their first-round pick in the 2015 draft to move up five spots to select Watkins fourth overall. Whaley defended the gamble he took, saying Watkins played to his potential in filling the No. 1 receiver spot.FREE-AGENT WATCH: Spiller, defensive end Jerry Hughes, who finished with 9-1/2 sacks, and run-stuffing linebacker Brandon Spikes head the Bills list of players eligible to become free agents.Whaley intends to make an effort to re-sign Spiller and Hughes. Spikes status is uncertain after rookie Preston Brown established himself as a starter, and with Kiko Alonso set to return after sustaining a season-ending left knee injury in July.___AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL Wholesale Oilers Jerseys .S. -- Carl-Antoine Delisle snapped a tie in the third period with his second goal of the game to lead the Tigres past Cape Breton 4-3 in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action Wednesday as Victoriaville won its eighth in a row. Cheap Oilers Jerseys Authentic .com) - Robert Upshaw made a putback jumper to put 17th-ranked Washington ahead with 1:27 remaining in the game and the Huskies held on to beat Eastern Washington 81-77 on Sunday. http://www.cheapedmontonoilersjerseys.com/. Bouchard went down to a 1-6, 6-1, 6-2 defeat at the hands of Svitolina in her opening match at the Sony Open on Friday. Bouchard got the rivalry going two years ago when she won the junior Wimbledon title over Svitolina. Cheap Adidas NHL Jerseys . The 90-plus minutes of play are about trends and approach. Cheap Oilers Jerseys China . - The Denver Broncos kept rookie wide receiver Tavarres King from joining the Green Bay Packers by promoting him to their active roster Tuesday.The New York Rangers opened the Eastern Conference Final with a 7-2 win in Montreal, embarrassing the Canadiens on home ice to start the series. Rangers D Ryan McDonagh led the way with a goal and three assists for the Blueshirts and, oh, thats not any kind of sore spot for the Canadiens. Remember, he was a first-round pick of the Canadiens in 2007 who was dealt to the Rangers as part of the deal to get (ahem) Scott Gomez. McDonagh only had three points, total, through the first two rounds, so the first four-point game of his 298-game (regular season and playoffs) career was a great start for the Rangers. In a 7-2 rout, there were plenty of big contributors for the Rangers. The line of Chris Kreider, Derek Stepan and Rick Nash each had one goal and an assist. Yes, Nash scored his first goal in 15 playoff games this year, and Kreider, the rookie power forward was a tough match-up for the Canadiens. Nash and Kreider can be tough matchups if theyre playing well and, for various reasons, havent been major factors through the first couple rounds. Could be big trouble for Montreal if thats going to change now. Martin St. Louis and Derek Stepan each had a goal and an assist and Dominic Moore chipped in a couple of assists, while Mats Zuccarello delivered a goal and two assists. Zuccarello is now the Rangers leading scorer in the playoffs, with 11 points (4 G, 7 A) in 15 games, one ahead of St. Louis and Brad Richhards.dddddddddddd Richards scored a goal and registered a game-high 10 shot attempts. The Canadiens were getting outplayed at 5-on-5, but the Rangers also had seven of the games first eight power plays, with Montreal getting a couple of power plays in the last three-and-a-half minutes, long after the outcome was decided. Coming off a series against Boston in which the Canadiens were obviously invested emotionally, they certainly appeared flat in Game One against the Rangers. G Carey Price, who has been great in the playoffs, was pulled between the second and third periods after allowing four goals on 20 shots. Only twice, in 70 (regular season plus playoff) games this season, did Price allow at least four goals with 16 or fewer saves. Though his production was inconsequential, Canadiens C Lars Eller had a goal and an assist and hes the top scoring Montreal forward in the playoffs with five goals and 11 points in a dozen games. One negative for the Rangers was that C Derick Brassard left the game early with an apparent back injury. Hes considered day-to-day. If the Canadiens are to take a positive from this debacle of a game, it is that it only counts as one loss. Forget Game One, come back fresh for Game Two because, really, what other option do they have? Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. ' ' '