Highlights

TODD HALEY: “Had a chance to review the tape as a staff and with the players. Some of the issues or some of the things contributing to the loss are pretty obvious. Turning the ball over like we did and end up in the minus turnover-wise and even though we took the ball away three times generally leads to a loss.

“Thought our defense did a very good job overall, did a great job of creating turnovers, did a great job versus the passing game holding them to 73 yards. In the run game, we’ve got to be better. That’s two weeks in a row where we’ve given up too many yards and most of those coming on three or four plays. We’ve got to do a better job of executing the defense - missed tackles being the other culprit in reviewing the tape. But I thought the secondary did a real good job in most phases of the game and the defense gave us a chance to win and kept us in the game throughout.

“Offensively, we’ve got to capitalize on those turnovers. When we get the ball in those areas we’ve got to turn it into points. We weren’t able to do that. I thought we did a very good job in the run game. Jamaal Charles continues to be a real bright spot for us. I think there are a lot of good things going on with him in the pass game and the run game, even in the turnover situation when he made the tackle and forced the fumble. The pass game I thought we made some outstanding plays but turned the ball over four times in the pass game – two tipped balls, a poor decision by the quarterback to start the third quarter and then the last play of the game in a desperation mode. We cannot turn the football over.

“Special teams was an area going into that game that we felt like we had to win and I don’t think we did that. When they net punt 53 yards and we net 29 on punts that’s almost a 100 yards of hidden yardage that adds up to points. We’ve got to do a better job than that against good special teams units which they are. That was one of the keys to the game in the end.

“With everything said and done we had a chance to get ahead in that game late and we just didn’t make a couple of plays that would have been necessary. We’re 0-1 in the fourth quarter of the season.”

Q: Yesterday was a close game but you threw the ball twice for every time you ran. Would you do it differently now or are you okay with that?

HALEY: “I think going into that last possession I think we were fairly balanced. We wanted to start the game with some high percentage passes which we did. When you have a two-minute [situation] at the end of the half [which] we were in I think that’s going to un-balance it a little bit. Then, at the end of the game it makes it a little more unbalanced than it was. When you have two, two-minute situations in the game where you’re without time-outs or limited time-outs and you end up throwing the ball it maybe appears a little more pass heavy than we were.

“But I feel very good about how that game went as far as decisions that were made. We had five penalties and most of them were really, really critical – some that brought runs back, some that brought passes back. We had 17 minus plays counting sacks and penalties offensively. When you have 17 minus plays, you’re in the hole too much of the time.

“I thought we did a really good job of climbing out of some of those holes – some tremendous second and ultimately some third down conversions that got us out of minus situations. That’s what good teams do.”

Q: The fact that you really only have one running back, is that a factor in having to throw as much as you are right now?

HALEY: “Again, I feel comfortable with decisions that were made in that game, for the most part. There is always the ebb and flow of the game and what you’re seeing defensively that helps you make your decisions. As I said yesterday, we’ve got to give number 25 [Charles] some breaks throughout the game and every time a run is called you wish he was in there the way he’s running. That’s more because of him and the big plays he’s making and less about the other guys.”

Q: You have said the QB has seven critical decisions throughout a game. At this part of the season what percentage of those critical decisions do you feel he’s made correctly?

HALEY: “That would take a little time to answer that. Staying in the present tense, yesterday, the start of the third quarter is a decision Matt would like to have back. But I thought the quarterback did a good job of fighting through some adversity and ultimately put us in a position to potentially win that game. All things considered and that is the bottom line – a win and a loss – I thought we had a great opportunity to win late on the second to our last possession which was a terrific drive and well executed by him. We overcame a penalty or two. He put the ball on the money that would have potentially given us the lead.”

Q: Were you upset with Matt at the end of the first half?

HALEY: “No, I was upset with how we executed our two-minute. I thought Matt did some real good things in that game. I think, again, it’s easy to pile on the quarterback with four interceptions right now but in reviewing that tape much like I thought after the game I think there’s one decision we’d like to have back.

“In our two-minute operation I thought we had a chance with a time-out left. We got an early completion out of bounds and then a big play to Mark Bradley and we were in a position to at least have a chance to kick a field goal. We ultimately got sacked and that put us behind the eight ball having to use the time-out.”

Q: When Matt was walking on the field in the first half he was either yelling at your or the fans. Would he have had a reason for yelling at you?

HALEY: “I don’t know. You would know better than I. I have no idea what you’re talking about. You asked me about the end of the half and if there was anybody upset it was me about our execution overall. I thought we wasted time getting lined up, a lot of different factors, and weren’t as efficient as we need to be.”

Q: Were you yelling at Matt at the end of the first half in his headset?

HALEY: “No, at the end of the half I take my headset off. You said he was yelling?”

Q: He said after the game that he wasn’t yelling at the fans?

HALEY: “I was overall pleased with the majority of the quarterback play.”

Q: How much of the execution of the two-minute is based on the quarterback play?

HALEY: “The stuff that I was upset about: none. It was all other things. Matt was doing what he was supposed to do. We had a couple of mental errors in other areas that ultimately cost us a sack and really put us out of position to have a chance of kicking a field goal.”

Q: Do you know if Dwayne Bowe will have a full role on Sunday?

HALEY: “Dwayne is back this week. We haven’t had any contact by league rules – you’re not allowed to have any contact with a suspended player. We’ll have to do our best to see where he’s at and get him up to speed. Any time you’re missing one of your better players – which we were for the last four weeks – I’m personally excited about having Dwayne back. I think Dwayne was making tremendous strides when the suspension occurred and I think he’s made strides in all areas to a point where he cares about what we’re trying to do. Just in looking at him it looks like he’s done a pretty good job of keeping himself in condition. We’ve got to get him up to speed in any of the new stuff we’re doing. Like I said, I’m personally excited about having him back in the mix. We need all the hands we can get.”

Q: What’s been your experience in getting a guy back after all this time?

HALEY: “I don’t think it’s any different than an injury and probably a little less than that standpoint. As far as I know there are no physical limitations and it will all be a matter of getting him up to speed mentally and getting him back into the mix. I know he’s a professional and from the looks of what I can see today and talking to him he’s done a pretty good job of keeping himself in condition and says he has. It’s what I expected him to do.”

Q: Do you know if the players had spoken to him during his time away?

HALEY: “Again, as far as I understand by league rules we’re not allowed to have contact with him.”

Q: When he got suspended you said you weren’t allowed to talk about it. Can you talk about it now?

HALEY: “No, I’m not going to talk about. It’s still a league deal. I know he’s back. I know he’s excited to be back and we’re excited to have him back. When we get a chance to get one of our better and more productive offensive players back I think that’s a big thing for us.”

Q: Looking at your decision-making on the fourth downs a day later, how would you assess them?

HALEY: “Again, I don’t know that I would do a whole lot over in regards to the fourth down calls. That’s an in-game ebb and flow. When they don’t work there is going to be some criticism of them and when they do probably not so much.

“In the end we were in a position to win the game and we didn’t do it and that’s really what the game of football is about. I don’t think I’d do a whole lot over. I thought we were fairly efficient.”

Q: Were the decisions to call time-out simply to discuss to go for it or was it an adjustment process of having the play ready?

HALEY: “At the end of the half we challenged the play before the decision. At the end of the game with the clock running down we called a time-out on a fourth down to make sure we got the right call because it was such a big call. We were all pretty clear on what we wanted to do; it was just a matter of having some personnel shift that has to take place.”

Q: Your punter had maybe his worst game in the last two or three years. He had very short punts out of your own territory. Was there a problem?

HALEY: “Dustin is probably his toughest critic and has a lot of pride in what he does and the job that he does. I know he wants to be better and other parts of the special teams have to be better to help him. No problems as far as I know other than to be better and executing in all areas.”

Q: Do you feel you’re still seeing progress with this team?

HALEY: “I don’t have any doubt we’re making progress. Again, it’s tough when you look at the record and see that. But I just have to go by what I see on a daily basis and see what I see during the game, after the game, certain responses by players, desire of the players to get better and do the right thing. We’re making progress.

“As I’ve said many, many times: this is a big job. I’m not talking about a team that’s been at the top. It’s been quite a while but I think it’s turning, we’re getting better, we’re doing it the right way. We’re staying with the plan in all areas and we just got to keep on keeping on, keep adding players to the mix, keep practicing the way we’re practicing, and everybody get a little better every day.”

Q: You were averaging 6 yards a carry on the ground and Charles carried it 27 touches and probably is the max of what you’d like him to do. How do you balance Charles getting rest and the Bills being 32nd against the rush? Were you equipped personnel-wise to take advantage of that?

HALEY: “I think we were. We had over 300 yards. If we could eliminate a couple of those penalties that were really costly and hurt us ‘chunk-wise’ we probably had one of our better offensive days. That being said when you have 17 minus plays and you’re in second-and-longs or first-and-longs you gotta do certain things to get back into manageable third downs. Taking all those things into account, I love what we did in the run game.”

Q: Your comments at the beginning of the post-game press conference yesterday where you thanked the fans. Was that something you wanted to do or something someone wanted you do?

HALEY: “Anything that I say in here is me speaking. I sincerely felt the fans did a great job for us. The fans are a group that I’ve talked about from my first day on the job and how excited I was to be a part of this fan base. I know we’ve got to give them more to cheer about. But if ever I get a chance to thank the fans, which I got to believe I did at some point after the Steelers game whether the press conference or the next day, I do it. Anything I say is how I feel.”