Clan-Members » d Giles, who has taken to PRO12 rugby with s

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- Bills receiver Sammy Watkins said his surgically repaired left foot feels fine, and hes ready to play against the New York Jets on Thursday night.Im definitely going to be out there playing, Watkins said Monday, putting to rest concerns he experienced a setback during a 13-7 season-opening loss at Baltimore.I got it checked out, and Im fine, he said, referring to tests conducted on his foot following the game Sunday.I just felt like it was tired, and I just wanted to make sure, Watkins said. So its no particular reason why I did it. I just felt I needed to do it. And if I need to do it again, Im probably going to do it every week.Watkins spoke after attending a walk-through practice session that was closed to reporters. Though its unclear whether Watkins participated, he walked off the field showing no signs of a limp.He spent a few minutes on the sideline flexing his foot while talking to the teams head athletic trainer, Shone Gipson, before making his way to the locker room.I dont know if Im around 100 or 95 percent or whatever, said Watkins, who had two screws inserted into his foot in April to repair a stress fracture. I feel great. I can go out there and compete at the highest level.The playing status of starting left tackle Cordy Glenn is less certain.Without revealing the severity of Glenns injury, coach Rex Ryan said the player hurt the same left ankle that forced him to miss three weeks of training camp.Glenn was not spotted in the locker room following practice. The fifth-year player is Buffalos top-paid offensive lineman after he was re-signed to a five-year, $65 million contract in May.As for Watkins, Ryan said the receiver complained to trainers that his foot felt sore after the game.Well see how he progresses, Ryan said. Im hoping he plays, and well see.The injury concerns come at a time when Buffalos offense managed 160 yards against Baltimore -- Buffalos fewest in a decade.It was a listless performance for a Tyrod Taylor-led attack that returned mostly intact after leading the NFL in rushing last season.Instead, the Bills took a significant step back in combining for just 11 first downs -- the teams fewest since it managed 10 in a 45-3 loss at San Francisco on Oct. 7, 2012 -- and 65 yards rushing.Taylor was limited to throwing short passes and attempted just one throw beyond 20 yards. It was a 40-yard completion to tight end Charles Clay and only after Taylor scrambled out of trouble.Ryan acknowledged being disappointed with his offense, while noting the Bills have little time to regroup while playing twice in five days.Weve got to come up with something, said Ryan, noting Jets have a strong defense. We have to be a lot better or it can get ugly against this group.Watkins was limited to four catches for a team-leading 43 yards against Baltimore.Watkins said he felt rusty and acknowledged he needs to play better.The Bills were cautious easing Watkins back into practice last month.The injury is the latest setback for Watkins, who hasnt been healthy entering a season since Buffalo traded a first-round draft pick to Cleveland to move up five spots to select him with the fourth pick of the 2014 draft.He was hampered by a rib injury during his rookie season. Last season, he was slowed by ankle and calf injuries.When healthy, Watkins can be a dynamic threat. He closed last season combining for 35 catches for 679 yards and six touchdowns in Buffalos final six games.The Bills added bulk to their offense by re-signing fullback Jerome Felton about 10 days after the ninth-year player was among the teams final cuts.Buffalo initially signed Felton to a four-year contract in March 2015. The Bills, however, used mostly a one-man backfield which led to Felton being used sparingly last season.To make room, Buffalo released fullback Glenn Gronkowski, the younger brother of New England star tight end Rob Gronkowski.Glenn Gronkowski was an undrafted rookie free agent, who played just eight snaps against Baltimore.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and AP NFL Twitter feed: www.twitter.com/AP-NFL Custom Allen Iverson Jersey . And follow TSN.ca right through Deadline Day for all the updates. 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The flanker, who has played 65 times for France, is expected to be out for up to four months. England keep on rolling, Scotland and Wales won, just about, Italy piled the pressure on South Africa and All Blacks are back to winning ways. ESPN reporters?have their say on the biggest storylines for each team coming out of the third week of the autumn internationals.Argentina Pumas not the golden team they once wereThere were glimpses of the free-flowing, attacking flair which we have been accustomed to seeing from Argentina, but for the most part they were poor in defeat to Scotland. Very poor. The narrow defeats to Wales and Scotland alone, may not be cause for concern, but the manner of the defeats surely are.They havent looked like the side which beat Ireland by double scores at last years Rugby World Cup. It has been one error-strewn performance after another for Los Pumas from the Rugby Championship and into the November series. Now they face an England team in devastating form.Their problems wont be fixed in a week, but they will be keen to end the year on a higher note. They will need to get a foothold at the set-piece, and at all costs prevent England from scoring early. Should they do that, and Nicolas Sanchez keeps the scoreboard ticking, they could end the year with some positives. -- Killian OConnorWeek 4 vs. England, Twickenham, Nov. 26, 2:30 p.m. GMTAustralia Scrum aside, Wallabies newbies deliver?Australia are three from three in Europe after Michael Cheikas new-look outfit survived a late drop goal attempt to defeat France in Paris. With a host of first-choice players enjoying the week off, or starting from the bench, Cheika called upon the like of Kyle Godwin, Sefanaia Naivalu, Luke Morahan, Alan Alaalatoa and Tolu Latu to get the job done at Stade de France.And they did just that. The Wallabies could have been forgiven for a lack of fluidity in attack, given the mass changes, yet Godwin and Morahan slotted in seamlessly at inside centre and fullback respectively as Australia moved the ball with precision. They also scrambled well on defence and used the rolling maul to their advantage, a move which left referee Glen Jackson with no choice but to award a first-half penalty try.But it wasnt all good news, with the Australian scrum - loosehead James Slipper in particular - coming under huge pressure throughout. The visitors fortunate not to be penalised in the closing minute, a decision which would have presented France with a kickable penalty.?-- Sam BruceWeek 4 vs. Ireland, Aviva Stadium, Nov. 26, 5:30 p.m. GMTEngland Englands fullback battle is fascinatingAlex Goode missed the first high ball against Fiji. In his first start since their final World Cup pool match against Uruguay, the usually assured Saracens fullback allowed the ball to bounce.It was strange to watch; nerves could have been a factor but whatever the cause, they were then buried as he performed well on his audition for the No.15 shirt. Eddie Jones was lukewarm in his assessment of Goode post-match. His praise for Semesa Rokoduguni and Elliot Daly was more fulsome so the smart money is on Mike Brown to return at fullback for Argentina next weekend.But there is a temptation to give Goode another chance. Fijis defence was at times so poor that it was hard to judge exactly how effective Englands back three was. Goodes ability to step into a playmaking role and link man in phase play works in his favour but Jones will probably turn to Brown for his physicality when the Pumas come to town. -- Tom HamiltonWeek 4 vs. Argentina, Twickenham, Nov. 26, 2:30 p.m. GMTIt is something on Jones radar and he will be keeping a close eye on the spot throughout the November Tests. - Tom HamiltonFrance Goalkicking problematic for Les BluesWill Guy Noves be able to solve the ongoing problem of a lack of a consistent kicker for the visit of the All Blacks? It haunted them last Saturday against Australia. Maxime Machenaud missed two conversions, Scott Spedding missed a long range effort and Camille Lopez missed a drop goal with the last kick of the game.Some aimless kicking invited the Australian attacking train onto them, but despite looking like they would collapse early in the second-half, some brilliant attacking rugby brought them back into the game.Noves wants France to play in the same free-flowing style that was his trademark at Toulouse. But while some of the attack play from Spedding,?Virimi Vakatawa and Noa Nakaitaci was brilliant to watch, sometimes the clever option was avoided. Louis Picamoles has been outstanding for Northampton but failed to have an impact. Noves needs to rethink before New Zealand arrive. If he doesnt, it could be as humiliating as the 62-13 defeat France suffered at last years World Cup. -- KOCWeek 4 vs. New Zealand, Stade de France, Nov. 26, 8:00 p.m. GMTIreland Josh off to a flying start with IrelandAmid all the talk surrounding World Rugbys residency laws and so-called project players, spare a thought for Irelands Josh van der Flier. The Dubliner with the Dutch name may still be viewed with suspicion by some opposition fans, but hes Irish born and bred and continues to prove himself to be an adept addition to his countrys back-row.A head injury sustained by CJ Stander with a little over 20 minutes gone at the Aviva Stadium ensured that the flanker was ushered on in the early stages, as he had been in Chicago a fortnight ago. And as on that occasion, he didnt let Ireland down here. Pitched into an unfamiliar role on the blindside of the Irish scrum, van der Flier dovetailed excellently with his Leinster teammate, Sean OBrien.Van der Flier was a constant presence in the 59 minutes he was on the pitch, doing everything that was asked of him defensively while taking the game to the All Blacks, making 51 metres with ball in hand. The only blot in his copy book came in the second half as he tried to force an offload when Ireland were camped in New Zealands 22. It was a rush of blood that can be excused in someone winning only their fourtth Test cap.dddddddddddd Signs are, there will be plenty more international honours to come. -- Martyn ThomasWeek 4 vs. Australia, Aviva Stadium, Nov. 26, 5:30 p.m. GMTItalyOShea making his mark with the AzzurriWhat a result! Yes this is one of the worst Springbok sides in the professional era, but the Azzurri were also low on confidence after being handed a 58-point drubbing by a second string All Blacks a week earlier.Italy stuck to their strengths and forced South Africa into submission. Their defence improved significantly to keep the Boks to just two first half tries, while their line-out and rolling maul sent a big South African pack backwards and led to a deserved try.This is Conor OSheas first big scalp in his fifth Test as head coach and its fair to say hes turning Italian rugby around after a horror Six Nations campaign earlier this year. Theres still work to be done, but with a Test against Tonga to round out the year, another win is there for the taking. -- Nick BewleyWeek 4 vs. Tonga, Stadio Euganeo, Padovai, Nov. 26, 2:00 p.m. GMTNew Zealand Importance of second rows Following what was an attritional affair at times, All Blacks coach Steve Hansen was keen to praise the character that his side had displayed in Dublin. This was not New Zealand at their free-flowing best, but that they still ground out the win and held Ireland out was to be applauded.No two players embodied that approach more than the returning second-row partnership of Brodie Retallick and Sam Whitelock. The duo, who were both injured for the Chicago fixture, got through an astonishing amount of work -- some of which skirted on the boundaries of legality -- putting in 37 tackles between them, and doing much more that cannot be accounted for by the stats sheet.Whitelock drew particular praise from his coach for the level of his performance, given he had not played a single minute of Test rugby in almost a month. It cannot be argued that the return of Retallick and Whitelock helped tip the balance in New Zealands favour here, but is there a case to be made that the All Blacks are becoming too reliant on their star locks?Both played 80 minutes against Ireland. Obviously theyve got a huge gap [on their rivals] because both of them have been playing for a long time, Hansen said. Theyre probably two of the best locks in world rugby when theyre fit and playing well. He will hope they stay fit and in form for the foreseeable future. -- MTWeek 4 vs. France, Stade de France, Nov. 26, 8:00 p.m. GMTScotlandA win is a winIf Scotland drew plaudits from their defeat to Australia, they wont have won many supporters as they trudged to victory over Argentina.But amidst the errors, of which there were many, they put in some great defensive efforts to stop Argentina. Alex Dunbar, Finn Russell and Hamish Watson all combined to drive Nicolas Sanchez back when the fly-half darted for the line following a scrum, leading to a turnover. Huw Jones also showed his class once more, this time beating three players before offloading to Sean Maitland to score.With Ireland beating the All Blacks, Italy beating South Africa and Georgia beating Manu Samoa, theyll need to improve to avoid their name being added to the list. Their scrum was ravaged by Argentina. It wont come up against the same pressure against Georgia, but if they are not in a good frame of mind, it could be another tough watch in Edinburgh. -- KOCWeek 4 vs. Georgia, Murrayfield, Nov. 19, 2:30 p.m. GMTSouth Africa Shambolic Springboks continue downward spiralAllister Coetzees tenure as Springboks coach - four wins, seven losses. All in the space of five months. Based on those results Coetzee is walking on the thinnest of ice as South Africa languish in the depths of rugby despair.The players look so low on confidence, and completely directionless. There was an instance where they had a five-on-one overlap inside Italys 22, but failed to score. There is talent there. Willie le Roux for example is world class, but this is a team playing like a bunch of individuals with a real lack of continuity and a game-plan.Their attack is of most concern. Seven tries in their last six Tests makes for bleak reading. The Boks need to get more out of the likes of le Roux, Bryan Habana and Damian de Allende this week against a Welsh side who were exposed defensively by Japan. -- NBWeek 4 vs. Wales, Principality Stadium, Nov. 26, 5:30 p.m. GMTWales Wales need to back the mavericks Wales look out of sorts and are lacking the confidence and fluidity that led them to the World Cup quarterfinals a year ago. Against Japan - who were void of a number of premier players - Wales laboured to their last-gasp win. But out of the match comes three burning issues for the Wales coaching team. Two of those revolve around players.It is time for Sam Davies to be given a chance to start at fly-half against South Africa next weekend. The young Ospreys playmaker came on with just 13 minutes left but immediately brought width to Wales attack and showed admirable nerves to slot the last gasp drop-goal.Keelan Giles, who didnt get a chance to attack with ball in hand, should replace the out-of-sorts Alex Cuthbert. The latter is fiercely talented but needs time to re-find his best form and Giles, who has taken to PRO12 rugby with such ease, would benefit from being given a chance against the Boks from the outset.Which now comes to the third question. Do Wales need to freshen up their coaching team? Perhaps they need to bring in an external influence like Eddie Jones has done with England to bring a new perspective to their style of rugby. This is not to challenge the present order but it could bring a valuable clarity and inspiration to the current management team. -- THWeek 4 vs. South Africa, Principality Stadium, Nov. 26, 5:30 p.m. GMT ' ' '