Buffalo Bills News - August 18, 2008

Notes, quotes [5:28 AM]
The Sports Xchange reports: 'No. 1 pick Leodis McKelvin's 95-yard kickoff return for a touchdown against the Steelers sealed himself a role in the team's special teams plans for 2008. McKelvin showed the speed and explosiveness that allowed him to set an NCAA record with eight career scores while at Troy, reading a key block from fullback Darian Barnes and just leaving the Steelers in his dust. A week earlier against Washington, McKelvin had a 37-yard kickoff return and a 45-yard punt return. The Bills have two of the NFL's best return men in team record-setters Terrence McGee and Roscoe Parrish, but coach Dick Jauron said a team can never have enough of these guys. "Those guys (return men) tend to get nicked so there's room for all of them," he said. "They'll all have their opportunities." McKelvin had one thing on his mind when he got into the open field: Don't get brought down by Steelers kicker Paul Ernster. "The other 10 guys did a great job blocking," he said. "I saw the kicker and I just said, 'I don't want to get tackled by the kicker."''

Training Camp Practice Report: Aug 17 [5:27 AM]
BuffaloBills.com reports: '“Derek’s going to be a little while,” said head coach Dick Jauron. “We’re hoping not a long while but at this point Bud (Carpenter) is talking in the weeks. So it’s not good, but it could’ve been worse.”'

Reed returns to practice [5:26 AM]
BuffaloBills.com reports: '“Josh is a good player and we’re depending on him to make plays for us,” said Dick Jauron. “He knows how to play the game at this level. He’s tough. He’s a good blocker for us. He runs after the catch. We’re anticipating really big things from Josh.”'

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August 17, 2008

TE Royal adding punch to Bills passing attack [4:06 PM]
AP reports: '"No, no, no," Royal said. "I'm just trying to stay modest and just remember that it's still a very long season and I don't want to look at things more than what they are. Right now, it's still early."'

Is Toronto ready if Buffalo shuffles on? [9:02 AM]
San Diego Union Tribune reports: '“Toronto wants an NFL franchise, and it feels its best shot is to go after the one in Buffalo,” Phillips said. Toronto has the SkyDome. It also has an economy that is considerably more robust than the one in Buffalo.'

Trying to end red-zone blues [6:59 AM]
Buffalo News reports: '“They were sharp,” Jauron said. “As I said, we didn’t get the silly unforced penalties that we got a week ago in the game, so we didn’t hurt ourselves in that regard. Let’s face it, the Steelers are good enough to hurt you on their own. We blocked OK, we ran it okay, it was a nice kind of combination, that first group.”'

Edwards, Schonert shined credentials against Steelers [6:58 AM]
Buffalo News reports: 'Edwards is never going to be ranked with the cannon arms of the NFL, but he demonstrated once again that his blending of quick decision making and quick release of the football produces the required results. Thursday’s case in point was the 90-yard touchdown drive against Pittsburgh’s formidable defense.'

Kelly says stadium in Niagara Falls will save Bills [5:22 AM]
Rochester D&C reports: '"I don't have mixed emotions; my loyalty is with the Bills in western New York," he said. "I think it's important, though, to establish relationships with some major people up here, because who knows what the future holds. I've had discussions with Mr. (Ralph) Wilson (team owner), and he knows my agenda. He talks about people up here with money, but I tell him I know 15 or 20 people (in the Buffalo market) with money, too."'

NFL invasion gains first down [5:21 AM]
Calgary Herald reports: 'But the cold fact for Ted Rogers and the promoters of NFL in Canada (who paid the Bills $9.75 million US per game for the honour) is that 5,000 seats went unsold, and a lot more might have gone begging had platoons of fans from Pittsburgh not ventured to Toronto for the experience. Apparently, the scalpers outside the Rogers Centre were taking $20 for a face value of $300-a-pop for tickets to a glorified controlled scrimmage. Maybe those reports of Torontonians losing their collective minds over the NFL in Toronto were a tad exaggerated.'

Buffalo wins big with lackluster attendance at preseason game [5:20 AM]
Washington Observer Reporter reports: 'The Bills are getting $9.7 million a game from the event organizers and Buffalo fans are afraid that Toronto is going to steal their football team. They should be a lot happier about the empty seats than the empty win. Step one in the potential move to The Great White North was a dismal failure.'

August 16, 2008

Players give good marks to Toronto [7:24 AM]
Buffalo News reports: '“I loved it,” quarterback Trent Edwards said after the Bills’ 24-21 victory. “I thought the pep rally [Wednesday night] was great to get the week started for us. There was a ton of support, a ton of media coverage for this game. The hospitality here was very, very well done and I look forward to coming back up here in December.”'

Bills have work ahead in winning over 'home' crowd in Toronto [5:56 AM]
Rochester D&C reports: '"Coming out into the stadium, I saw a lot of Pittsburgh jerseys, fans calling Troy Polamalu's name. That's OK. It's good for football," Whitner said. "But when we come back here in December, we want it to be lopsided for us, 99.9 percent Bills fans. I believe this can be our home for one game, and it's something we have to do. We have to regionalize the Bills and good things can come of that, keeping the Bills in Buffalo for fans that deserve their team in Buffalo."'

Turk not afraid to wing it [5:55 AM]
Niagara Gazette reports: 'That’s why Turk Schonert’s decision to attack the defense — even in an exhibition game — meant so much to the psyche of an offense that’s been trying to prove it’s legit for years.'

Bills-Dolphins will be a sell out: Rogers VP [5:54 AM]
Toronto Sun reports: '"One thing I would like to comment on are the claims that there were not many fans from Buffalo," he said. "Our intention was not to lure fans from Buffalo. This was about the people of Toronto being able to see an NFL game here."'

Not to be tossed [5:53 AM]
Toronto Globe & Mail reports: 'An NFL team in Toronto would be very different. Exorbitant prices made tickets for Thursday's game a difficult sell. But given the cost of buying an NFL team, such prices - perhaps even higher ones - would be inevitable if four-down football found a permanent home in the city. For regular season games, the tickets would likely find a market. But it would be a far less diverse and representative crowd than the one that takes in Toronto Argonauts games.'

August 15, 2008

Bills more encouraging against Steelers [8:05 PM]
Olean Times Herald reports: 'Forget the Buffalo 24, Pittsburgh 21 final score. The one that really counted was Bills 14, Steelers 0.'

Notes from the Bills' victory Thursday [8:04 PM]
Olean Times Herald reports: 'It was hard not to get the message about this five-year, eight-game arrangement. Everywhere you saw the logo with the words "Bills Toronto Series" with a maple leaf, the CN Tower and the Rogers Center in the background.'

NFL a threat to league, owners say [6:18 PM]
Montreal Gazette reports: '"What I've stated, and what I'll say again, is that if holding one game a year in Toronto keeps the Bills in Buffalo, that's our goal. Anything more, we're not supportive of. I've expressed concern. NFL owners have read this, and understand how important the CFL game is to us."'

Royal rebound [3:24 PM]
BuffaloBills.com reports: '“Robert showed up,” said head coach Dick Jauron. “That was really good. That was a good thing for us.”'

Rochester Mayor to proclaim August 18 as ''Literacy Day'' [3:24 PM]
BuffaloBills.com reports: 'To celebrate this event, the Buffalo Bills and Fisher will host 50 children from Mayor Duffy’s summer literacy program at the Bills’ practice from 2:15 p.m. to 4:20 p.m. on August 18. These children will have a chance to play in the interactive games of the Bills Experience, watch the practice, and have a personal autograph session with a select group of players.'

Not your average preseason for the Buffalo Bills [2:40 PM]
Wellsville Daily Reporter reports: '“The atmosphere in there was electric, people were into it and there was a lot of excitement,” said Bills’ chief operating officer Russ Brandon. “It was loud and our guys really responded.”'

Bills set the bar high in win over Steelers in Toronto [2:39 PM]
Wellsville Daily Reporter reports: '“We put together a couple of good drives and converted on a couple of third downs, which we weren’t able to do last week and that’s kind of what we’re going to be able to do,” said Edwards.'

Mace relishes playing in his home country of Canada [2:38 PM]
Wellsville Daily Reporter reports: '“I figured they were going to play the Canadian national anthem, so I got a chance to sing it proud with everyone else,” Mace said. “Everyone joined in, all the fans, so it was definitely a nice thing to see.”'

Royal, Edwards shine in Toronto [2:37 PM]
Wellsville Daily Reporter reports: '“We need to be able to block up front, which I thought we did a nice job of tonight and we need to be accurate down the field and underneath,” said Edwards. “Every game you need to somehow gain confidence from the game. I thought (offensive coordinator) Turk (Schonert) did a really nice job calling plays for us. We called some plays that I felt comfortable with.”'

Fumble or a touchdown? [1:09 PM]
Toronto Sun reports: '"They couldn't sell the tickets and tried to paper the room to not embarrass themselves and save face to the NFL," said a Rogers source. "They were handing out tickets to Rogers employees all day."'

If the NFL steps up, the Bills could earn their biggest W. [1:09 PM]
ESPN reports: 'There is an alternative: The league should man-up and give Buffalo fans a stake in the team, like in Green Bay. Under the Packers model (formed in 1923), 112,088 fans hold more than four million voting shares in the team, having paid from $5 (offered in 1923) to $200 (1998) per share. There's no owner to pocket the profits, just an advisory group of fans to make sure every penny is reinvested in the team. The benefits are huge. In financial straits and need cash? A fan-owned team can sell more shares. Need pols to approve a new stadium? Your franchise is co-owned by voters. If Buffalonians are given a stake in their team, I'll wager my 7-month-old pug, Chamberlain, that the Bills open the 2015 season in new digs on the shores of Lake Erie. Hello, revenue!'

Bills’ offense moves forward up north [9:16 AM]
RealFootball365.com reports: 'Still, it’s great to come away from a game where the most negative development regarding the first team’s performance is that the tight end competition remains unresolved. Inventive play selection combined with solid execution is all one can hope for in real games, and watching them synch up more than three weeks before then is a promising sign. It’s never too early to start.'

Bills' Toronto debut goes smoothly, but it isn't The Ralph [9:12 AM]
Buffalo News reports: '“It seems to be going really smoothly,” Bills TV broadcaster Steve Tasker said at halftime. “It’s a well-attended game, for a preseason game, the stadium looks great, and the Bills organization did a great job with the field. It looks first class, and it is first class.”'

Bills offense takes off in TO [9:12 AM]
Buffalo News reports: '"I think we've done a good job up front, stopping their front four," said Edwards, who was 1 for 5 last Saturday. "There has been plenty of time to throw the ball, and that's allowed our receivers to get open down the field and allowed me plenty of time to be accurate with the football."'

O-line not bad without Peters [9:11 AM]
Buffalo News reports: '"It's preseason, and you sort of gauge yourself with where you're at," Walker said. "We looked pretty good the first two series. It was two good series against their No. 1 defense. There were some mistakes, but I think we took a lot of good things away from that game."'

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