Archives for April 23, 2001

Not that one. QB Tim Hasselbeck from Boston College. He said the Bills and others called as early as the fifth round and Buffalo said he might be its pick in the seventh. He wasn't, but his deal was struck soon after the end of the draft.

Kiper rates the Bills draft a B, along with comments on all their picks. For the record, he rated the other AFC teams as such: the Colts a B-, the Dolphins a B, the Jets a B, and the Pats a B. And gave no one, not even Seattle an A.

‘"Hopefully, I’ll get a chance to step in there and play early," Driver said. "They want me to play more of a strong safety position. I’m just ready to go out there and start playing some ball."’

‘"We went in with the intention of trying to improve our team, particularly looking at depth along both lines, the offensive line and defensive line. We wanted to try to get a big corner. We wanted to try to improve our special teams….We selected some players who have a chance to help in those areas."’

‘"Sometimes you hear loyalty doesn’t exist anymore, but that’s not true," Christie said Sunday after agreeing to a two-year contract with the Bills. "I have loyalty to Buffalo. I’ve been here nine years. I didn’t want to sign with anyone else."’

‘When it comes to intensity, former Buffalo Bills linebacker Chris Spielman had no equal. However, the Bills may have found someone in the NFL draft who might come close.’

‘While Sullivan was a steady performer, he played better as a junior than he did last season. That may have hurt his draft stock, Gibbons said.’

‘A nice feature on the LB, Buddy Nix goes as far as comparing him to Chris Spielman.’

‘For Germany, who will be reunited with Clements at Buffalo, the pick meant a new lease on his football life after he was declared academically ineligible for the Outback Bowl. That started a dark period in his life, but he rebounded with a nine-catch performance in the Hula Bowl all- star game.’

‘"He’s a very, very productive player," Bills coach Gregg Williams said of [Travis] Henry. "Production should mean something. If a guy was able to produce at a high level at the level before, he should able to produce at the next level."’

‘Once projected as a possible first-rounder, he didn’t hear from the Bills until late in the sixth round, 196th overall. "I kept seeing all of these cornerbacks going in front of me and I was getting a little bit angry," [Jimmy} Williams said.’

‘After watching the NFL draft for hours Saturday afternoon and night, Brandon Spoon had to go to sleep still wondering where he would play professional football. The wait Sunday wasn’t so long. Spoon, a linebacker out of North Carolina, was taken early in the fourth round by Buffalo on the draft’s second day.’

‘"(Top pick Nate Clements) better have an excitement about playing the special teams before he thinks about playing defence."’

‘Their first draft with the Bills now complete, Donahoe and Williams came away impressed by the process and the performance of the holdover scouting department headed by Dwight Adams. "Dwight and the scouts did a phenomenal job, it’s the best job I’ve ever seen as far as preparation and thoroughness to get ready for a draft," said Donahoe.’

‘What most likely hurt Christie on the open market was his ineffectiveness as a kickoff man. He no longer has the leg strength to consistently get the ball to the goal line, and that became a major problem when the Bills’ special teams covered kicks so poorly.’