Archives for May 2002

The best photos of the week (Part I) – Mike Williams, Drew Bledsoe, London Fletcher, etc.

‘Figure on at least one, and possibly as many as three, former starters hitting the bricks on Saturday or soon after.’

Alexander has accomplished nearly as much as Jamal Robertson on the ground, but he has more total yards from scrimmage because he has been a bigger factor in the passing game. Alexander was a fourth-round draft pick of the Broncos in 1998, but failed to make it through his first training camp. He has generated enough interest that if the Bills waive him, another team with less depth will bring him in for a tryout.

In several situations, impending cap casualties already have been contacted and deals are in the works with potential suitors. For example, OT John Fina’s agent already has received several calls from teams considering the “former” Bill.

Head coaches were asked: Pick one player to build an expansion team around?

Faulk, a defensive coordinator’s worst nightmare, garnered just two votes. One came from Bills coach Gregg Williams, a former defensive coordinator who knows a thing or two about trying to contain offensive firepower. “He presents too many match-up problems,” said Williams. “And he causes these problems against every defense run in the league.”

The final cap hits for Bledsoe and Terry Glenn are now on the books. According to the latest NFL documents obtained by the Globe, the Bledsoe cap hit for the Patriots was $6.666 million, and on Glenn it was $945,000. Bledsoe’s number includes the $6 million in pro-rated bonus from his newest contract, plus $666,000 pro-rated from his old contract. As for Glenn, it’s unclear why there was such a large hit. There was a "secret" settlement between the Patriots and Glenn and it has been kept under wraps by the team and the league. Bledsoe’s cap hit will be the second-highest on the roster this season.

‘At a time when it was acceptable for professional athletes to defer military service, Kalsu felt obligated to honor the ROTC pledge that had been as much a part of his life at the University of Oklahoma as had his All-American role on the football team. And so Kalsu left his pregnant wife and young daughter to fulfill what he deemed to be a responsibility he could not ignore.’

‘A year ago, the mystery was whether the team had enough viable players to fill out a complete lineup. Now it’s a question of who pushes whom, or how much playing time some very good talents will get.’

‘In other words, if a coach says jump in the off-season, players today are inclined to ask "How high?" not "How come?"’

I already thought the Bills would be much better this year after the way they finished up, giving the Dolphins and Patriots fits while also costing the Jets the division. They have a very good receiving corps and a new QB (Drew Bledsoe) who will help turn a mediocre offense into a good one, but the key will be the ground game. Bledsoe needs Travis Henry and Shawn Bryson to take some pressure off him. On defense, the Bills have some good, young talent and should improve in the second year of a new system. Overall, they will be much more competitive but not good enough to secure a wild-card berth.’

If teams have two good corners as their starters, it does give them a huge edge. Take the Buffalo Bills. They start Nate Clements and Antoine Winfield, two former first-round picks who are on their way to becoming one of the league’s best tandems.

For Bills WR Eric Moulds, this is his 7th season in the NFL. And Drew Bledsoe is the 8th QB he’s worked with. The two have been working out their timing during the May "minicamp" at One Bills Drive. View the video for the full story as Bledsoe talks about learning to read body language.

The Buffalo Bills starting lineup will look much different than the 24 guys (including the kicker and punter) than started on opening last season. As of the recent mini-camp 14, or possibly 15, of the 24 positions will change from last year’s opening day starters. Furthermore, only eight of those positions will be manned by players from the pre-Gregg Williams/Tom Donahoe era.

Drew Bledsoe (QB, Bills): …Bledsoe will be hooking up with some talented receivers in Eric Moulds, Peerless Price and rookie Josh Reed. We chicks smell another Pro Bowl season in the making!

Eric Moulds (WR, Bills): …With a re-enthused Bledsoe to sling him the ball, Moulds should be ripping it up once again.

Lary Bump tries to untangle the confusion about the under tackle position as used by the Bills.

“The nose tackle is shaded on the center’s outside shoulder on the weak side. The under tackle is usually to the strong side, on the guard’s outside shoulder.”