Archives for February 2004

‘President & General Manager Tom Donahoe, Assistant General Manager Tom Modrak, new Head Coach Mike Mularkey and the rest of the team’s assistant coaches and scouting department will all attend the Annual Scouting Combine, which is being conducted February 18-24 at the RCA Dome.’

It also will be interesting to see how Thomas and Reed fare considering the Bills’ four straight Super Bowl losses. There is a feeling among some fans and media that players from the Vikings and Cowboys teams of the 1970s and the Broncos of the 1980s have been hurt because their teams lost multiple Super Bowls. However, Horrigan does not believe that is the case at all.

‘One league source speculated that once Stewart gets his release from the Bears and surveys how few teams are interested in the veteran as a starting quarterback, he could land in Buffalo with new head coach Mike Mularkey and offensive coordinator Tom Clements.’

‘But his most impressive move, after he got the job, wasn’t something he said, but rather something he did. When Mularkey hired Sam Wyche, the former Buccaneers and Bengals boss, to be Bills’ quarterback coach, it said a lot about his loyalty.’

‘Southwest Recreational Industries Inc., which makes and installs synthetic and natural grass playing fields including one at Ralph Wilson Stadium, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization in Georgia after buckling under heavy debt and rapid growth.’

‘2003 was a busy year for the Bills Alumni…’.

‘”This year’s president is Mark Brammer, Vice President is Lou Piccone, Treasurer is Charley Ferguson, and Bills Alumni Will Fowler and Bob Dugan are also officers. Ed Rutkowski, Ernie Warlick, Booker Edgerson, Jeff Nixon, Hilton Crawford and Carl Byrum are also extremely active. There are over 30 Alumni living in the WNY area and they all try to stay involved in one form or another. Their dedication to the WNY area is extremely admirable.”‘

‘”We were hopeful we could have some discussions, but they just seem to be pretty firm in the fact they want to get out there and test it,” Donahoe said Tuesday. “There’s not much we can do. When somebody doesn’t want to talk, it’s not a very good conversation.”‘

‘”We have interest,” said Bills general manager Tom Donahoe Tuesday when asked how serious the club is in making a Henson deal. “It was a good workout but there are a lot of hoops to jump through. Houston has to get him signed before they can trade him. Whether he’s signable is a major issue.”‘

‘AstroPlay, comprising synthetic blades of grass and crushed tires, has a lifespan of about eight years in extreme weather conditions. The surface needs a once-a-year grooming by a ride-on broom machine.’

‘"I was surprised although the fact that Chuck and I didn’t get along, it probably shouldn’t have surprised me," Seymour said. "But I was surprised that it was an unconditional trade and that (the Steelers) didn’t know that I was coming off (knee) surgery. In fact, I told them that they were really getting the short end of the trade because I was still recovering. The week before (the trade) I could barely walk, but they put me in on a couple goal line plays in a game against Detroit and showed the film to Pittsburgh and said that I was okay. Pittsburgh believed it."’

‘Bess still makes his home in Minnesota with his wife, Sonia, and their daughter, Brittany, who is a high school junior. For the past 14 years, he has worked as a industrial technology teacher and this year became Minneapolis North High School’s school-to-work coordinator in tech education. He is also the school’s head football and baseball coach.’

CFL WR Jason Tucker is one of the most coveted free agents on the market. He has worked out with the Buffalo Bills and expects to hear later this week whether they’ll make an offer. His first choice in the CFL is Edmonton, but he’s open to other offers.

‘”It took a little while to put this staff together, longer than some other teams have done, but it was important, for the sake of the personality of the team, to make sure we had the right fit,” said Mularkey, the former Pittsburgh Steelers’ offensive coordinator who was hired on Jan. 13. “To be honest, I was very lucky to get all of these guys and keep the guys around here that we did.”‘

‘There are six unrestricted free agents but GM Tom Donahoe is expected to allow each to test the market, including starting CB Antoine Winfield. The Bills have been in talks with Winfield but the player would like to explore his options. The franchise (guaranteed top five salary) or transition tags would give Buffalo right-of-first-refusal options but they are not likely to be exercised.’