Archives for April 23, 2005

‘Thomas was the Bills’ 6th round draft pick in 2002. He played in all 16 of teams’ games last season, registering 45 tackles, one sack and no interceptions.’

‘Most recently, Brown was waived by Colorado of the Arena Football League in January.’

‘Offensive line is the Bills’ biggest area of need, followed by defensive line. A distant third on their list arguably is cornerback, where they are very deep but where Pro Bowler Nate Clements is entering the final year of his contract.’

‘The Buffalo Bills are getting closer to the league’s elite in terms of building through the draft. But the numbers suggest the Bills still need to increase their percentages of draftees on the roster.’

‘”You’d love to have a first-round pick, but again, we feel we do have a first-round pick (Losman) and he’s on our team,” Donahoe said. “And we feel good about that. Now, if the situation presents itself and it’s the right player and we can make the move to get back in there, that would be great. If it doesn’t, then we’ll all develop a little patience this year.”‘

‘”We’ve already (over two weeks before the draft), and this is most unusual, had calls from teams with first-round picks who want to get out of there,” Donahoe said at the annual pre-draft media luncheon 12 days ago. “And that may be more of the norm than not this year because of all the uncertainty about who the first-rounders might be.”

Most draft experts feel this is a down year, talent-wise, especially compared to last. But Donahoe maintains, “We always think it’s a good draft.”‘

‘”It’s the phenomenon of the draft,” he said. “Fans, the general public and the media know most of the first-rounders and who they are, at least potentially. That’s why there’s all the tension in the first round. Statistically, if you look at it, probably 50 percent of the first-rounders fail. But those are the players the fans know, they’ve seen these guys play, they’re in the draft books, the draft gurus talk about them so people can identify with them. It’s the second round, third round and middle rounds, where most (selections) are not household names.”‘

‘Never shy about swinging a deal — remember Drew Bledsoe was also a draft-day swap — Donahoe has some bait this year.’

‘The Eagles are said to be ready to send one of their two third-round selections in today’s NFL draft – they choose 77th and 94th overall in that round – to the Bills for Henry, 26, who presumably would be signed to a long-term deal. Henry has a year left on his current contract, and agent Hadley Englehard has indicated a new contract must be part of a trade.’

‘Is he going to be an Eagle? It could happen, but the guess here is he lands in Arizona.’

‘Dorenbos, who was nearly picked by the Green Bay Packers in the seventh round, benefited by being able to select himself where he was going to try out. “When I went to Buffalo, I was the only deep snapper in training camp,” explained Dorenbos, who immediately signed a contract for the NFL minimum salary, $225,000.’

‘For the first time in a long time I was able to look at the game from the sidelines as a fan and see that when someone makes a mistake, especially from the quarterback position, it looks really bad. That makes me work that much harder from a mental standpoint because I don’t ever want to look that bad.’

‘Jim was selected as the JetBlue Fly-Away winner and will fly out Friday evening, courtesy of JetBlue Airways, and will stay in The New Yorker Hotel, which is located in midtown on the west side of Broadway and 34th Street. The 42-story hotel is the same location as the popularized movie Miracle on 34th Street.’

‘”We are not anywhere near as down on Josh Reed as a lot of people are,” said Bills President and General Manager Tom Donahoe. “Josh was hurt last year, and even when he did come back he wasn’t healthy. We’re hopeful we can get him healthy and utilize him in the role we intended for him when we took him, which is to be a good slot No. 3 receiver.’

‘Buffalo Bills President and General Manager Tom Donahoe, along with coach Mike Mularkey, will be the guest speakers in an Open Meeting for Bills fans at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in the Bills’ field house.’