Archives for April 2005

‘The 3rd Annual Hunter’s Hope Candlelight Ball will happen in late July. It’s named for Hunter Kelly, son of former Buffalo Bills quarterback Jim Kelly.’

‘The tournament will be held on the team’s grass practice field adjacent to Ralph Wilson Stadium. Adult teams (ages 18 & up) will play a four-on-four version of the game with two substitutes and will compete in men’s, women’s and co-ed divisions. Youth teams (ages 12-14 & 15-17) will participate in five-on-five play with one substitute.’

‘The first three rounds will conclude on Saturday by approximately 10:00 PM ET. In 2004, the first round consumed five hours and 24 minutes; the second, two hours and 47 minutes; and the third, one hour and 56 minutes. The draft will resume on Sunday at 11:00 AM ET for the final four rounds, ending at approximately 6:00 PM ET.’

‘You have to admit, it would be far more interesting if the rookie free-agency period opened at noon Saturday instead of waiting for the Bills to make the 55th pick sometime far into the night.’

‘One thing we do know for sure: Modrak has been there and done that as GM of the Philadelphia Eagles from 1998 to 2000. He wouldn’t bite even if the job was offered.’

‘The Redskins and Bills have not discussed a Clements trade, sources said.’

‘The Verizon Wireless Text Messaging Chat with Donahoe will begin at noon on Tuesday, April 19 and will offer fans the opportunity to send their questions directly to Donahoe and receive real-time answers via text messages on their wireless phone.’

‘Introducing Matt Jones, who has been called the salary cap bargain of 2005, a player many experts believe would be an intriguing fit for the Buffalo Bills with the 55th overall pick. That’s if Jones is still available.’

‘The Buffalo Bills are expected to begin the 2005 NFL season with a new starting quarterback, and the oddsmakers must have some confidence in J.P. Losman.’

‘The Bills are excited about the development of DT Lauvale Sape.’

‘The crop of blue-chip quarterbacks available in the NFL draft April 23-24 is piano wire thin, with only Utah’s Alex Smith, Cal’s Aaron Rodgers and maybe, Akron’s Charlie Frye, deserving of selection in the first round. That makes the Buffalo Bills feel good.’

‘Unrestricted free agents: LS Bradford Banta; WR Drew Haddad; QB Shane Matthews; OT Marcus Price; OL Mike Pucillo (not tendered as RFA); FS Izell Reese.’

‘”You could do a lot of things with him, create all kinds of mismatch problems. With Coach Mularkey’s scheme, he likes to throw wrinkles into his offense and he’s a kid he’d love to have. With his size and speed … he can create nightmares for defenses trying to scheme him. He’s one of the fastest players in the draft, and one of the tallest, so with that combination, he can get down field and make plays, just get him the ball anyway possible.” – Bills scout Shawn Heinlen on Arkansas’ Matt Jones, a 6-5 QB who is projected as a WR or TE at the NFL level.’

‘I rate the following eight backs a notch above McGahee, based on their past production and projections for this season: Shaun Alexander, Ahman Green, Priest Holmes, Edgerrin James, Jamal Lewis, Curtis Martin, Fred Taylor and LaDainian Tomlinson.’

‘”The toughest part for me since I retired is not being around my teammates, Jim and Bruce and Andre (Reed) and Darryl (Talley),” Thomas said. “We were a family for 16, 17, 20 weeks out of the year and that’s probably the part that’s hardest for people who haven’t played to understand. That’s what makes these types of events fun, and even though we may have lost four Super Bowls, we were still one heck of a football team and a heck of a lot of guys that still care about each other.”‘