Archives for February 24, 2006

‘Earlier this month, former Bills linebacker John Holecek was hired as the head football coach at Loyola Academy in Chicago. Holecek will also serve as one of the school’s assistant athletic directors.’

‘The 6-foot-6, 360-pound offensive tackle never came close to living up to the expectations of being the fourth overall selection in the 2002 draft. A starter for 47 of the 51 games in which he appeared, his career was marred by injuries and inconsistent play. He was hyped as a dominant run blocker, but his pass protection skills were often lacking.’

‘Asked how difficult the task of turning around the Bills is, Levy said: “I don’t know how many ‘verys’ to put in front of my answer. But it is going to be very difficult.”‘

‘”When I retired, free agency had been in for a year or two. But the salary cap, it didn’t impact too much. Learning all that, it has changed the game immeasurably. I don’t like to see it.”‘

‘”How difficult is it?” Levy said. “I don’t know how many verys to put in front of the answer. … When Mr. [Ralph] Wilson brought me back, he said it was going to be football, all football. I am the general manager of football operations. I will deal with personnel evaluations and matters, and who do we bring in and fine tuning. He said I won’t have to handle any of the business as part of the deal.”‘

‘General Manager Marv Levy says Williams’ salary was an issue. He had two years left on his contract and would have counted $10.8 million against the salary cap and was due a $3 million roster bonus in July. The move saves the Bills $3 million in cap space. Levy also questioned Williams’ work ethic.’

‘The 26-year-old Williams never lived up to the collegiate hype after being regarded as one of the nation’s top lineman at Texas. He started just six games in 2005 and struggled at multiple positions on the offensive line.’

‘It’s official: Mike Williams was a bust.’

‘”There’s some difficult decisions that have to be made and we would like to address them early if we can. … It’s never fun to release a player.”‘

‘Since being selected fourth in the 2002 draft after David Carr, Julius Peppers and Joey Harrington, Williams started 42 games in his first three seasons at right tackle before losing his job in 2005.’