Archives for April 8, 2006

‘"Mentally, I think there’s a lot of things I learned," Losman said. "I’ve got to get back to work, get ready to go. Coach called it a competition and let’s start competing."’

‘"(I’ve been preparing for this) since I first stepped in the door," said Evans following his first day on the field as the Bills top receiver. "You work every day to get better and get more opportunities."’

‘”As I sit here today, this is not a matter of making money for the Buffalo Bills,” he told reporters. “It’s a matter of survival. We just want to survive. And I think a lot of other clubs are in the same fix.”‘

‘”The main thing I learned last year was just thinking about so many unnecessary things – little things,” Losman said. “I was worried about this and that, trying to be perfect, trying to be perfect here [in interviews], do the right thing off the field, on the field. There were so many unnecessary distractions. I was able to cut that down [when the season ended] and focus on exactly what I want to do and what I want to get accomplished. And it’s helped me out so far.”‘

‘LB Takeo Spikes is making steady progress in his rehabilitation from a torn Achilles’ tendon that ended his season after three games. It usually takes about eight months to recover from the injury, so Spikes appears to be on schedule for full-scale practices by training camp.’

‘So just how confident is Nall about winning the job? “Very confident,” he said in an accent as thick as the seafood gumbo from his native Bayou. “I don’t think I could be here if I wasn’t. I really needed a chance to have someone believe that I can do the job.”‘

‘”What I had to say affects all the Bills stakeholders: the ownership, the fans, the community,” said Wilson, explaining why he met with Gov. George Pataki on Monday and Erie County Executive Joel A. Giambra on Friday.’

‘A successful businessman, Wilson doesn’t like the math of the NFL’s new collective bargaining agreement with its players. He figures small-market teams eventually might have to pay 70 percent of their revenues in salary, compared with 40 percent for the wealthiest clubs.’

‘The “best-case scenario” is for optimists who believe I am too harsh in my outlook for the 2006 Bills. It assumes several of the following things will happen: J.P. Losman or Craig Nall emerges as a solid and consistent starting QB; WRs Lee Evans and Roscoe Parrish give the team two dynamite deep targets; RB Willis McGahee runs for 1,250 yards and breaks a few long ones; the offensive line improves significantly; the pass rush improves; Takeo Spikes returns 100 percent; the special teams are the NFL’s best for a third straight season; Dick Jauron has some magic left from Chicago’s out-of-nowhere 13-3 season in 2001; and Marv Levy is a top contender for NFL Executive of the Year.’

‘Losman will never be one of the best quarterbacks in the league. At best, he will be about as good as Dilfer, whom the Ravens deemed not good enough to lead their title defense in 2001.’

‘Willis McGahee and Takeo Spikes also missed the camp, but Jauron said both were excused: McGahee had a scheduling conflict, and Spikes is recuperating from Achilles’ tendon surgery.’

‘Jauron likes the fact his team will get to test itself early against division foes, but clearly was miffed by the lack of respect the NFL’s schedule makers showed Buffalo and new general manager Marv Levy, a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Even Oakland, 4-12 a year ago, will make two Monday night appearances. A record 25 teams will play on MNF.’

‘The Bills will give massive offensive lineman Aaron Gibson, a first-round pick of the Detroit Lions in 1999, a chance to resuscitate his career. Gibson, who last weighed in at around 370 pounds, signed what’s believed to be a one-year, no-strings-attached deal to try to make Buffalo’s roster.’

‘It’s believed Wilson’s big fear over the future viability of the Bills is that on top of escalating player costs due to the new CBA, the owner would be saddled with debt service on the purchase of the team and the likelihood of helping fund a new stadium, debt Wilson currently doesn’t have. Wilson founded the Bills for $25,000 in 1960.’

‘And as Wilson explained, new ownership would not necessarily change the Bills fortunes. Under one proposal in the new NFL collective bargaining agreement, new owners would not be able to share in the league’s robust pot of shared revenue; money that currently sustains the Bills franchise.’