Archives for April 22, 2006

‘Despite the additions at wide receiver, the coaches like what they’ve seen from third-year WR Sam Aiken. He hasn’t gotten much playing time in his first three seasons, but Aiken gives the team a big receiver to go with the smaller wide outs. Aiken is a possession receiver who uses good route running and his 6-2, 204-pound frame to overcome a lack of speed. He has good hands, can make catches in traffic and isn’t afraid to go over the middle. Aiken may never be more than a third or fourth receiver, but he can be effective if used properly. The team plans to use multiple-receiver packages, so Aiken will have a chance to make an impact.’

‘Ten of Buffalo’s 12 draft picks the past two years were spent on offense, but even then the club landed only one and a half starters (wide receiver Lee Evans and part-time quarterback J.P. Losman).’

‘Players lost: DT Sam Adams; DT Justin Bannan; TE Mark Campbell; DT Ron Edwards; S Lawyer Milloy; WR Eric Moulds; OT Mike Williams.’

‘Wilson, 87, still doesn’t like the labor deal that now links the salary cap to a large percentage (nearly 60%) of total gross revenues. The deal means large-city revenues generated by a stadium boom across the league will pass down player costs on small-city teams that don’t have the same local revenues to pay for them.’

‘Consider that Buffalo has gone from being the 20th largest city in the nation (when the Bills came to town) to No. 57 in 2000. Even worse, both the city and Erie County are in such poor condition that they are being run by control boards. The fact is, Western New York has been let down by its leadership – and this does not just refer to government – for the past 30 years. One of the few shining stars has been Buffalo sports, and the Buffalo Bills in particular. So when the Bills leave, don’t be too angry. There are too many factors that Bills fans, and the Bills themselves, won’t be able to control.’

‘Bizarre moment of the month: During an NFL Network discussion recently, guest analyst Ricky Proehl said an ideal place for Green Bay quarterback Brett Favre to be traded was Buffalo. He said the Bills were "an up and coming team" that just needed a quarterback. I don’t know what was more shocking – the suggestion that Favre come here or hearing the words "an up and coming team" in the same sentence as the Bills.’

‘Bunkley is a 6-foot-21/2, 305-pounder who can play nose tackle, and he looks like a great fit for the Tampa-style defense the Bills are adopting under new coach Dick Jauron.’

‘"We’re in the process of fine tuning grades. There are so many elements that go into picking the players besides athletic ability like performance, character assessments and medical condition to name a few. We find we’re pretty much through the initial covering of the offense. We have just a few more offensive linemen that we’ll be covering. We’ll be going heavily into the defensive side of it next week."’

‘Buffalo will be looking to add depth to their offensive and defensive lines. They may be a little gun-shy of taking on offensive lineman that early after the Mike Williams debacle that just ended this off season.’

‘During a press luncheon Friday, general manager Marv Levy and assistant GM Tom Modrak dipped and ducked around questions regarding Young as if they were the ones running a naked bootleg. “I think he’s a fantastic athlete, fantastic,” Levy said. “I like Vince Young. But I like Matt Leinart, I like Jay Cutler, I like (Alabama’s) Brodie Croyle. I like a lot of guys in the draft.”‘

‘A lot of people feel Bunkley is the better pick for the Bills because of the one-gap scheme which will be used this year. It requires a lineman to be more of a quick, penetrating lineman. At just over 6-2 and 305 pounds, Bunkley doesn’t eat up a lot of space, but he is very good off the snap and can make tackles for losses – 23 behind the line in 2005.’