Archives for May 13, 2006

‘"I want to be careful how I phrase this because I don’t want it to come across like Buffalo people have embraced losing," says Jim Kelley, a radio and TV personality and former columnist with The Buffalo News. "But they have managed to pick the positives out of what has been a largely negative public and international perception — and that is it’s a city of losers."’

‘After analyzing game tape of last season, new Bills defensive coordinator Perry Fewell could sympathize with what predecessor Jerry Gray was up against. “As I looked at it last year, Lawyer was always sitting in the box,” he said. “Looking at it, that’s an eight-man front, maybe they’re going to blitz. Now we’re interchangeable. (Whitner and Simpson) give us flexibility. Both guys can cover. From a look, disguise (standpoint), we’ve gotten better with those additions.”‘

‘Coach Dick Jauron said the newcomers at defensive end — or any position, for that matter — can feel encouraged that they will be given a fair and long look. “Guys can make this team anywhere, regardless of who they’re behind,” he said. “We know the odds of that. But that situation does exist and we’ll make them aware of it. If they follow pro football at all and know our roster, then they know (that opportunity) exists.”‘

‘As promised, Jauron gave equal time to quarterbacks Kelly Holcomb, J.P. Losman and Craig Nall during mini-camp. There are two more sessions planned for May and June before training camp starts in late July. There won’t be a clear-cut starter by then, setting the stage for an intense competition through the pre-season. “That’s been our plan and we’ll stick to it right into training camp,” Jauron said. “Then we’ll see where it goes from that point on.”‘