Archives for August 24, 2006

‘The Purdue grad missed 13 games last year with an ankle injury.’

‘Though preseason games are essentially meaningless in terms of outcome, this Browns game will be a defining moment for the accomplished Spikes. If he can get anywhere near his old form, the Bills’ defense could improve vastly from its disastrous 2005 campaign.’

‘On how he has progressed: At the beginning of camp, I didn’t know what to think or expect. I was getting coached really hard and all I could do was be consistent and work on the things I needed to work on and not get caught up in the competition thing. The tables have turned a little towards the end and that’s feeding my confidence and giving our offense an identity of who were are and who we want to be.’

‘On the signing of Joe Odom: Well, Joe’s a guy that we drafted (in Chicago) and we like his athletic ability, his toughness, he’s got good speed and he’s a fit for us defensively. He doesn’t have a lot of learning to do coming in here, so he could play almost immediately. It seemed like a real good opportunity for us and we took it.’

‘"Things went well," said Odom of his first practice with his new Bills teammates. "There were just a few little things that were different, but it’s pretty similar which made it a lot easier on me instead coming to a brand new defense."’

‘On the collision with Lionel Gates: My hat came off; one of my chinstraps was undone. We hit each other and it feels good. It’s football, that’s what I do. I like to get out there and hit people and run around and make plays.’

‘When asked about his health, Spikes said, “I’m right where I need to be … every week the strength is coming back. I’ve needed every day (of camp). “On a week-to-week basis, Thursday-to-Thursday, there’s been dramatic improvement. When I first got out here, I was afraid to back-pedal and stop. The next week, I was able to do it and cut to the left and the right. The next week I was able to back-pedal, come back forward, then back-pedal again.”‘