Archives for August 2006

‘Quarterback play will be among the hot topics at Ralph Wilson Stadium on Friday night, when the Buffalo Bills play host to the Cincinnati Bengals in the second preseason game for both teams.’

‘The biggest, by far, was on the first-team defensive line where Ryan Denney lined up ahead of Chris Kelsay at left end and rookie Kyle Williams took the place of veteran Tim Anderson at one tackle spot. When asked about the change, coach Dick Jauron talked about how, in the rotation – “play as hard as you can as long as you can” – they would all play about equally.’

‘Jauron might be friendly, peaceful and maybe even boring, but don’t let the kind demeanor fool you. One thing that has become evident in his first training camp with the Bills is that this guy does not mess around. There are two types of players, those who perform and those who are sent packing.’

‘The Bills hoped rookie free safety Ko Simpson had good instincts when they drafted him in the fourth round, but his ball-hawking skills have exceeded their expectations throughout training camp. Simpson is challenging Rashad Baker for the backup spot behind veteran Troy Vincent.’

‘Schumer called Goodell right after he was chosen to succeed Tagliabue to tell him “how important keeping the Bills in Buffalo is to me and to all of Western New York.”‘

‘He was hoping that daily physical therapy treatments would alleviate the pain and allow him to travel to Rochester to see his new-look team under general manager Marv Levy and coach Dick Jauron train at St. John Fisher College before camp breaks a week from today.’

‘”I went back and asked the coaches about the number, and that’s when they told me the story of Steve Tasker,” Aiken recalled the other day. “Ever since then I’ve been trying to do Steve and that number proud.”‘

‘Most Bills fans aren’t yet familiar with the name Kyle Williams, but they probably will be soon.’

‘Whitner had a solid outing as a backup against Carolina, credited with a team-high five tackles.’

‘If Price and Davis want to be one of the four lucky enough to remain in Buffalo, they better start running crisper routes and becoming bigger downfield threats tomorrow evening, when the Bills take on the Cincinnati Bengals.’

‘Jauron said that Jackson’s knee injury wasn’t as serious as first feared. The running back was able to watch practice standing just a day after twisting his knee awkwardly on a running play. Jackson however, is unlikely to play against Cincinnati Friday night.’

‘"I would say sure only because I’m one of those people that thinks anything is possible and I feel like I’d be lying to you if I told you ‘no,’" said Buffalo’s head coach. "We’d certainly love to see him do it, but on the flip side if one of those other two guys have an unbelievable game they could be right back in it. The pressure is still there and I think it’s a good thing that it is on all of them. They’re still fighting for the job."’

‘On playing Friday night: I ran a couple of sprint outs today and kind of looked back at Coach Schonert like what are you doing to me, but it felt good. I didn’t have any problems and I’m ready to go. It’s just a matter of getting out there and getting back the rhythm of playing football. Also, not thinking so much, just going out there and playing.’

‘On his frame of mind going into this season franchised: I still had the same mentality. I’ll continue to step up and elevate my game. It’s no different than any other year. I’m ready and I’m no more prepared than a week or a day before.’

‘On how much getting reps with the first teams help with Matt Bowen out: Since Matt (Bowen) went down, I’ve taken every snap with the first team. It’s unfortunate that Matt went down. Matt will be back soon. He’s competitive and we’re still going to compete for the starting job.’