Archives for August 2006

‘”He’s a very tough kid,” Bills offensive line coach Jim McNally said. “I think he’s a darn good tackle prospect.”‘

‘The league-wide new stadium building boom under Tagliabue and Goodell, much of it financed with league money, has always rankled Wilson. But Goodell is known as someone who respects the history of the game and like his predecessors, Pete Rozelle and Tagliabue, embraces the importance of revenue sharing as the bedrock of the NFL’s astounding success. Will he work to fight for teams like Buffalo, Cincinnati and Indianapolis against big markets like Dallas, Washington and New England that have their own agendas when it comes to sharing revenue?’

‘Still, the coaches had indicated Posey would be given a look as a pass-rushing end. They quickly concluded, however, that free agents Mark Word, Eric Powell, Ryan Neill, Jason Hall and Josh Cooper deserved those repetitions in competition for the fourth DE job, rather than spend time experimenting with Posey. In Buffalo’s new scheme, speed is favored over size.’

‘”It was nice to see our group come back, play hard, keep going, and make some plays. All in all, it was a first exhibition game. We certainly would’ve liked to have done better particularly early, but we’ll go and correct things. We’ve got a lot of tape we can coach off of now, for a lot of guys, and that’s a good thing.” – Coach Dick Jauron after his team fought back from a 14-0 deficit but lost its preseason opener at Carolina 14-13.’

‘When the Buffalo Bills line up this Friday for their second exhibition game, they must get better performances from nearly every player on the roster.’

‘It’s still very early, but an offense that ranked among the most impotent in the NFL last year didn’t show many signs of improvement in its first dress rehearsal of the season.’

‘”I think it’s a plus, particularly when you know he’s a qualified person,” Levy said Saturday prior to the Bills’ preseason opener against the Carolina Panthers. “Everything I know about Roger Goodell has been a plus. I got to know him over the years when we go to league meetings, and I thought he was a very bright guy. It seems like a smooth transition for someone who is prepared. My personal reaction – it is a good hiring. I was happy it happened.”‘

‘Kelly Holcomb was named the starting quarterback for Saturday’s preseason opener with Carolina but his performance did nothing to help him earn that job full time.’

‘The team’s 2006 unveiling showed little improvement over the 2005 edition.’

‘Schulz is five years removed from his final season in the NFL and he’s made an easy transition into his second career, the one on which he expected to embark directly before the Buffalo Bills drafted him out of Eastern Washington University in 1992. An academic All-American while majoring in business administration at EWU, Schulz has been a financial adviser for Merrill Lynch for nearly three years.’

‘"The punting unit’s gotten a lot of work tonight. The team looks all right, although not as all right as I’d hoped for," says Theal. "But we’re going to get the losses out of the way in the preseason and go undefeated in the regular season."’

‘Holcomb would prefer the tape of his four series of action be burned. After a tough week of practice at St. John Fisher College, the 10-year veteran still looked unsteady in Buffalo’s new offense under Steve Fairchild, and completed just 2 of 4 passes for 16 yards and one very big error.’

‘For a small-market club like Buffalo, the issue is of vital importance. It’s what will ultimately decide if the franchise can remain in Western New York. With Goodell’s hiring, the issue is now on the front burner.’

‘O’Billovich isn’t the only one, but he’s one of the high-profile guys to stalk the sidelines at Buffalo Bills training camp in Pittsford, hoping to find a diamond to take back across the border.’

‘He is firmly entrenched as the starter at weakside linebacker, and all the starters were being pulled at that point. And despite the early exit, he finished as the Bills’ second-leading tackler with four. “It was just good to get out there and get some real live action,” he said. “We didn’t game-plan, so it was just a matter of going out and reading your keys, and just getting out and playing.”‘