Archives for October 2006

‘Did Schumer get you on board more recently? He mentioned your name last March when he publicly promised to pressure the NFL to take care of small-market teams. He and Russert met with Tagliabue in Schumer’s Washington office. He did, but I didn’t go. I couldn’t go. I’m very close to Ralph, I love Ralph, and I wouldn’t do anything to trespass on his control of – eventually there will be a change, and it’s up to him. But I know he wants to keep it in Buffalo, and I think that’s a great mark of his patriotism and love for Western New York.’

‘Of Buffalo’s first-day rookies, only the abovementioned Whitner has made a significant impact. However, out of six second-day choices, two rookies – Simpson and Ellison – have been solid performers, and a third – Pennington – has a chance to join the class of good picks by the Bills’ brain trust.’

‘Four Bills players, Steve Tasker, Terrence McGee, Andre Reed, and Lee Evans, will be featured on a variety of Bills corporate brand products, available exclusively at TOPS. These products include: Frosted Flakes, Corn Flakes, Frosted Shredded Wheat and Shredded Wheat cereals; Dry roasted peanuts; Pretzel Barrels; Chicken Noodle, Sirloin Beef and New England Clam Chowder chunky soups.’

‘There is a baptism into true fandom. If you’ve ever sat through four hours of sleet at Ralph Wilson Stadium, you know that weather is the baptism for true initiates – not the halfhearted fans who come in October but huddle around their TV sets in December; not the corporate types in their heated luxury boxes. The real fans.’

‘This is a terrific group of people. Very hardworking guys. They’re not afraid to work. Their effort has never been a problem. It’s not a problem in terms of their effort in preparation, their effort in the offseason. They’re very committed. Our problem has been execution and performance on game day, and again, the foolish errors. And by no means am I saying it’s just the players. It starts with me. I’ve got to do a much better job of getting them ready, and we’ve all got to perform our jobs better on game day. But I really buy into these guys, and I really do believe it’s a process.’

‘For a team that is led by two Ivy Leaguers, general manager Marv Levy and coach Dick Jauron, the Bills sure aren’t playing very smart.’

‘Smith might be the only Bill since the stadium opened in Orchard Park that could impact a game that way from the defensive side of the ball. He wasn’t much of a Buffalo guy, and you got the feeling he hustled just as fast to the airport when the final whistle blew, but make no mistake, few could play like Smith.’

‘They might be struggling on the field, but the Buffalo Bills have a solid squad on the Madden ’07 video game. At least, according to Takeo Spikes.’

‘"I was just too big, too huge," he said. "It just wasn’t right." Now 29, he is out of the league after being cut before the season by the Buffalo Bills. Gibson, who said he now weighs 360 pounds, is hoping a team will sign him before the season ends.’

‘They are close to selling out all home games. But the Sabres at their early-season best aren’t half as important to armchair fans as the Buffalo Bills at their worst.’

‘Ethan Albright thought his NFL career was over when Buffalo coach Marv Levy called his young backup offensive tackle out of stretching drills in the summer of 1997. "I had already been cut four times and I think I’m going to be cut again," Albright recalled. "Marv tells me, ‘Ethan, you’re not going to be one of our top eight linemen.’ I’m getting ready to walk out. Then he said, ‘We want you to focus on snapping. We want you to go to meetings and know what to do, but we don’t want you to practice at tackle and risk getting hurt.’ I didn’t know whether to do cartwheels or be upset. I wasn’t going to reach my first goal, but I was going to have a special job. Obviously, it turned out very well."’

‘”I feel like things are going pretty good,” Whitner said. “I’m learning. With a record of 2-5 not everything is going the way I want it to go. I want to win football games and this is the first time I’ve been on a losing team. I’ve never lost this many game in high school or at Ohio State. We just want to get it turned around. I’m learning every day from the vets and the coaches.”‘

‘We have nine games left in the season and we are staring at a dismal record. Still I believe the Bills just might make the playoffs. Am I crazy?’

‘After seven games, the Bills have seen mixed results from their top three choices. While Whitner has vastly exceeded early expectations, the team’s other two selections have been much too quiet. Granted, there have been extenuating circumstances for both, but that doesn’t mean they haven’t been nonexistent.’

‘Watching NFL football on TV seemed to be high on a lot of player’s “to do” lists. “It’s a chance to watch other teams and to see what we want to do and how we’re going to do it,” quarterback J.P. Losman said.’