Archives for April 27, 2008

‘He had a terrific NFL Combine, ranking third among tight ends in the bench press with 24 repetitions, first in the three-cone drill and second in the 20-yard shuttle.’

‘While it’s too early to determine how much playing time he’ll get as a rookie with the Bills, he will be given every opportunity to compete for a backup spot behind starters Aaron Schobel and Chris Kelsay.’

‘Corner had 15 career interceptions, including a Mid-American Conference-best seven picks as a senior. He was a first team All-MAC selection last fall.’

‘Many mock drafts didn’t place Fine in the middle rounds. But his strong showing in pre-draft workouts, including the prestigious NFL Combine, made him a wanted man by several NFL teams.’

‘Buffalo went into day two with eight picks. (#72, #114, #132, #147, #179, #219, #224, #251).’

‘"We went into the year last season feeling that defensive end was one of our strongest positions because we felt we had four good ends, but Ryan Denney broke his foot and Anthony Hargrove got suspended so hopefully we can keep everybody healthy and keep guys fresh and play a lot of guys," said Bills defensive line coach Bill Kollar.’

‘"(McKelvin’s) a good all-around corner," he said. "We’re fortunate to have very good returners but he gives you that added dimension in that we have competition in there. From a talent aspect he’s a terrific athlete who will give you corner support and he has excellent cover skills. (Interception) numbers can sometimes be a bit misleading. Using a baseball analogy, he’s the shortstop who has a lot of range and winds up getting his glove on a lot of balls. He gets his hands on a lot of balls but they’re not really catchable because he’s diving in and making plays."’

‘”I’m going to come in and do my job,” said McKelvin, who was also a big-play kick returner in his NCAA career. “Come in fighting to make the team a lot better.”‘

‘”Personally, for me, I’m really pleased,” said Bills coach Dick Jauron. “It’s a relief in terms of the draft because these are two critical positions on any football team, and on ours they were two critical needs. Now we go into the second day of the draft a little more open, a little more at ease.”‘

‘”I mean, I’ve got the same things that they bring to the game, and that I’m bringing to the game right now,” McKelvin said during a conference call Saturday. “We all came from Troy University and we’re great defensive players. I’m going to come in and do my job and do what I do and progress every year.”‘

‘”I would just stay at school, in the gym or on the field so I wouldn’t have to go home,” Hardy said Saturday. “That’s what got me here and I’ll be able to go home to my own house and eat right and just be able to focus on being a professional. I take this very seriously. Besides my faith and family this is the most important thing to me. I just want to make everybody proud.”‘

‘Russ Brandon, presiding over the draft for the first time as chief operating officer, said the Bills stuck by their board and filled their two most pressing needs. We’ll find out soon enough if these two kids can play, but for now you have to give the Bills the benefit of the doubt.’

‘With J. P. still on the roster, the Bills still have two starting quarterbacks. There remains a question among some of the players as well as many fans about whether Edwards or Losman is the better fit. Having a No. 2 with proven credentials is a major asset for a team with playoff ambitions.’

‘Hardy didn’t have much contact with the Bills with the exception of a couple of meetings at the NFL combine. “They seemed real interested, but other teams seemed more interested,” he said. “Going through this situation, you don’t know what to think. You don’t know what’s going on. Teams that may ask you to (visit) might be the one’s that are not interested. Overall, it feels good to go to Buffalo.”‘

‘The truth is we can grade the Bills all we want on paper. On paper I like what they did. But until we see these guys in the pads and on the field, we don’t know if this was a good day. But I like the chances that they struck a little gold.’