Archives for April 2008

‘The NFL is full of stories about foreign born players that grew up in the United States and made a professional career out of football. Buffalo’s own Ashton Youboty, born in Lieberia, is just one example. Boston College offensive tackle prospect Gosder Cherilus will be another.’

‘Brandon once again stated the eight games are simply a move by the Bills to extend their brand into the Canadian marketplace and that Buffalo football fans are OK with it. He added the decision to play games in Toronto is no different than when the NFL club decided to shift its training camp to Rochester from Fredonia, N.Y., to further add to its fan base. "I think generally people are excited by the opportunity," Brandon said. "As we move forward people understand this is part of our regionalization plan in building our brand above the border in a tremendous market as Toronto is. "It’s very similar to the regionalization strategy we put forth a decade ago into the Rochester area with our training camp. We’re trying to replicate the success we had in Rochester in the Toronto area."’

‘One of the worst-kept secrets of this draft is that the Bills are seeking a wide receiver to pair with Lee Evans, and a possession receiver with some size would seem to fit the bill. Enter Oklahoma’s Malcolm Kelly, a 6-4 specimen with good hands who isn’t a sure thing but looks like the best wideout in this draft. Michigan State’s Devin Thomas would be another option for the Bills.’

‘”This somewhat finalizes how we want to regionalize this franchise and put a stick in the ground above the border,” Brandon said. “We would be remiss if we did not try to capture over five million people within our home marketing territory . . . and try to strengthen the franchise right here in Western New York.”‘

‘Every franchise copes with injuries, and everyone complains when they happen, but the Bills actually may have been justified in doing so. One advantage Buffalo has going into this season is that it would be almost statistically impossible for it to suffer through shelving as many players as it did during 2007.’

‘The Steelers will play a preseason game against the Buffalo Bills in Toronto. The Aug. 14 contest will mark the first time since Aug. 3, 1960, that the Steelers will play a game in Toronto.’

‘Registration for tickets closes April 24. There are only 53,000 seats at the Rogers Centre and requests for more than that have already been registered, with 3,500 signing up per day in the last week. Bills season-ticket holders (there were 48,000 last year), sponsors and Argo season-ticket holders have priority.’

‘Though the league makes the schedule, the Bills are pleased that a high-profile team will kick off the team’s latest initiative at regionalizing the franchise. “This somewhat finalizes how we want to regionalize this franchise and put a stick in the ground above the border,” Bills general manager and COO Russ Brandon said yesterday.’

‘The possibility is very good that three of the Buffalo Bills’ four preseason games this summer are going to be slam-dunk sellouts.’

‘Organizers claim to have been receiving more than 3,500 ticket requests a day since last week, with demand now outstripping the stadium’s capacity. The exhibition will be the first in an eight-game series featuring the Bills in Toronto, followed by a regular season game this fall, the National Football League’s first in Canada.’

‘The Bills held the exclusive rights to retain both players.’

‘Buffalo kept a pair of young players on their roster as exclusive rights free agents Tim Massaquoi and Corey Mace re-signed with the club.’

‘The Steelers were considered one of several obvious opponents because they also maintain a large following in Toronto.’

‘ In week two of the preseason Buffalo will "host" Pittsburgh at the Rogers Centre in Toronto for a Thursday night contest on Aug. 14. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 pm and the game will air locally on WKBW-TV.’

‘This team needs to consider every method possible of advancing the ball, and an obvious method of doing so would be sneaking in more throws to a running back who seems capable of adding this aspect as a huge weapon in his personal arsenal. Lynch finished with a 139.6 passer rating last season after tossing a touchdown on that fabulous halfback option against the Bengals, but his real talent could be bumping up his quarterback’s numbers by receiving more high-percentage passes before he speeds and bruises away downfield.’