Archives for April 2008

‘First-round pick Leodis McKelvin grew up a Dallas Cowboys fan watching Dallas defeat the Bills in back-to-back Super Bowls in the early 1990s. His favorite player was Deion Sanders. "I grew up a Dallas Cowboys fan and now I get to play against one of their rivals that they played in the Super Bowl," he said. "Buffalo’s got a great city and I’m going to come in and give the fans what they are looking for, a great player."’

‘Rogers Communications Inc. will pay the Buffalo Bills $78 million for shifting a series of games to Toronto over the next five seasons. The company, for the first time, confirmed the cost of the deal Tuesday.’

‘In 45 career games, including 28 starts, he had 91 carries for 321 yards and three touchdowns, including two last season. Viti, who must pass a team physical, is scheduled to report to the Bills for the start of their rookie minicamp this weekend.’

‘A fullback in every sense of the word, Viti was known for his body-jolting blocks at West Point. Blessed with a low center of gravity, Viti is a very effective lead blocker through the hole. "He’s a good blocker between the tackles," said Bills Coordinator of College Scouting Doug Majeski. "He’s a classic isolation fullback that will go up there and hit somebody in line."’

‘So it begins, the process of learning how to become a professional football player and you can believe that come September, the Buffalo Bills will have an impact rookie at wide receiver and all of Fort Wayne can go along for the ride.’

‘With free agency and the draft now over, it’s likely the Bills are more or less finished patching their major holes on both sides of the ball. Offensively, they certainly improved during the draft by adding two big wideouts (Hardy and Johnson) to aid a fledgling red-zone attack, but center and tight end are still concerns entering the 2008 campaign. Though fullback remains a position of uncertainty, don’t be surprised if the Hulk-like Viti takes the position by storm during the summer and emerges next September as running back Marshawn Lynch’s lead blocker.’

‘The Ravens signed Jim Leonhard, a 5-8, 190-pound safety who spent the past three seasons with the Buffalo Bills. He is considered a special teams player.’

‘”I’ve always felt you have to have four,” Bills Vice President of College Scouting Tom Modrak said of pass rushing defensive ends. “You can live with three but four is better.”‘

‘The two have had very little contact during Bell’s life. His mother, Gloria Bell, reportedly was only 13 years old and Malone a college sophomore at Louisiana Tech when Demetrius was born. Malone might have served jail time had her family asked the district attorney to file criminal charges.’

‘"Sometimes it is better to be a free agent than a seventh-round pick just so you can choose the best situation," said Drone, a 6-foot-2, 210-pounder who was born in Evansville. "I don’t think I could be in a better position than I am now."’

‘Former Arkansas offensive lineman Robert Felton agreed to deal as an undrafted free agent with the Buffalo Bills, the university announced Monday evening.’

‘We won’t know for at least a couple years or more if Brandon’s first draft was a good one, but he and Modrak and the input of coach Dick Jauron make it good odds this draft will make the Bills a better team on the field in 2008. Nobody hopes more than they do, that they’ll be drafting much further down in 2009.’

‘Wichard said that while Losman wanted out, he’d play out his contract if necessary before heading elsewhere as a free agent next spring.’

‘Last year, only five of seven draftees made the 53-man squad – though three were starters – but every one of the 30 draft picks between 2003-06 appeared on the active roster for at least a season. In other words, get used to seeing the latest 10 draft choices … they all figure to survive for at least a year.’

‘The Bills went out and got the job done. About the only surprise is that the team was honest about the process. It identified two needs, for a defensive back and wide receiver with size, and then went out and addressed them as best they could.’