Archives for April 2008

‘You’ve got to feel for the Bills, whose top two draft picks ever are a guy who stood trial for his wife’s murder and the only quarterback to lose four Super Bowls in a row. And that’s without even mentioning their draft busts, a draft dodger and a chronic underachiever.’

‘6:40pm: The guy you believe the Bills should have drafted goes to the Denver Broncos at #12. Kiper and the other analysts rave about the value Denver got and how the guy was really a top 5 pick so he was a steal at #12. The praise given Denver coupled with the lack of any information on the Bills’ pick makes you want to vomit.’

‘1st round – Malcolm Kelly with the 22nd pick in a trade with Dallas.’

‘As an end of either the tight or defensive variety, Scott might be a long shot to last through final cuts, but if he’s willing to once again line up where the staff wants him, employ his impressive speed, and perhaps also take the field for kicking plays, he has a chance to land with the pro team in the same area code as his university. If management is first wise to drafting him and were he to then eventually make the lineup, Scott would go from possible nice story for the Bills to promising useful component.’

‘”It’s the best job in the world,” said Roth, a 31-year-old Charlotte, N. C., resident too absorbed with his professional passion to be anything but single. Whereas most Bills scouts spend 10 or 11 straight days on the road, then two at home, Roth went five straight weeks without seeing Charlotte. So much for cultivating a relationship.’

‘"When you’re on the clock there is always a great sense of anxiety," said Bills COO Russ Brandon. "When you’re not on the clock sometimes during the old 15-minute period you’d say, ‘My gosh we’ve got a lot of time to wait for their pick.’ So there are two sides to it."’

‘Stating the Bills need help at the receiver position is the equivalent of saying the sky is blue; in other words, it’s been obvious for a while now, and the position is clearly Buffalo’s weakest.’

‘”Marv Levy is more than a coach, especially to the people of Western New York, so we’re honored to be working with someone who represents leadership and inspiration like he does,” Bonadio managing partner Thomas Bonadio said.’

‘Thomas has the size and speed the Bills’ offense desperately needs. He is 6-foot-2, 215 pounds, and he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.40 seconds, just a shade behind the time Bills receiver Lee Evans ran coming out of college.’

‘Widely considered a top 10 selection, Ellis offers versatility uncommon for a defensive tackle lacking ideal size. At just a shade over six-feet and 309 pounds, Ellis is believed by many NFL evaluators to be capable of playing both nose tackle and under tackle in a 4-3 scheme.’

‘"Everybody knows Marv," Mann said. "We think as ourselves as trusted business advisors and we think Marv fits that mold."’

‘Under the two-year arrangement, Levy will take part in a variety of community and special events involving The Bonadio Group and will serve as a keynote speaker for its Bonadio Leadership University, an executive leadership training program for Bonadio Group employees.’

‘”We invited him because he’s a family man,” said event head Jennifer Bruschafer. “We wouldn’t want to bring someone in who wasn’t. We wanted to teach core values – what’s most important in life, that it’s not just about being a Hall of Famer, it’s about being the best person you can be. He represents what we wanted our children to see.”‘

‘And Buffalo should be the place the tall, speedy and physical Hardy starts his pro journey. It would indeed be a marriage made in heaven between a team whose receiving corps is constructed of Lollipop Guild extras and a veritable giant who is anxiously awaiting draft Saturday, when league commissioner Roger Goodell will surely call his name.’

‘Why gamble on drafting a wide receiver when one of the five best in the sport is on the trade block?’