Archives for June 2008

‘"We’ll get to go out there and do a couple of different things," said Whitner in light of the veteran acquisitions. "I know (defensive coordinator) Perry (Fewell) gets to play around with some different things because he has the pieces he needs. That will bring another dimension to our defense and give us an opportunity to make more plays."’

‘”When a team is going well, nothing can lift a community like the NFL.”‘

‘With only seven players into a fourth decade in Whittle, Moorman, Lindell, Schobel, Royal, Ryan Denney and Stroud, who turned 30 last Wednesday, most of those on the roster are at least a few trips around the Sun away from the inevitable decline prompted by aging. These young people may scare geezers with their hip threads and lingo, but the good news for fans is that most of the Bills’ players should have a lot of football left.’

‘Anyway, it’s tough to believe that Goodell yearns to kill off the Bills in Buffalo and install them in Toronto. He wants this on his resume as NFL commissioner? It’s not impossible, of course. It’s just a thought that doesn’t sit easily in the mind.’

‘But he admits he still misses football. "I miss everything about it," he said. "This is the time of year when I’d be out there working hard, conditioning myself, mentally preparing myself for the long season. Now that I don’t have any of that, it’s different. It’s kind of hard."’

‘”Coach Kugler has been great for us,” Dockery said. “As far as his approach, he’s real intense. He’s a guy who wants nothing but the best for us.”‘

‘The new deal extends his contract for three additional years and includes $8.8 million in new money, according to league sources. That’s an average of $2.9 million on the three-year extension.’

‘”The efforts going on to regionalize the team I think are strengthening the team and making the team more successful in Buffalo,” Goodell said. “I think that’s what’s positive, and I think that’s what the fans should understand. It’s good for the Bills and I believe it will be good for the fans overall.”‘

‘Before a throng of reporters, he gave a short, seemingly rehearsed statement – less than a minute long. Speaking barely audibly and with a hangdog look on his face, he looked like a little boy being forced to apologize in front of his classroom.’

‘"I think Bills fans should continue to do what they’ve been doing which is provide tremendous support to the Bills in Buffalo," he said. "I think this move to Toronto for a limited number of games has actually strengthened the Buffalo Bills and Western New York. It’s allowed them to generate additional revenue. It has regionalized it just like we did in the 1990s when we started selling tickets more aggressively in the southern tier and the Rochester area and Syracuse. It’s broadening our region so we can bring more people into Buffalo. I think people will go from Buffalo up to Toronto to see those games, but I also think people are going to come from Toronto to Buffalo. Not only to see those games but hopefully participate in other things in that community."’

”’I think people will go from Buffalo up to Toronto to see those games, but I also think that people are going to come from Toronto to Buffalo. Not only to see those games, but, hopefully, participate in other things in that community. So, this is a part of the regionalization we saw in the mid 90s in Buffalo … to broaden its market.”’

‘Still, Goodell rejected the notion that the games the Bills will play at Toronto’s Rogers Centre are a first step toward moving the team to Canada, comparing it instead with league-wide efforts to make teams’ fan bases regional and national in scale. "I don’t accept that, from the standpoint that it’s strengthening the team here in Buffalo, and it has made the team more successful," Goodell said. "It’s regionalizing it, just as we did in the 1990s when we started selling tickets more aggressively in the Southern Tier, the Rochester area and out to Syracuse."’

‘"At this time, I would like to put this matter behind everyone involved and focus on the future," Lynch said.’

‘"I was not speeding and at no time struck the woman who was dancing and spinning," he said in the statement released by his attorney Michael P. Caffery. "I also never heard, saw or felt anything else that would lead me to believe that I had struck anyone else or anything else at that time."’

‘"When I was making a left turn from Chippewa onto Delaware a woman came into the road," Lynch stated. "This woman was dancing and spinning around in the crosswalk. I slowed down for her and when she went by I proceeded down Delaware Avenue."’