Archives for August 14, 2008

‘”You can get really great seats in Buffalo for $65 or $75,” Jason Whitwell said. “For the same amount of money to see a game here, we’d prefer to go to Buffalo, stay in a hotel, have a tailgate party and get our tickets. This feels like a bit of a money grab.”‘

‘Me? I can’t help but think that there’s a certain inevitability here. As difficult as it is to type this, Buffalo is looking more and more desert-able at a time when Toronto is looking more and more opulent. And that makes for a bad combination, at least from a romantic’s point of view.’

‘"It’s been a quick turnaround and we had a couple of practices and it seemed like we just played a couple of days ago," said Trent Edwards. "I feel like a lot of the guys in the first group are anxious to get back out there. I know we had only two series last week."’

‘”I don’t really have any thoughts on the short week, mostly because I have no say in it,” said Bills head coach Dick Jauron. “I just live by the schedule and go play. We are excited about the trip to Toronto. We are going to play a regular-season game up there, also, so it will give us a chance to get a feel for it.”‘

‘Is tonight the beginning of the end?’

‘The individuals who shined against Washington helped make watching an untidy game bearable, and the expectation should be that those players not only continue to thrive but are also joined by others; it would be nice to see individuals either respectively get or keep going. If nothing else, those Bills who make an impact while jockeying for position will demonstrate to the demonstrators that this breed of football is more interesting than the Roughrider version.’

‘”He came up right before the game,” said Bills quarterbacks coach Alex Van Pelt, “and he said, ‘This is fun. Playing in the games is fun. Now I know why I love football again.'”‘

‘Edwards on the offense’s goals for tonight: “We just want to improve off last week’s performance, put some points on the board, score, don’t make any mental errors, don’t turn the ball over. If we don’t score, put our defense in a good position to succeed. All those things will factor into whether we have a good performance.”‘

‘”Toronto’s going to have the opportunity to experience the NFL at home, in its own backyard,” Christie added. “It’s a big-league opportunity for a major-league city.”‘

‘"We’re excited," said the Bills’ chief operating officer, Russ Brandon, during a news conference at the InterContinental Hotel in downtown Toronto Wednesday. "This is a historic time period in our franchise’s history and we’re excited that it’s finally here. It’s been a long time coming and for it to be here is exciting for everyone.”’

‘”I think there is (anticipation), a little bit, but it’s tempered by two things,” said Mike Zeisberger, who covers the NFL for the Toronto Sun. “The first is the price of the tickets and the fact that a lot of people were turned off thinking this is just a big cash grab. And the second is that it’s an exhibition game. There are tons of NFL fans up here but not necessarily Buffalo Bills fans.”’

‘”The Bills (merchandise), I would say probably this year is up maybe around 12 percent from what we did last year – which was good,” he said. “As far as season tickets helping, yeah certainly, you can definitely see it.”‘

‘Kelly, has come up with the idea of one day having a new stadium built in Niagara Falls, N.Y., making it much more convenient for Canadian fans who wish to attend games.’

‘”It’s a marketing ploy to increase interest in Buffalo, with regard to the Bills, north of the border. They are doing what they have to do.”‘

‘In some ways, the Bills have already won this race.’