Archives for September 4, 2008

‘”As you know, the size by itself is not a factor,” head coach Dick Jauron said. “There are a lot of very large people who can’t play the game at all. But his skill level is very high, his knowledge of the game is very high. He’s a physical player inside, very hard to match up against for an offensive lineman.”‘

‘The time has come for Edwards to take that next step and put the doubts to rest – about his arm strength, his durability, his ability to make big plays against the top defenses. If the Bills really are a playoff team, Edwards needs to go from wide-eyed rookie to steely veteran, and in a hurry.’

‘In two seasons under Dick Jauron, the Bills have been remarkably resilient. They never lost hope and found ways to stay in games. So it’s natural to wonder what they might accomplish with an older, deeper and more talented roster in a league with so many mediocre teams.’

‘Here’s a look at the challenges ahead for the Bills the next four months…’

‘In watching part of the Bills preseason victory over the Indianapolis Colts, Collinsworth saw a Bills offense that had some similarities with the ones the Bengals played during his career. “It looks like (Schonert) is spreading it out,” said Collinsworth. “It looks a little like the old K-Gun stuff with Jim Kelly and the boys. I’m not one who subscribes to the theory you can’t throw the ball in Buffalo because of the weather. I watched Jim Kelly, Andre Reed and Thurman Thomas run it and throw it down our throat when I played.”‘

‘"We’ve made our shifts and our changes," said Langston Walker, last year’s right tackle who has been moved over to replace Peters. "We wish he was here, but under the circumstances he’s not and we have to work through it. It’s just like a guy was injured – we still have to put five guys out on the field.”’

‘”I would love to keep doing it, but at the same time, just going through the preseason games and seeing what he has and what he can do, it wouldn’t be a bad thing if he did it,” McGee said. “He’s very capable of going out there and making plays, but at the same time I still want to do it. If we mix it in, that would be fine with me.”’

‘”I feel this year, we’ve got a chance,” Schobel said. “With everybody we’ve got, I don’t see why we can’t (contend for a playoff spot.) But that’s on paper — let’s see what happens.”‘

‘But as much as Marino thinks the prospect of a full-time NFL team in southern Ontario would be “great” one day, he would not want to see it happen at the expense of Buffalo — even if he was Public Enemy No. 1 there at one time. “It would be a shame for all those lifetime fans there,” Marino said last night. “They go all the way back to when Jack Kemp played there.”‘

‘Not everyone shares that confidence, but the Bills do have the pieces in place to take the next step up from back-to-back 7-9 seasons under head coach Dick Jauron. Architect Marv Levy has moved on, but he made the most of his return engagement with the Bills by charting a new course with long-range vision.’

‘”I am confident we can go out Sunday and have a good game and make a good showing,” Stroud said. “It’s not about making a statement. It’s about going out and doing what we can to win. It’s about winning. We have a good crew.”‘

‘”Paul is a guy whose love of the game is pretty apparent,” Jauron said. “He’s not a miserable human being to be around ever, so even last year when he was going through something that was very difficult for him he was always pleasant and interesting to talk to. He loves to play football.”‘

‘Three reasons to give up on the bums by Halloween and watch hockey:…’

Rookies Jackson, Carlson will be in Seahawks lineup Sunday (Seattle Post Intelligencer)

In Hasselbeck they trust (Seattle Post Intelligencer)

Hawks seek some traction on the road (Seattle Post Intelligencer)

Mastering the basics (Seattle Post Intelligencer)

TO ratio is the telling stat (Seattle Post Intelligencer)

Super X factor is hard to control (Seattle Post Intelligencer)

Home-field advantage fuels the fire (Seattle Post Intelligencer)

Pressure paves the way (Seattle Post Intelligencer)

For Holmgren, life is a home game (Seattle Post Intelligencer)

Holmgren was a passing fancy back in the day (Seattle Post Intelligencer)

Mike Holmgren’s career through the years (Seattle Post Intelligencer)

Holmgren’s decade of excellence (Seattle Post Intelligencer)

Changes forthcoming for the Seahawks’ backfield (Seattle Times)

Seahawks’ Deion Branch nearing end of long comeback trail (Seattle Times)

10 big questions facing the 2008 Hawks (Seattle Times)

Seahawks have a defense now, too (Seattle Times)

Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren does it his way (Seattle Times)

Grading Mike Holmgren’s drafts (Seattle Times)

Hawks still rule roost in West (Tacoma News Tribune)

Locklear probably won’t play vs. Bills (Tacoma News Tribune)

Branch’s status still ‘up in the air’ (Tacoma News Tribune)

Branch has extra motivation (Everett Herald)

Rookies Jackson, Carlson to start opener (Everett Herald)

Seahawks WR Branch will try to play Sunday (AP)

Inside slant (The Sports Xchange)

Strategy and personnel (The Sports Xchange)

Notes, quotes (The Sports Xchange)

9/3/08 Mailbag with Mike Kahn (Seahawks.com)

‘Listed on the Bills’ depth chart as the third-string tight end, Fine faces an uphill battle for playing time at that position. That hill became steeper recently when Fine injured the thumb on his left hand while making a tackle during a preseason game. Doctors told Fine he could miss up to five weeks. He’s not planning on being out that long. “Hopefully, it will be sooner than that,” Fine said. “I want to get back as fast as possible. It’s just a stinkin’ thumb. I can tough this out.”‘