Archives for January 15, 2009

‘OL Chris Denman, LB Vince Hall, WR C.J. Hawthorne, WR Felton Huggins, WR Mike Jefferson, OL Brandon Rodd and DL Marcus Smith.’

‘That fact makes his role easy to define. He’ll only be 27 in July, but he’ll be preparing for his fifth season by the time that birthday arrives. What he, and we, should accept by then is that Parrish is a better track athlete than footballer, as he needs open space to get up to his notoriously high speed.’

‘Beast Mode is a state of being that Bills running back Marshawn Lynch takes on when he steps between the lines on Sundays. One of his biggest fans also took that approach when it came to playing the Buffalo Bills Season Ticket Holder Fantasy Challenge this season.’

‘"This is going to be my Super Bowl victory – when I’m able to see kids running around, talking, walking," Kelly, 48, of Orchard Park, Erie County, told about 25 local business people at the Clarion Riverside Hotel. Hunter died of Krabbe leukodystrophy, an inherited neurological disease, at age 8, in 2005.’

‘Chautauqua Sports Hall of Fame induction dinner chairman Chip Johnson has announced that Buffalo Bill play-by-play announcer John Murphy will be the emcee for the event on Feb. 16 at the Lakewood Rod & Gun Club.’

‘Leonard finished fourth on the team during the regular season with 85 tackles. He had one sack and one interception. He also returned 30 punts for 232 yards and eight kickoffs for 163 yards. That’s not bad for a player who wasn’t re-signed by the Buffalo Bills after the 2008 season.’

‘It was a year of missed opportunity.’

‘Edwards will return as the entrenched starter, but he still has much to prove heading into this third NFL season. Injuries have hurt his development, and he enters the offseason with a suspect throwing shoulder. When healthy, he has performed brilliantly at times, but his 12-11 record reflects his growing pains. His 65.5 percent completion percentage in 2008 was second best in team history and sixth overall in the league. He improved his yards-per-attempt average from 6.06 to 7.22, a mark most playoff quarterbacks hit. Still, he struggled with his accuracy later in the year and really struggled facing 3-4 defenses, something he needs to improve on playing in the AFC East. Former first-round pick Losman failed to lead Buffalo to wins in four emergency relief appearances, struggling with taking sacks and committing turnovers. He’s a free agent and won’t be retained, putting Buffalo in the market for a veteran backup.’

‘"It seems like we got the raw end of so many deals," C Duke Preston said. "The only thing we can do is stay committed to our game because weird things are going to happen. The bottom line is that we needed to win. We (were) 7-9, and we left at least four games out there."’