Archives for January 2009

‘"Without them, they would have gone down, and the AFL would have gone down," according to Larry Felser, the former Buffalo selector for the Hall. " It was against the league constitution, but as he said years later, I did it for the good of the league."’

‘"I think it’s great what the Bills Alumni Foundation does for youth groups in Western New York," said an elated Chris Kowalski. "Hopefully, this will bring an even greater awareness of the wonderful work the Alumni Foundation does."’

‘Buffalo needs a third back who can carry at least three or four times per outing as opposed to one who’s active for two games as its rookie option was last year. Whether it’s Omon or a currently mythical back, the player’s workload wouldn’t be taken away from the current tandem but would rather be in addition to the two incumbents’ approximate work.’

‘”(LSU’s) Tyson Jackson is a defensive end that could play in either scheme,” said Mayock. “At that level he’s a logical guy. Brian Orakpo is going to probably be a top 10 or 12 pick. Then you start getting into some of the underclassmen. I don’t think any of the other seniors are going to go that high as far as defensive ends.”‘

‘Are fans willing to reach deeper in the quest for improvement while keeping in mind that a bigger payroll and higher paid coaches by no means guarantee success? Or are things fine just the way they are, with both franchises holding to their budgets in order to minimize ticket prices?’

‘”The biggest thing was seeing the NFL coaching staff on the field and the pace of practice and knowing you’re on the practice field with the best guys in the country,” said Ellis. “That’s kind of the first introduction into the NFL and having to step your game level up and getting better as a player. That was the eye opener. You’re getting the best of the best and you’re quickly aware that it’s an opportunity to bring what you have to the table.”‘

‘The average price to get into an NFL stadium on game day last year was $72.20; is there a Bills fan who wouldn’t pay 20 bucks extra per game for even a slight bit more success? Who wouldn’t pay more if it helped end the team’s playoff drought?’

‘Seeing several of his players inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame has helped take away some of the sting of failing to win a championship despite so many tries.’

‘The two-minute warning has sounded, and the Buffalo Bills are trailing – in a contest that could provide a total of 18,000 cans of free soup to local food pantries.’

‘1. Acquiring Drew Bledsoe. Spring 2002.’

‘For all their failings, the Bills have wisely avoided making huge splashes in free agency or trades. While that might not be by choice, the fact remains that this team didn’t have to endure Favre’s diva-style personality or dumbly heaved interceptions. Aside from the upheaval brought upon franchises by some variously ridiculous personalities, the true way to build a team is by letting one’s own draft picks grow and make mistakes.’

‘”It was difficult at first, but through my faith I looked at it as another obstacle that I had to go through,” said Hardy. “At first I was asking questions like, ‘Why this?’ I never put myself in that type of position because I’ve never had that type of injury before. The trainers initially didn’t want to tell me what happened, but later the doctors told me it was my ACL. But by then I had enough time to sit and pray and think about what I would have to go through. So by the time the doctor came back and talked to me, I was fine.”‘

‘"I just thought it was a great opportunity to come down to be with an offense like they’ve got here," said Kollar at his introductory press conference in Houston. "You always want to get to the playoffs and hopefully end up making it to the Super Bowl and I thought this would be a great opportunity."’

‘At this point no official reason has been given for his inability to participate although Peters did miss the last two games of the 2008 regular season with a knee injury.’

‘The Bills had raised ticket prices after the 2007 season by an average of 10 percent. But that hike still did not pull the Bills up from the bottom of the league in average cost.’