Archives for August 4, 2009

‘The two guard spots were the only question marks going into camp, but head coach Dick Jauron confirmed that rookies Andy Levitre and Eric Wood will man the starting left and right guard positions moving forward.’

‘”I started getting scholarship offers, and pretty soon I was getting burned out on baseball,” Williams said. “It seemed like the way to go. I think it has worked out pretty good.”‘

‘”It was just a matter of what he was looking at,” Cottrell told Buffalobills.com. “We spent a lot of time discussing the plan of what to look for in the player, his opponent. His stance, the way he set, when he was run blocking was he heavy on his hands. When he was pass blocking did he cheat in his stance? Can he use his hands well? Was he very strong? Then from his opponent we would move on to the tight end, the guard, the quarterback and the running backs and fullback.”‘

‘"An out route is an out route," Evans said of a short pass to the sideline, "but there’s different ways to get there. When you plant on an out route, a lot of people say plant and get your head around and that will carry you out [toward the sideline]. Somebody else might say plant and think about stepping hard with your inside foot. There’s different ways to think about doing the same thing. So that’s a big help."’

‘The holdup is the cluster of No. 1 draft picks preceding Maybin that remain unsigned. Jacksonville offensive tackle Eugene Monroe, Green Bay defensive tackle B.J. Raji and San Francisco wideout Michael Crabtree are still without contracts. They’re the three players selected before Maybin, who went 11th overall.’

‘”I try to be a resource and a channel between the players and the union,” Wilson said. “It’s been a good experience thus far. I’ve networked with people and I now have a full understanding of how everything works.”‘

‘"You shouldn’t play this game if you don’t think you should be a starter," Jackson said. "I definitely feel I’m capable of being a starting running back anywhere."’

‘Coach Dick Jauron said the injury is not believed to be serious at this point. "There’s optimism it’s not a long-term thing," Jauron said.’

‘Owens might never be the greatest receiver of all time. But love him or hate him, when it comes to discussing some of the game’s best wide receivers, he has to be in the conversation.’

‘”I didn’t know what to think,” Smith, now 46, recalls. “I was young. I knew there were just a great deal of expectations placed upon me from being the No. 1 draft pick (in 1985). And I realized that I had not reached my full potential because I had not put it all together yet. I consider it to be different pieces of the puzzle that have to come together to make that full picture come to reality."’

‘”I hate to say it because there are so many great ones,” Levy said. “But you can say that. He may be the best ever. … I said it, and I sure won’t say I’m wrong.”‘

‘”There was a heavy push by others in the organization to draft a quarterback first,” said Marv Levy, the Bills head coach from 1986-97. “Bill hung tough and finally convinced them – because he never ramrodded, he convinced – that Bruce Smith was the guy. I think he was right.”‘

‘”Bruce caught on to the fact that useless weight did nothing but drag his ability backward,” former Bills defensive assistant Chuck Dickerson said.’

‘”The level of consistency that existed through the 11 surgeries, the torn rotator cuff, the separated shoulder, the dislocated shoulder, the cracked ribs, the concussions, dislocated fingers and many other injuries,” Smith said, “the level of consistency that existed during my tenure while overcoming those obstacles of playing in sub-zero temperatures and things of that nature, you can’t ignore that.”‘

‘”Like anybody, there’s a dichotomy there,” Levy said. “But basically, he was a good team guy. He liked his teammates. He wasn’t jealous of anybody. He wasn’t jealous because you took him out late in a game and took a sack away from him. I will say he was a bit fun-loving. He wanted to go out and stay out late at night, but nothing terrible. Little bit of a joker. He was fun to be around. The more I got to know him, the more I enjoyed being around him.”‘