Archives for August 7, 2009

‘Tasker: "I used to chuckle because he’d be in great shape and come into training camp and be injured and not practice. There was nothing wrong with him. He just didn’t like training camp. They were built for veteran players and still Bruce would take the first three weeks off. That doesn’t mean he wasn’t ready."’

‘Oct. 17, 1959: Two months after making commitment to join Texas oilman Lamar Hunt in new football league, Wilson becomes a founding member of "The Foolish Club" by announcing he will place an AFL franchise in Buffalo.’

‘With a strong support system and an attitude adjustment, he rebuilt his body and went on to build a body of work that is unmatched in NFL history.’

‘Unlike Hunt, Wilson can’t point to one single accomplishment on his resume that earned him admission into the shrine in Canton, Ohio, which is part of the reason it took so long for him to get elected. But after Hunt, he was the central figure in the survival of the AFL. His love for the game has dictated his leadership, his tough stands and his principled decisions over the past 50 years.’

‘The 6-foot-3, 245-pound defensive end was a second-team All-Patriot League selection in 2008. Etukeren is a native of Litchfield Park, Ariz.’

‘Etukeran is an undrafted rookie free agent who played his college football at Georgetown University. As a senior, he posted 61 tackles (including 15 tackles for loss) and 5.0 sacks in 10 games for the Hoyas. Etukeran was a second team All-Patriot League selection in 2008.’

‘Hall officials report 30 percent of enshrinement tickets sold have been purchased by fans from Buffalo telephone area codes.’

‘”I just feel like right now I’m capable to play here and there’s some things I want to accomplish. But I have all the respect for the CFL because there are some awesome athletes there.”‘

‘”We’re working at it, everybody is playing a new position … so everybody has it tough,” Walker said. “We all realize that and realize what is in front of us.”‘

‘”As close to the scene as I’ve been, I’ve never been this close,” Berman said while going through final preparations for the festivities in Canton, Ohio. “I always give everybody a big intro, but now I’ll be able to concentrate on just one person, and I couldn’t be more honored."’

‘”I’m happy to be here,” the 6-0, 258-pound McIntyre said after a recent training camp practice at St. John Fisher. “I’m just learning what they need me to do, that’s what I have tried to do my whole career. I play fullback because I just want to play football.”‘

‘The big question during this training camp is exactly where he belongs on the depth chart.’

‘”When you make a play, it gives you confidence and it gives the coaches confidence as well,” Jenkins said.’

‘”To be honest with you, he could have been a distraction if he had gone full speed in practice all of the time because he was that dominant of a player,” Kelly said recently of his former teammate who this weekend will be joining him in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. “We appreciated his not going full speed all of the time because he would have screwed up our practices.”‘

‘”I just feel like I need to improve on my ability to attack 3-4 schemes and everything that comes with another year. I’m a year older and in the same offence, and I faced those defences all last year. You look at the [Indianapolis] Colts and the Patriots and those offences that face those defences and learn some things from those guys too.”‘