Archives for June 2010

‘"When I was a kid I dreamed about being a coach more than I dreamed about being a player," Bicknell said. "To be honest, I thought about it when I was about 8 years old. I think it looked like something I wanted to do. … If I did a book report as a kid, it was about coaches. I read books that most people probably didn’t read when they were young. I read about Bear Bryant, Bo Schembechler."’

‘”Both of us have wanted to start families for a long time and it just worked out that this happened to be the year we were both blessed with it,” said Moorman, whose wife Amber gave birth to son Cooper on April 13. “It was a cool thing because we found out we were pregnant, and then my wife got a text message from Rian’s wife a couple weeks later that she was pregnant. It was fun to go through it together.”‘

‘"It’s my home town and guys like John Murphy, Booker Edgerson, who’s going on the wall of fame, are here," Miller said. "And the people who I know locally are here. I have a special place in my heart for Dunkirk. My great-grandfather used to own the property where the Dunkirk High School (was built) and he sold it to the Board of Education years and years and years ago."’

‘The elite company included free safety Jairus Byrd, wide receiver Lee Evans and defensive tackle Kyle Williams. The players each donned a personalized Blue Jays jersey and were the beneficiaries of some hitting tips from both manager Cito Gaston and hitting coach Dwayne Murphy.’

‘"For me, it’s about just going in there and being physical and being willing to throw your body around," Matthews said after a Buffalo Bills practice this week. "That’s the thing. You’ve got to want to do it. A lot of tight ends want to score touchdowns, but they might not want to block that goal line play or take on a defensive end or linebacker. I don’t mind it at all."’

‘”I think we’ve come a long way since day one. We’ve installed a lot of plays over the last few weeks, and we’re still learning a lot of things every day,” said second-year left guard Andy Levitre. “We still have a lot of time to get to work on things, we have the next month or so to get ready for training camp, but I think we’ve made some pretty good progress so far.”‘

‘"I talked to him a little bit yesterday just to tell him that I was going to be back and let’s get this thing rolling," Lynch said. "Well, they already had it rolling, but let me come in and add my wheel to it."’

‘As for the Bills, they seem reluctant to give such preferential treatment to one player (Schobel is hardly Brett Favre) and say the ball is in Schobel’s court. In other words — play or don’t play.’

‘"I always say I think every running back is very different. They bring something totally different to the game and it’s a good thing to have all three of us on one team. I think we have the best backfield in the NFL with all three of us here. We just have to continue to take it one day at a time and continue building. It’s going to take a team effort to win. You can have all the talent in the world but you still have to have a team. Only teams win Super Bowls." — Rookie RB C.J. Spiller on playing in a rotation with Fred Jackson and Marshawn Lynch.’

‘”He’s a very articulate guy who was an unbelievable pro,” Trestman said. “He’s a man of high character who was a real pro. He wasn’t a starter, but had to prepare as a starter. I saw how he prepared – the toughness and the level of professionalism. That can be translated to the players … those leadership qualities.”‘

‘Brohm has been generally pleased with his own progress and feels he has a good handle already on Buffalo’s new offensive scheme. “I’ve felt very comfortable with the offense right now,” he said. “I feel good about how fast I’m picking it up and learning the intricacies of the offense. I feel like I’m throwing the ball well. The competition is pretty strong right now. I think all the guys out there we’re all doing a pretty good job out there."’

‘"We will probably, by the time we get to training camp, have somebody that is going to work with the first group; somebody that’s going to work with the second group going in," Gailey said after the Bills’ 14th full-team spring practice. "Just because if it happens that way [meaning the No. 1 wins the job], then you’ve got a leg up. If you try to get everybody equal shots from the first day of camp, then you probably get nobody ready, rather than getting three ready.";

‘A late-bloomer at college, Easley has looked solid so far during spring minicamps and is in contention for a backup spot behind starter Lee Evans.’

‘”They always say progress can be a slow process,” he said. “I come out here and I’m still learning and I’m still a rookie when it’s all said and done. I make good plays, I make bad plays. I just try to minimize the bad plays and learn from my mistakes and just take it one day at a time.”‘

‘Calling Lynch "a quick study," Gailey was pleased Wednesday to have the disgruntled player attend the team’s past two voluntary practices after skipping the first 12. As for how he intends to split the work between Lynch, Fred Jackson and rookie first-round draft pick C.J. Spiller, Gailey says that will only matter in September.’