Archives for August 16, 2011

‘Also, when is the last time you can remember a Bills team with only five penalties in a pre-season opener? That IS encouraging.’

‘”Makes no sense,” Florence tweeted. “I’m not mad at the trade. I’m mad because this will change how defenses play us now.”‘

‘After the trade of veteran WR Lee Evans to the Baltimore Ravens, second-year man Donald Jones started in his place in Saturday’s preseason loss to Chicago. Jones is poised to write a Cinderella story: undrafted free agent out of Youngstown State to NFL starter. “We really see him as a legitimate receiver,” QB Ryan Fitzpatrick said. “He is a guy we can get the ball to down the field. He is a guy we want to get the ball into his hands so he can make plays. We’ve really liked what Donald has done so far. He is going to be a very big part of our offense this year.”‘

‘”Right now all it is potential because he hasn’t shown it in practice or in games,” Gailey said. “He’s got to understand about pass rush, he’s got to understand about leverage and change of direction, not running past the quarterback and all those little things that go into a great pass-rusher’s feel for beating an offensive tackle and getting to the passer. He’s got to be a better special teams player, he’s got to be better against the run. There’s a lot of little things he needs to get better at.”‘

‘”It wasn’t bad for us,” he said. “It’s wasn’t fun, but it wasn’t bad for us. We needed the rain. We needed the work in it. You don’t know when you’re going to get a game like that. You need to handle the ball, and one of the good things was the ball didn’t go on the ground out there and that was a positive. It was good to get one of those. You don’t really look forward to them, but it’s good to have them.”‘

‘Bills head coach Chan Gailey had said time and again that Maybin had to get stronger, play more consistently and be more productive. Gailey’s commentary on the pass rushing linebacker often ended with “he has a long way to go.”‘