Archives for June 2012

‘”Today was definitely a big step,” said Johnson after practice. “There’s still a lot of work to do mentally I feel. As for everything else I think I’m pretty good. My groin felt good. I still have to get over the mental aspect of it. I feel like I’m there. I can’t say 100 percent because I’m not feeling it all the way. I’m about 90 percent so I’m good.”‘

‘I think the biggest thing is you always go back and talk about those previous experiences. We have a lot of guys who went through that together. We do not have a ton of new players on our side of the ball. Being able to draw on some of the positive and negatives of last year, being able to draw on those experiences allows you to get better. David Nelson and I were talking about a route that he ran two years ago versus New England and cover zero. Being able to pinpoint certain plays versus certain coverages that you ran together is a big thing.’

‘”After discussing the issue of hourly rates with the firms that requested confidentiality in their bids, they have decided to consent to the disclosure of this information to the public,” said County Attorney Michael Siragusa.’

‘”I’m a little disappointed I didn’t hit a home run,” said Barnett, who was a good high school baseball player through his sophomore year before he gave it up to play his best sport, football. “Ryan cheated because he was able to do batting practice last week, but it was fun to come out here. Rochester is such a nice city, I really like it when we come out here for training camp.”‘

‘”He’s done a fantastic job,” said head coach Chan Gailey. “The sacks tell you some of what he does. That tells you a little bit about it. It doesn’t tell you the whole story. Being able to mix and match the people that we’ve been able to mix and match the last couple years and still do a reasonable up there. Good at times for the most part and reasonable at other times. That says a lot about the way he gets those guys prepared.”‘

‘Quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, linebacker Nick Barnett, punter Brian Moorman and kicker Rian Lindell all took in a little batting practice at Frontier Field with hitting coach Tom Brunasky tossing the balls. The team is ramping up its efforts to be more visible in the community and it gave these guys a chance to do something they haven’t done since junior high.’

‘”It isn’t even close how much further along I am this year,” said Rogers. “Even last year when I was playing a little bit I was out there thinking a lot. I knew what I was doing, but the game was so fast. Now with the OTAs everything is slowing down. I know my assignments and everything is smooth.”‘

‘No matter how many more season tickets are sold in the next three months, the team will have reversed the steep and troubling decline from the last few years, from a recent high of 56,011 in 2008 down to 37,355 last season. That’s a loss of 33 percent in just three years.’

‘”I’m not saying that’s the final price tag,” he said. “I can’t really say any more than that, because it’s all subject to negotiations.”‘

‘"Blocking comes down to heart and will, it really does," he said after Friday’s practice in Orchard Park. "Are you willing to put the effort in? Are you going to work hard at it and take pride in doing it? If you’re going, ‘Whoa, whoa, whoa, I’m a receiver,’ it’s hard to get you to block."’

‘”Ever since I became a Buffalo Bill, Van has been probably one of my best friends,” Kelly said. “I mean I love the guy. And when I found out they were up here – and even though I have so much going on back home – it’s my daughter’s last day of school (Friday), my older daughter’s junior-senior prom is coming up, so we have to get the house ready, just so many things going on this weekend, I wanted to make sure I made an appearance for Van.”‘

”’I feel there’s agreement on some basic principles, and as a result I feel that we’re headed in the right direction,” Poloncarz said by phone on Friday. ”We’ll be meeting again in the future very soon, and it is my goal as well as the Bills’ organization to have the general terms hammered out by the start of training camp.”’

‘As far as what these three weeks have been like Gailey said, “I don’t know if we even have time to talk about it, we’ve learned a ton about individual players, we’ve been able to install a lot of our offense, defense and special teams, so we’ve gotten a ton out of this.”‘

‘The Bills, like every NFL team, were unable to hold OTA’s last year during the NFL lockout. Many players believe the extra work will make a big difference this season. “I think we’re gelling a lot more. Guys understanding more of their responsibilities, where we have to be and where we have to get to,” said defensive end Shawne Merriman. “That’s happening a lot faster for us now.”‘

‘”I think they have a mindset of wanting to be a championship football team and you can’t be a championship football team unless you take the proper steps to get there and this is one of the proper steps, is for everybody to be here,” said Gailey. “When you have your great players showing up all the time that gives you a chance to be a successful football team.”‘