Archives for January 2013

‘Legislator Ed Rath says he was impressed, but also does have a concern with the concourse congestion on game days. “And I think it’s a real problem in our stadium, particularly at halftime. I think they are going to take some measures to improve that, and I think they need to be mindful of the concourse congestion,” Rath said, as spoke with reporters at the end of the tour.’

‘New Buffalo Bills head coach Doug Marrone added three more assistants to his staff on Thursday in Ike Hilliard (Wide Receivers), John Anselmo (Special Teams Assistant) and Hal Luther (Assistant Strength and Conditioning).’

‘The Buffalo Bills have selected Populous, a global sport and event architecture firm, to head up the renovation project at Ralph Wilson Stadium.’

‘New concourse lighting, Renovated concession, Renovated restrooms, TVs and sound upgrades, Consistent branding, Renovated dugout suite.’

‘”I went back home and talked to the doctor,” Jones told Buffalobills.com. “He’s real confident in me playing and everything. I’ll be back in May and ready to go.”‘

‘After Te’o’s late girlfriend was revealed to be fake, Kiper wrote: “Based on the hoax story that circulated today, Te’o will face some tough questions in the coming days, and certainly at the NFL combine. At this point, however, it’s difficult to determine what if any impact this kind of thing will have.”‘

‘But the rest of the staff is populated with cronies, college guys and recycled NFL failures. Seriously, Danny Crossman? This season, Crossman’s special teams in Detroit became the first since 1940 to give up a punt and a kickoff return TD in consecutive games.’

‘Tyrone Wheatley became one of Michigan’s all-time great running backs under position coach Fred Jackson. Now, he’ll have a chance to coach Fred Jackson, the Buffalo Bills’ starting running back.’

‘Ellis was an undrafted free agent out of South Carolina State. He signed with Kansas City last offseason before being released by the Chiefs before the start of the season. Ellis played for North Carolina State as a freshman, before transferring to South Carolina State.’

‘Sawyer entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent with the San Francisco 49ers in 2012 and was released before the regular season. The 6-4, 270-pound tight end caught 82 passes for 862 yards and six touchdowns in his two years (2008-09) at Southwestern Oklahoma State. He began his collegiate career at Snow College where played in 21 games and totaled 76 receptions for 782 yards and five touchdowns.’

‘”Coach Marrone’s philosophies, the way that he handles everything from a protection standpoint to the run, it was unbelievable learning from him and creating a system that first year,” Nathaniel Hackett told Buffalobills.com.’

‘Experience at the NFL level was not a requirement for Marrone. The 10 new hires have just 20 combined years of coaching experience at the NFL level, but 133 years of coaching experience in the collegiate ranks.’

‘Here’s a look at that “second tier” of unrestricted free agents for the Bills, excluding Levitre and Byrd…’

‘”I’ve heard some criticism out there saying, ‘Oh, this means taxes are going to be going up as a direct result of the Buffalo Bills lease,’ ” Poloncarz told Erie County legislators Tuesday. “Our four-year plan as projected right now already includes the costs associated with the Buffalo Bills lease. We don’t anticipate having to go above and beyond that.”‘

‘”When I began the hiring process for our staff, I sought after individuals who had a strong work ethic, passion for the game of football and experience, which are all qualities demonstrated in each of our new hires,” Marrone said in a statement released by the Bills.’