Archives for May 22, 2013

‘”It’s a very good group coached by a very good coach and it’s an exciting deal to be able to turn around and hand the ball off or from the gun or wherever it is. You really want to give those guys the ball one way or the other.”‘

‘”Footwork is tied into everything,” Hackett said after the Bills’ spring practice Tuesday. “Everything is within your footwork. It’s a very big learning process. For us, we use our footwork, we use our progression, and we move up in the pocket.”‘

‘The resolution the Legislature passed Tuesday by an 8-4 vote notes that Niagara Falls has large expanses of vacant property close to the international border, which would make it handier for Canadian fans than is Ralph Wilson Stadium in Orchard Park.’

‘The session marked the first time Johnson has worked in a practice setting with Buffalo’s new quarterbacks: veteran free-agent addition Kevin Kolb, and rookie first-round pick EJ Manuel.’

‘”Its mostly staying square at the line of scrimmage” Gilmore said during an interview on the WGR morning show on Tuesday. “When I was guarding receivers last year, sometimes I opened up, just mainly trying to use my athletic ability instead of working on straight technique. Its one thing I feel I’m getting better at.”‘

‘”No,” Pettine confirmed. “That’s above my pay grade. I got enough dealings with the guys here. So that’s a situation I’ll let itself handle it.”‘

‘”His presence has been out there the whole time, it’s just nice to see him in a helmet I think from all of our standpoint,” he said. “The good thing is, Stevie’s done a great job being out there and supporting everybody because he’s obviously had to have some growing pains in the new system. So he’s been able to really get a lot of mental reps, and I think being out there helping those guys has been critical for all of them.”‘

‘Add it all up and it’s still murky to calculate what right the fans have to know details of the players’ personal lives. In the end I think the fans can claim some. Athletes’ astronomical salaries, a major propellor in steady ticket hikes not to mention publicly funded stadiums, are some defense for this position. No, we don’t need to know which players on the team fought with their spouses the morning of the game. And we’re not asking for that.’

‘”I’m definitely happy,” Johnson told Buffalobills.com. “At first they said I was just going to come out here and do some drills on the side, but I wanted to get out here and run and see how it is. It felt good. I’ve still got point pressure in my back and in my ankle, but I was out there and I was able to complete it so I feel good about it.”‘

‘”I think he can play two (positions),” said head coach Doug Marrone after Alonso was drafted. “He’s a big kid. You see it on the clips. He can play man-to-man, he has good zone awareness, has a bunch of pass breakups. You see it from a coverage standpoint and then you also see him coming downhill making plays and he has a lot of tackles for losses. So he can make big plays from that linebacker position in both coverage and the running game.’