Archives for June 11, 2013

‘”I’ve been in this league going on eight years now,” Jackson said. “Hopefully, I’ll make it eight. But I know how it goes. Like I said, I just come out here and do my best. In certain situations your best might not be good enough. They invested a lot in a player in the first round.”‘

‘”You want to stick to what you believe in. Draft smart, hard-working, productive football players. It sounds simple but if you stick with it, the hit rate seems to be pretty good. We did a good job as a staff of being on the same page. Everybody knew what everybody wanted.”‘

‘In the end, Jackson never received a shot in Buffalo after being acquired by the Bills in a trade with Seattle in August. The seventh-year player spent all of last season as Buffalo’s third-string quarterback. Jackson then signed a one-year contract to return to Buffalo in February, believing he would have an opportunity to compete for a starting job.’

‘After re-signing with the Bills in the offseason, Jackson was at first expected to compete for a starting job under new head coach Doug Marrone, but the Bills signed former Arizona starter Kevin Kolb and used their first-round choice in April’s draft on Florida State signal-caller E.J. Manuel.’

‘Releasing Jackson now gives the eighth-year veteran a better opportunity to hook on with another team to compete for a backup job in training camp than he would have received in Buffalo.’

‘Jackson’s removal from the roster means that first-round pick EJ Manuel and free agent signing Kevin Kolb will be the only competitors for the starting job in 2013. Throughout Organized Team Activities, Jackson and Kolb split the majority of team repetitions, while the Bills focused on bringing Manuel along slowly.’

‘Young receivers make more mistakes. They’re also far too wrapped up in their own learning-curve to be worried about bringing the new QB along and helping him with his reads and adjustments. That’s a lot to put on a rookie’s plate. And it shouldn’t be expected.’

‘What are some things to expect out of the three-day workout? Here’s a brief outlook…’.

‘Monos, 38, takes over one half of Whaley’s responsibilities during the 2012 season in his new role and will report directly to the GM. It’s a fairly substantial leap within NFL circles, climbing from the ranks as an Area Scout over the past 12 years directly to his new position.’

‘Jackson had a short, but strange tenure with the Bills that lasted less than a calendar year. The veteran QB was originally acquired via trade with Seattle for a seventh-round pick last September as an insurance policy at quarterback, but never took the field in the regular season.’

‘”I’m just trying to be a great overall player,” said Ellis. “I really don’t try to focus on just one thing, I try to focus on the mental and the physical and being a great teammate at the same time.”‘

‘”He’s a versatile guy,” said Pettine in an appearance on the John Murphy Show. “I think he could play at the defensive end spot. He could play outside linebacker. He could be up. He could be down. I think there will be times in our third down package where he’s down over a guard, down over a center.”‘