Archives for July 2013

‘”It’s going to be an open competition, which is what it’s been throughout my career. It’s nothing new to me,” said Kolb. “Training camp gets ramped up pretty quick. You have to be ready to go and in great shape. I’ve been around long enough now to know what it takes.”‘

‘”Once I married my beautiful wife and once our child was born, I give all my credit to them, because once I had three people to take care of instead of just me, there was no choice,” Smith said. “I had to man up and do things right, and there’s just no option to making a mistake or do something that could affect their lives. I will never make a decision that could crucially affect my wife and children. That wouldn’t be fair, and they count on me too much to do that.”‘

‘”It’s always good to come back home and give to the community, especially when its kids,” said Butler, 26, who will be competing for a starting cornerback job with the Buffalo Bills after stints with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Washington Redskins and Arizona Cardinals.’

‘The bottom line is the gap doesn’t seem that troublesome. Perhaps $1 to $1.5 million a year over the life of a four or five year deal? On a team that has a payroll of more than $100 million on an annual basis, what’s another million or so between friends? Just take it out of the cash windfall you receive from selling home games to Toronto!’

‘On the offensive side of the ball there are a few proven playmakers. Fred Jackson, Stevie Johnson and C.J. Spiller are typically the first three names that come to mind. Though he’s coming off offseason surgery Scott Chandler has established himself as a playmaker as well with a dozen touchdowns the past two seasons. What Buffalo’s offense is looking for are a couple of more playmakers to add to the list, and there are some bona fide candidates that appear poised to emerge in 2013.’

‘"In my opinion, it kind of depends on your position," said Bills center Eric Wood, who himself will be a free agent after the 2013 season. "Safeties in this league don’t generally make as much money as some other positions. So I know in the case of Jairus, I’m assuming without ever talking to him, the franchise tag isn’t the best thing in the world."’

‘I would be completely and utterly shocked if there was a deal done by Monday," said one league source familiar with the team. "There are no talks going on. Someone would have to seriously cave."’

‘”Yeah, it’s probably the most [competition] I’ve had since I’ve been here, at least to me,” Lindell told Buffalobills.com. “(Hopkins) is good. He boots the tar out of the ball, and he can kick field goals. It used to be either you could kick it far, or you’re a good field goal guy. Now guys are coming out who can do both, and he’s one of them.”‘

‘”My internship with the University at Buffalo this offseason led me to wanting to go to graduate school,” said Moats. “It opened my eyes to a whole level of education. Seeing how many opportunities and doors would be open by me furthering my education, I felt that was in the best interest for me and my family to apply.”‘

‘Group tickets (15 or more) had also previously been open to the general public and special group pricing is still available for the Cincinnati (Oct. 13), Kansas City (Nov. 3), New York Jets (Nov. 17) and Miami (Dec. 22) games.’

‘Kevin Kolb is about to leave for his first NFL training camp with the Buffalo Bills, but not until he receives a proper sendoff from the community of Stephenville.’

‘”I consider myself a very blessed man” he said. “I am walking to bring awareness and help support those young people who might not be able to walk.”‘

‘With all things considered including salaries, trends of advanced statistics, scouting and projection, the Bills shouldn’t mess around with Jairus Byrd.’

‘”It’s my job to take those five best players and put those guys out there a whole bunch and be very multiple with that. If it’s a lot of wide receivers then you might have a lot of wide receivers. If it’s more tight ends, more running backs, whichever one dominates and does a better job out on the field that’s who we want out there.”‘