Archives for August 2013

‘”You can see the great things that he’s done on film,” Marrone said. “Obviously he’s a competitor. … We have communicated with each other … early on here in camp, not recently, though, to make sure that we’re all on the same page.”‘

‘The Bills’ players are off today. The team has a walk-through session Friday morning before flying to Washington, D.C.’

‘”It just shows what type of relationship we have and we love him for it,” Jackson said.’

‘Somebody that was here last year told me, ‘Work on your pad level and you’ll become a much better football player,’ and that’s something I’ve tried to focus on,” he said. “The coaches have really helped me out a lot. We do drills every day and I keep my pads low.”‘

How did the Buffalo Bills end another training camp? With a fast-paced practice, signing autographs for the die-hard fans, and a practical joke that the entire team was talking about.’

‘Whaley described the request ”standard procedure,” when involving a player such as Byrd, who has missed nearly the entire offseason because he was unsigned.’

‘Taking the cautious approach the Bills have already ruled out Manuel for the rest of the preseason. The 23-year-old Florida State product will be re- evaluated at the start of the regular season.’

‘Flying up the Depth Chart: WR Chris Hogan.’

‘Kevin Kolb said, “We’re leaving here, but it’s definitely not over. Camp transfers over to our campus now and the work continues. We’re on the right track though, it’s definitely one of the best camps I’ve ever been a part of as far as administrative wise and as far as work ethic.”‘

‘If EJ heals as quickly as we are led to believe, he still could be the Bills quarterback come opening day, but if Kolb seizes this opportunity, he might convince Doug Marrone that he should be the starter, at least for the early part of the season.’

‘”I absolutely love football, there’s no doubt about that,” said Donnelly. “To come up here and watch Doug operate, I’m really thankful that Doug invites me up here and gives me an opportunity so I can kind of go wherever. I love being around the players, and coaches, going to coaches meetings and listening to what they say. This is what I did when I coached.”‘

‘”They always say this is going to be the worst practice, but with the guys around here it wasn’t as bad as you would’ve thought,” said Stevie Johnson. “They’re making it fun. The energy is great. We’ve just got to keep it going and keep working hard.”‘

‘Just to start out, again, I’d like to say Dr. Bain and the staff here at St. John Fisher truly did an outstanding job. The fans that have come to watch us practice, the sponsors, it has truly been a great experience. I’m excited about it. I think it’s a first class operation. That’s what we’re trying to run here with Russ Brandon and all indications of what happened during camp show that’s what we’re striving for. I believe the staff at St. John Fisher was awesome. Again, I leave here very fortunate leaving here not gaining weight. I think a lot, as coaches, have achieved our goals too. I think that was very difficult to do.’

‘”It’s just like it was in Syracuse-the exact same,” said Bills rookie tight end Nick Provo, who played three years under Marrone at SU. “His demeanor, his personality, the way he handles practice and the players, everything’s the same. Even the schedule, meetings, practices, everything’s the same. There’s no doubt,” Provo added, “he believes in his ways."’

‘The Bills and Byrd did not negotiate a “no-tag” provision for 2014, meaning the Bills could use the franchise tag on him again next year, but to do so it would cost them nearly $8.3 million, as the franchise rules dictate that Byrd receive a 20 percent raise over his 2013 salary.’