Archives for August 2013

‘”At OU we ran a two-back system so I would have been playing with him,” Choice said. “That’s what I wanted to do. He got hurt some the last two years so I would have played. But my mom got sick so that’s why I went back home to Atlanta.”‘

‘”I’m very excited; I’m excited that my body is allowing me to and coach is allowing me to,” Kolb said. “I have a chance to get out there and enjoy the fun with the guys and get this thing started.”‘

”’I don’t think I’ll throw up or anything like that,” Spiller said. ”But I’m going to be ready for the challenge.”’

‘”I think there’s a lot of room for improvement for both of them,” offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett said when talking about Manuel and Tuel. “I think when you look at E.J., he was very excited and I thought his demeanor was great out there. And then Joe Cool Jeff (Tuel). Heck, he just goes out there and just makes plays. I mean he trusts the reads, he trusts his progressions and it was fun to watch.”‘

‘Tipoti started 18 of 43 games at Cal. He had 91 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and a pass breakup in his collegiate career.’

‘Kolb won’t have the comfort of knowing he’s got veteran targets at wide receiver during his time on the field. Both Stevie Johnson and T.J. Graham are out because of injuries, so that means the veteran quarterback will be operating with two draft picks as his starting wideouts.’

‘Tipoti, 23, injured his ankle in the scrimmage and had not appeared at any practice since it happened. The 6-foot-2, 280-pound lineman originally signed with the Bills as an undrafted free agent following the 2013 NFL Draft.’

‘Tipoti signed with Buffalo on April 29 and suffered an ankle injury on Aug. 5 that removed him from the rotation on the defensive line.’

‘”I was lying in the hospital bed and I heard a text message come in. I read it and it was Arthur Moats. I thought, ‘Someone’s messing with me. Why would Arthur Moats be messaging me?’ He said, ‘Hey Jeff this is Arthur Moats, and I heard about what happened to you and I wanted to let you know that everything is going to be okay with your recovery. I’ll keep saying prayers for you.’ I just kept messaging him back and he never blew me off. He always replied. It was a dream come true.”‘

‘What do you think you have to do to make sure you make this roster? "For me, I think I have to improve my blocking. Big improvement. That’s what Coach Marrone told me when I got here. He said, ‘Nick, if you want to make this team you need to work on your blocking.’ "’

‘"I think he’s pretty similar. I mean, if you look at his background, he has an NFL background, so when he came to Syracuse he brought more of an NFL mindset. It was a seamless transition when he came here as far as the way he treats the players."’

‘”My grandmother actually texted me, and told me she started crying when she saw me and Dustin out there for that first field goal attempt,” said Shawn Powell, the Bills punter and holder for kicker Dustin Hopkins, his teammate at Florida State. “The kicker and holder were back together. It’s a real special moment for both of us. Hopefully we will be able to do this for the next 10 years together.”‘

‘”You’re looking for that improvement,” said Marrone. “Obviously they’re keeping score so the goal is to win, but at the same time from an individual standpoint you’re looking for separation. There’s a lot of other competition going on outside the quarterback, for spots on the roster, depth chart, special teams. So you’re looking for people to step up in those areas and you’re looking to see the progress in them. The coaching points that you’ve made and corrected you’re making sure they don’t make those mistakes again.”‘

‘”He just goes out there and just makes plays. He trusts the reads, he trusts his progressions and it was fun to watch,” Hackett said. “He had some critical errors that we need to clean up and get better at but he is going to continue to get better.”‘