Archives for October 25, 2013

‘ “Doug was someone I had met before, and he was still under contract with the Jets, (but) finally was able to get out of it (when Edwards was fired). I had a chance to interview him and felt really, really comfortable with his expertise and his ability to teach. That initial staff was pretty special and he’s someone that I’ve stayed in close touch with throughout the years … when he went to Syracuse and now to Buffalo. He’s doing a good job there.”‘

‘Williams is tied for second in the NFL in sacks along with Kansas City’s Justin Houston, behind Indianapolis’ Robert Mathis. They are on pace to break the NFL record of 22.5 in a single season, which was set in 2001 by Michael Strahan of the New York Giants (sacks became an official NFL statistic in 1982).’

‘”I mean, there’s some things that I’m doing this week that I wasn’t able to do last week, so that’s always an encouraging sign. To me, I think that’s an improvement,” he said. “But I’m not the trainer. I can only tell them how my body is responding. From the way it’s responding, I think it has improved.”‘

‘”He plays big,” said Jairus Byrd of the rookie nickel cornerback who made the Bills as an undrafted rookie free agent this year. “He plays with a chip on his shoulder and that’s why he fits in. He doesn’t let his physical limitations dictate how people play against him. He overcomes that, that’s why he’s here.”‘

You can see a sharpened sense of focus on the little things that it takes to win games this season with Payton back on the sidelines. He’s a great game manager, knowing exactly what to call and how to make adjustments on the fly during the games. Something the team lacked a season ago. Payton has an incredible ability to communicate the exact message to his team during the game week as to what it will take for them to win the particular game in front of them.’

‘”He’s going to be one of the guys that we have a tremendous responsibility of blocking, pass blocking and run blocking again, and he’s a guy who is a dynamic player,” Watson said. “Obviously he has 10 sacks on the season. … He’s a very good player.’

“I was very fortunate to be around people that I felt that I could communicate with (in New Orleans),” Marrone said. “Sean and Mickey weren’t only people that I worked for, but they were also good friends. A lot of who I am today is from that experience that I had down there — with them, with the other coaches, with everyone.”‘

‘”I had a chance to interview him and felt really, really comfortable with his expertise and his ability to teach. That initial staff was pretty special and he is someone that I’ve stayed in close touch with throughout the years when he went to Syracuse and now to Buffalo. He is doing a good job there.”‘

‘You don’t really know what’s gone on before; you just kind of go in there and want to create. For me it was difficult with the new CBA where you get hired as the new Head Coach and you’re not going to see your team until they report sometime in March or April. It’s interesting because here they are as a team and the team comes first and things like that, but you have to find out all their information. I’m not big on social media, so this was the first time I thought it was a great advantage for me because I was able to communicate with a lot of the players on the team through social media to make sure that they knew what was going on, who we were hiring, what we were doing and trying to really build a trust.’

New Orleans Saints preparing for disruptive force in Buffalo Bills defensive end Mario Williams (New Orleans Times Picayune)

Buffalo Bills coach Doug Marrone grateful for time with New Orleans Saints (New Orleans Times Picayune)

Jimmy Graham’s injury presents opportunity for young receiver to step up (New Orleans Times Picayune)

New Orleans Saints’ Jimmy Graham misses second consecutive practice (New Orleans Times Picayune)

Pace picks up for Saints, who play five games in 26 days (Baton Rouge Advocate)

With Lance Moore aboard, Saints could use more from their receivers (Baton Rouge Advocate)

Jimmy Graham again misses Saints practice (Baton Rouge Advocate)

Lance Moore’s return should help Saints passing game (Biloxi Sun Herald)

Saints TE Graham misses practice again (The Sports Xchange)

Saints get back in the saddle for Sunday against Bills (WDSU-TV)

Saints well aware of season Bills’ Mario Williams is having (WWL-TV)

Graham still not practicing for Saints; Jordan back at practice (WWL-TV)

Another branch of Sean Payton’s coaching tree coming to town Sunday (NewOrleansSaints.com)

Sean Payton: ‘Jimmy Graham is day to day’ (NewOrleansSaints.com)

Doug Marrone, Kyle Williams quotes from Wednesday conference calls (NewOrleansSaints.com)

‘Saints 28, Bills 20.’

‘The Bills can keep it interesting by pounding their fifth-ranked ground game at New Orleans’ shaky run defense, but ultimately QB Thad Lewis doesn’t have the ability to go score for score with Drew Brees on the road.’

‘”He doesn’t feel as good in my opinion — he might say it — but as far as how he’s looked,” head coach Doug Marrone said Thursday.’

‘Lawson suffered a hamstring injury for the second straight week, but the most recent one occurred in a different spot according to the head coach. Even still, until a workout after Wednesday’s practice, the Bills remained hopeful for the linebacker to play against the New Orleans Saints.

‘Saints 34, Bills 14.’