Archives for July 28, 2014

‘The Bills were not good enough on goal-to-go situations last season, ranking 29th in the NFL in touchdown percentage. Sunday’s practice was the first chance to set a new tone for this season.’

‘The offense rebounded a bit from its miserable showing Saturday night by scoring on 5 of 8 plays in a live goal-line drill against the defense.’

‘For the first time since camp began, the Bills played real tackle football and conducted one full “live” period of close to 20 plays where the defense was allowed to tackle to the ground. Throughout that session, there very few highlights for the offense, though the prime emphasis was on the running game and Bryce Brown and Ronnie Wingo got the bulk of the carries.’

‘”I always have a high level of frustration,” Marrone said. “I do. It’s the way I’m built. I want it to be perfect, and a lot of times I feel like I can do a better job and why what I’m saying isn’t getting across and how I can say it better. When it comes down to the line, I take a lot of pride in how I communicate with them. When they don’t get it or don’t seem to understand it, I get upset.”‘

‘”I don’t really get too concerned with the injury aspect of it,” Marrone said after practice. “In a way I look at it as we’re able to put some different people in there without having to go out and bring another person in.’

‘”Mike is going to be a huge asset for us out wide,” quarterback EJ Manuel said. “He’s a guy who, in the red zone, teams will know we’re going to him, and even though they’ll know I’m throwing to him he’ll still be able to come down with some balls.”‘

‘”Football is a complete and ultimate team sport. No matter what level of talent you bring in, it’s not one individual,” Williams said. “I said it then: ‘You can’t have one person completely change the whole culture.’ It can never be one person, no matter how great you are.”‘

‘Coach Doug Marrone didn’t have an immediate update on the severity of the injury or how much time Chandler might miss. Chandler was hurt early during the training camp session on Sunday, and did not return after being escorted to the locker room.’

‘With the third injury to the group, the Bills are now down to two healthy tight ends on their roster in Lee Smith and Dominique Jones, who was just signed by the team on Saturday. Marrone hinted that the team may use some players already on the roster to help out at the spot in the interim, rather than going out and signing another free agent.’

‘Head coach Doug Marrone introduced live hitting on Saturday for the first time in 2014 and they kept that going for a second straight day, giving the team their first taste of goal line work. Compared to their efforts on Saturday, specifically by the offense, Sunday brought about much more optimism.’

‘”I’m just trying to come out here every single day and make the best of my opportunities and make the plays when they present themselves,” Hogan said.’

‘The practice will still be open to the public. No tickets are required in order for fans to attend the practice session.’

‘”It feels good,” said Gilmore. “That was my first time ever having surgery and getting hurt so it feels good to be back to myself and be out there having fun and be playing how I know how to play. It helped me out a lot. I’ve never struggled like that before when I had that surgery on my hand so it helped me out a lot. It humbled me and I feel good now so I’m ready to go help this team win.”‘

‘”There are guys that can go out and make a lot of plays and we’ve just got to get together and be on the same page,” Graham said. “We’ve got a bunch of talent on defense and even on offense we’ve got a bunch of speed out there – some receivers and running backs that can fly. When you have playmakers like that you give yourself a chance to win games in this league.”‘