Archives for July 2014

‘Marrone isn’t providing any further details on Gragg’s condition or when he was sent to the hospital.’

‘Dareus was arrested twice in the span of four weeks in May, and then reported to camp out of shape and failed a conditioning test Saturday.’

‘”I’m just taking it day-by-day,” Marrone said when asked if Dareus needs to earn back the trust of his coaches and teammates. “I think it’s a point well taken when you ask how much of a distraction it is. For me, it’s really not, when you talk about the players, I don’t think it is for the players at this moment in time. For us, we’re focusing on getting better each day.”‘

‘Hairston has been getting time as an interior offensive linemen through three of the first four days of camp (the lone exception was when Seantrel Henderson could not practice and Hairston played left tackle), as well as through the duration of the three-day mandatory minicamp in June. A former offensive tackle at Clemson and then later on with the Bills, the fourth-year player is making his first legitimate move to the inside.’

‘My focus will remain on achieving that goal one day at a time. I want to thank the Bills organization, coach Marrone and the coaching staff, my teammates and our fans for their continued support.”‘

‘As the Bills continue their quest to build the best 53-man roster for September, it’s fair to note some of the younger, less-heralded players that make solid contributions during practices.’

‘Right now, my focus is on earning the trust of my teammates, coaches and the fans while continuing to improve as a football player. I have a passion for this game and I want to be here to help this organization achieve its goals. There are things I need to work on professionally and personally to make sure I can be accountable to myself, my family, this team and this community.

‘I think we have a long way to go, and if there is one thing that it’s shown, it’s that we’re lucky to come into camp early and have these first couple days. I think we should all be grateful that we have this head start.’

‘Wednesday’s morning practice brought the first red zone work of training camp. It was a pretty even battle inside the 20-yard line between the offense and defense.’

‘”Me and Kiko were like brothers,” said Bradham. “We were together all the time … We watched film together, we learned a lot from each other … I hate to see him go down with an injury like that because I know how hard he works. When you get a guy that works hard like that it’s kind of like he doesn’t deserve to take an injury like that because he works day in and out.”‘

‘Any experienced office mover will tell you: The best time to go treasure hunting is moving day. I start at Ralph Wilson Stadium, where I navigate safely past construction workers welding support beams, husky interns half-jogging to and from trucks, and into the visitor’s locker room where the rookies made their home during minicamp.’

‘These people aren’t just hungry, they’re starving. The Bills haven’t made the playoffs in 14 years, the longest drought in the league. They’ve had nine straight losing seasons and haven’t had a winning record since 2004.’

‘”I never want to be in that situation again. I’ll make sure I never put myself in that situation again,” Bradham said Tuesday after the Bills wrapped up their third day of training camp at St. John Fisher College. “That was one of the main things this offseason was refocusing, and not hanging around the guys who I was hanging around, because they’re not really friends. The guys who are out here grinding with me are my friends. That’s what I had to learn.”‘

‘”Yeah, in the beginning,” Marrone agreed. “They finished strong, but it was not what we wanted.”‘

‘Jeff Tuel received some reps with the second team during Tuesday’s practice, and coach Doug Marrone declared the backup quarterback job behind EJ Manuel to be there for the taking between Tuel and Thad Lewis.’