Archives for August 2014

‘”For a Hall of Famer to come down to my level, if you will, just meant so much,” Roethlisberger says. “He’s a guy I can call when things aren’t going well. I’ll get notes from him after games, good and bad: ‘Keep your head up.’ ‘Great job.’ To have someone like that I can call a friend? That’s first and foremost. And I think he’d say the same thing: He looks at me as a friend.”‘

‘”It’s going to be weird. I’ve never done it before. I’m curious to see what it’s going to be like,” said Steelers guard David DeCastro. “I think it will be just as, if not more, intense than a game. Guys want to make a statement and want to embarrass you and want to win. And then you have to go play them at the end of the week. It will be a lot of good fun.”‘

‘”We’re looking forward to going in against an organization that is a physical team, that is a tough team, a team that has won in the past,” Bills coach Doug Marrone said. “I think we’re excited about being able to compete with them.”‘

‘There’s been a lot of talk and debate lately about QBs staring down receivers. Of course, here in Buffalo, specifically about how often EJ Manuel is doing or not doing it. Almost every time he drops back, completion, incompletion, or interception, I read analysis that says he stared down his receiver and rebuttals that say he didn’t. What’s true and what’s not? Well, as with most armchair analysis in sports, the truth lies somewhere in between.’

‘On gamedays last year Marrone for me was a frequent disappointment. Every year it’s the same point: The small-market Bills are an inherent underdog in the NFL, against big-city rivals, against teams that are made at quarterback, or both (New England). So do they avail themselves to advantages suggested by data and game probabilities? Of course not.’

‘”It’s going to be physical I feel like, going against another team. Don’t know each other, trying to prove a point. We’ve just got to be prepared for everything,” said Bills wide receiver Robert Woods. “Just going out there and compete and work hard. New look, new defense.”‘

‘”It’ll be a good test for us,” said Eric Wood. “They have a lot of tradition and we have a lot of respect for their franchise. It’ll be a good measuring stick. Anytime you go against the Steelers I don’t care how tough you are or how fundamentally sound you are because under Dick LeBeau they’ve traditionally been really sound defensively.”‘

‘”Very excited about it,” said EJ Manuel. “I know a bunch of teams have already had dual practices with other teams. I’m really looking forward to getting together with the Pittsburgh Steelers. I’m very good friends with Coach Tomlin. He’s from the same area I’m from and I saw him a few weeks ago before I came back here. He told me whatever look I need on defense, he’ll give it to us. It’s going to be very competitive, but we’ll try to treat it like three days of a game. Each day, even though it’s a practice, we’ll try to treat it like a game.”‘

‘The 500-seat Section 105 within Ralph Wilson Stadium has been converted into the M&T Family Zone, creating a fun family environment on gameday featuring visits by Billy Buffalo and a free giveaway to all fans in the section. Fans in this section will also have the option of purchasing parking in a specially designated 50-space parking lot off Abbott Road, adjacent to a convenient, newly designed entry gate serving the M&T Family Zone.’

‘”We’re a 3-4 team defensively, and the Bills are a 4-3 team defensively. That helps us,” said Tomlin. “The Bills have a young, mobile quarterback and an offense that reflects that in terms of some of the pocket movement stuff, and we need to see that. That’s what it’s about for us.”‘

‘”I think the word that comes out with Ross is he is always consistent,” Monos said after the draft. “No matter if it’s Mike Evans, which everybody brings up because that was the best player he went against, or Sammy Watkins. He’s played against all these guys and he is always consistent.”‘

‘Asked to comment on Mr. Gundlach’s reported interest, a spokesman for DoubleLine, Loren Fleckenstein, wrote in an email: “All I can say is, ‘Go Bills!'”‘

‘”I always expect the best,” Johnson said after Sunday’s training camp practice. “I want to be a starter. I didn’t come here just to be a role guy, just to make the team. I came here to take somebody’s spot.”‘

‘The group was allowed to rebid after reports suggested its initial offer July 29 was insufficient because it was “uncompetitively low” and failed to make the required assurances that the team would remain in Western New York for the long haul, according to the Sun report.’

‘”Obviously, we’ve had words on the field, we’ve hit each other,” Wood said. “Some of the hardest hits I’ve had have been against Spikes, but we’re bringing toughness to this team and I don’t think there’s a tougher ‘Mike’ linebacker from an offensive line’s standpoint to go against in the NFL than Brandon Spikes.”‘