Archives for August 2014

‘Note to Andre: This region has plenty more going for it than a chronically substandard football team that, over the past half-century, has brought us more heartache than happiness.’

‘”When you’re going to play a game, the goal is to win the game,” Marrone said. “There’s other things that are coming into play with the schematics, and we’re not game planning, but we have enough in to win. And at the end of the day, making sure we can figure out and come to a conclusion who the best players are to make this roster.”‘

‘”I think the more at bats you get, especially in live action, is always good,” Manuel said. “At the same time, you can’t allow your competitive spirit to overtake you because you still have to be smart. It’s still the preseason and things like that. You want to be ready for when those regular season games count.”‘

‘In inviting the Toronto group to resubmit, the trust and its transaction team asked the trio to provide greater assurances that it plans to keep the Bills long-term in the Buffalo area, a source said.’

‘Profits could rise to $60 million – in line with other teams – if the state builds the Bills a new stadium, a source added.’

‘A person familiar with the sale process confirmed to The Associated Press on Thursday that Golisano submitted a non-binding bid to Morgan Stanley, the banking firm overseeing the sale. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the sale is private.’

‘Kelly reportedly was approached previously by Jeffery Gundlach, a bond investor from East Amherst, N.Y.’

‘The offensive line has continued to be a question mark all throughout training camp with numerous positions in flux. Two of the main additions through the draft, second-round tackle Cyrus Kouandjio and seventh-round tackle Seantrel Henderson, have struggled over the course of the past week.’

‘While it was earmarked for quite some time as the first big day of the sale, as it turns out the deadline was flexible. As the Bills are a privately owned entity, they can change deadlines as they see fit, which led to the flexibility of allowing other groups to indicate their interest.’

‘”It hurts. It hurts everyone, physically. I mean, it hurts the fans, the region,” Marrone said. “The expectation going (into this coming season) is, you know, we’re going to make the playoffs. That’s what our expectations are, and we’re going to do everything we possibly can to get there, knowing that it’s going to be extremely hard, as far as the work — that’s what we’re explaining to our players. So that’s the league we’re in, and we have to win football games — there’s no doubt about it. We have to do it and do it the right way.”‘

‘As for how their bodies feel, there doesn’t seem to be any concern by the players about recovering in time for Friday’s game. It’s due in large part to the limited playing time for most of the offensive and defensive units.’

‘It comes with the territory but is still a surprise when players get the call from an NFL team, drop everything and report to a new city the next day. A few new Bills shared their stories or surprise, preparation and reporting in a hurry to Bills Camp with us.’

‘”Good people of Buffalo, take up a collection, pass the hat, start a fund, anything you can do to keep this away from him, anything to outbid him,” said Mike Tollin, producer and director of the documentary Small Potatoes: Who Killed the USFL? “Fans, get your dictionaries. Learn the definition of narcissism.”’

‘”It’s different having a head coach who is a line coach,” Williams said. “It’s awesome, but it’s different. It’s good to have somebody who’s had so much success. Him and (offensive line) coach Pat Morris are two line coaches who can teach you different techniques. They’ve seen just about everything.”‘