Archives for January 2015

‘Palmer is the former head coach of the Cleveland Browns and last served as an offensive coordinator with the Tennessee Titans. He has 22 years of coaching experience in the NFL. Lal, along with both Anthony Lynn and D’Anton Lynn, will all join the Bills staff after having been with Rex Ryan and the New York Jets last season.’

‘Head coach Rex Ryan has secured the services of ten assistant coaches – four retained from the previous regime – to continue filling out his coaching staff.’

‘While the Bills stood fourth in points per game allowed, when you strip down Buffalo’s points allowed to those only scored by opposing offenses, the Bills ranked second in the league allowing just 271 on the year. It was a sizable improvement from 2013 when Buffalo ranked 20th in that category.’

‘Ryan received an overwhelming majority of support, with 70 percent of respondents saying the Bills made a good decision to hire the brash former coach of the New York Jets. Just 9 percent of respondents thought it was a bad decision.’

‘In contrast, many of those in the poll see Ralph Wilson Stadium in Orchard Park as past its prime despite $130 million in renovations just last year.’

‘While a downtown stadium has plenty of advocates, including the Buffalo Common Council, any plan to build there would require decision-makers to take stock of infrastructure, highways and mass transit and make them better. The consultant, the Los Angeles-based architectural firm AECOM, recommends tens of million of dollars in improvements to surrounding roads, walkways and rails.’

‘Tier one: 1. Garrett Grayson, Colorado State; 2. Bryce Petty, Baylor.’

‘It’s the Buffalo Bills’ guy. He’s going to be great for the organization, from the fans to the scouting staff, to the players, to the region. I feel comfortable, when we went through the process, that the Pegulas were looking for somebody like that. Russ (Brandon) and I kind of gathered the sheep as they say and said, ‘Who are the best guys out there?’ and led them through the process, and we were all on board. It got to a point where early in the process everyone was kind of having sleepless nights and it was restless, and then after a while once we started getting some rest and saying alright, then we met with Rex and we said we have to bring this guy back in. It was a good process, but again, it’s a process for the Buffalo Bills as a whole.’

‘”They did a lot of switching in and out,” Whaley said. “It seemed like every time a guy would make a big run, they would substitute. I think it was just the rotation of it. Then with Fred (Jackson) being here the longest and knowing the offense the most, I think they felt in certain situations, more comfortable having him out there. But we’re excited this year coming in with the emphasis and commitment to the run game. There’s going to be a rotation, but I don’t think it’s going to be as quick for guys. I think they’ll be able to stay in and get a feel for what they’re doing and get in a groove.”‘

‘”I look at it this way: There’s not one position we wouldn’t take or try to upgrade,” Whaley said Tuesday from the Senior Bowl. “We could use another receiver, you could use obviously offensive line interior, quarterback we’ll have to add. If a dynamic tight end is out there or a running back. If we look to defense, those guys are going to come in and give us depth and hopefully be in the system a year or two from now to start contributing.”‘

‘”He had a slow start of camp and he fell behind,” Whaley said Tuesday from the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala. “There were some mitigating circumstances because of that, but once he settled in and got comfortable, he started moving around and looking like the player we saw coming out of Alabama. We’re excited to see him next year, and it’s going to be interesting. If he steps up, and with Seantrel and (left tackle) Cordy (Glenn) and we get (guard) Chris Williams back and (center Eric) Wood, we think it should help us and improve our line play.”‘

‘”It all starts at quarterback to build a roster and then the draft is always the most important thing to me,” said Monos. “It’s challenging. We’re not going to back down. We’re going to meet this challenge head on. We’re going to bring guys in to compete with EJ (Manuel) and Jeff Tuel and see what happens.”‘

‘”If we’re talking about how we want to build this team, he can finish my sentence, I can finish his because it’s the same philosophy,” Whaley said. “And it’s a philosophy, I think especially in our division, and where we play, that represents not only the fan base, but the community and the region as a whole. And that’s tough, physical bullies that are going to impose their will on another team. That’s just what I subscribe to.”‘