Archives for January 2015

‘”Through hard work, through preparation, and all that, we’re going to see how many teams match our work ethic,” Ryan said. “The Buffalo Bills represent this community of Buffalo. We’re going to be tough. We’re going to be as loyal to our fans as they are to us. We are going to earn that loyalty and that trust, and one thing you’re going to see, come September, this team will be ready, period. That’s going to be my guarantee.’

‘During his time with the Jets, Lee oversaw QB Geno Smith-who in 2013 became the first rookie quarterback in team history to start all 16 games and became the first quarterback since the merger to record four game-winning drives in the fourth quarter or overtime in his first seven career games.’

‘”If you can pay a little more for a property but acquire it through a negotiated sale, you do that,” he said.’

‘”We need community input, and we want to make the Bills happy,” said Schumer, who is close to Terry and Kim Pegula. “We also need the cooperation of the NFL and all three levels of government.”‘

‘But selecting a site for a new stadium is just one issue; acquiring the land necessary to build it would be another.’

‘Ryan often was criticized for not paying enough attention to the Jets’ offense, but Watkins isn’t concerned about that happening in Buffalo. “He’s a head coach,” Watkins said. “He’s got to touch on every critical position.”‘

‘The study estimates the cost of a Cobblestone domed stadium at $787.6 million. An open-air stadium at either of the other sites would reduce costs by $188 million.’

‘”Do we want to develop a quarterback? Of course, but we’ll take steps. The first step that we took as an organization is to bring Greg Roman in to be our offensive coordinator. (I’ve) never seen a guy get criticized more than Greg for going to three (NFC) championship games.’

‘”Most of the fans I talk to, if they’re tailgaters, they’re totally against moving the stadium downtown,” said Johnson, a software engineer who attends all away Bills games, too.’

‘Because of natural lighting issues, though, only a domed stadium would likely meet NFL requirements at the Cobblestone site, whereas either a dome or an open-air stadium would work at the other two city sites, said a source who was involved in compiling the study.’

‘If the stadium moved elsewhere, some Orchard Park businesses would suffer, but town coffers should collect the same amount of sales tax should the Bills stay in Erie County. That’s because sales tax payments to towns are based on population and assessed valuation, not the sales that take place in the particular town.’

‘In 2011, the 49ers ranked eighth in the NFL in rushing (11 spots higher than the previous season) on the way to a 13-3 finish and a trip to the NFC Championship Game. In 2012, they were fourth in the league in that category on the way to the Super Bowl, where they lost to Baltimore. A year later, their ground game was third in the NFL and they lost to Seattle for the conference title. Last season, despite the turmoil that led to coach Jim Harbaugh leaving the 49ers for the University of Michigan, Roman still managed to guide the league’s fourth-best rushing attack.’

‘With costs likely to approach a billion dollars, it is essential for a new stadium to meet its potential for other revenue-generating public uses. It makes no sense to spend that kind of money on a gargantuan structure that could be used as few as eight times a year.’

‘”He proposed to me on the 50-yard line at the Bills stadium,” said Moultrie Brown.’

‘There’s no question that Whaley will push Ryan to give EJ Manuel, the team’s benched 2013 first-round pick, a long, fair look. And there’s no question Ryan will want to make a strong case to bring in free agent Mark Sanchez, a player he had with the Jets and liked so much he got a tattoo of his wife wearing a Sanchez jersey.’