Archives for May 29, 2015

'“Since when don’t they select a cornerback, you know?” McKelvin said of his reaction to the Bills taking Florida State’s Ronald Darby in the second round this year. “They’ve done it plenty of years when I’ve been here. … It really doesn’t matter, as long as those guys come in and help contribute to what we’ve got going on, which is to get to the playoffs. That’s all I really care about.”'

'I believe that this overwhelming love for my city and community was shaped out of the deep heartache that my family experienced during the life and death of my brother as well as my dad’s cancer battle. I’ve always loved Western New York, but never as much as I do now. And I’ve never witnessed people come together the way they did when my father battled cancer in 2013 and 2014. These aren’t the type of people who just rally with you during the good times. Rather, they see your need when you’re down for the count, and they pick you up off the ground and hold you up when you can no longer stand on your own.'

'"I'm excited," Ryan said as he stood on the field inside Growney Stadium under a sun-filled blue sky. "The facilities are first rate for a training camp. The way the dorms are set up, cafeteria, meetings rooms, and the people I've met here have been over the top, so it looks like it's going to be a great situation for us."'

'Practices generally last about two hours and all practices are open to the public. The Bills open up the preseason with a home game against the Carolina Panthers on Friday, Aug. 14. They will also reportedly hold joint practices with the Cleveland Browns at St. John Fisher prior to playing a preseason game in Cleveland on Thursday, Aug. 20.'

'"I've got great respect for LeSean," Kelly said. "However, in that situation, I think he's wrong. We put a lot of time in looking at the characters and factors that go into selection and retention of players, and color's never been one of them."'

'Is Dareus worth that much? He's been a step below those two in terms of production over the last few years, but not by much. The other factor at play is Dareus' history off the field. He'll be serving a one-game suspension for a drug arrest last spring, and that could affect how much guaranteed money the Bills are willing to hand him.'

'Asked if he has spoken with McCoy, Kelly said: "I reached out to him twice and he didn't accept my call. Then I talked to his agent (Drew Rosenhaus) and told him I'd like to talk to (McCoy) at some point in time, but I haven't had a chance to."'

'Kelly said he isn’t hurt by the allegations, nor has he addressed them within the locker room. He said he didn’t think it was necessary to talk with the players, then told reporters to ask the players if they thought it was a problem.'

'“I think everything around here is equal,” Cox, who maintains he’s a good friend of McCoy said after a voluntary team practice Thursday. “Everything around here is equal. Chip treats everybody the same. I don’t think there’s a difference.”'

'"If you look at the guys we traded; we traded one white guy (Nick Foles) for another white guy (Sam Bradford). We cut Todd (Herremans, who is white). We cut Trent (Cole, who is black). We traded (McCoy) and we replaced him with DeMarco Murray. I think it's all about the players, it's not about black and white. That's how I see it.'''

'"I've got great respect for LeSean,” Kelly said. “However, in that situation, I think he's wrong. We put a lot of time in looking at the characters and factors that go into selection and retention of players, and color's never been one of them."'

'"That doesn't hurt me," Kelly said of the comments. "I'm not governed by the fear of what other people say. Events don't elicit feelings. I think beliefs elicit feelings, and I understood what my beliefs are and I know who I am."'

'"I've had six years of experience," he said Wednesday, a few feet away from the field where he held his second OTA session as the newest coach of the Buffalo Bills. "So am I gonna be better now? Of course. You're not gonna be worse by having experience. The other thing is understanding what's important, because the second time, I was lucky — I got to choose where to go. The thing about that was, go to an organization where you see the direction, and it's the same direction (you believe in)."'

'“There’s a lot to learn,” admitted Clay. “A lot of little minor detail things. It’s tough and you need to spend time in the books because it’s not something you’ll pick up overnight.”'

'“We’ve worked him a lot at corner, we’re confident he can jump right back in there,” said Rex Ryan. “He’s going to need a lot of reps at safety. That’s where he’s going to be getting the majority of his work. I’m not saying he won’t go to corner, I’m sure he’ll play some there. We really want him to focus on safety right now.”'