Archives for July 30, 2015

'“Attitude change, player additions, I think you would be lying if you said you didn’t see it or feel it. We’re excited about where we could go. But we have a whole lot of work before we get there. We’ve got a whole lot of work before we have that first game in September. Obviously, we’ve got some talented guys, but hopefully they understand that there’s a lot of work to get done before we can realize any kind of potential we have.”'

'“He’s not real accurate,” the executive said. “He has a weird, dart-throwing motion. For a big, strong-looking guy, he doesn’t throw the ball like one. … But sometimes it takes time. Sometimes, it’s tough when you’re thrown in there right away if you’re not Andrew Luck.”'

'“We have to show up. We have to win. Win games,” Watkins said. “Everybody’s buying tickets and everybody’s got this Super Bowl thing on us. We’ve got to come out here and win. Coming in Friday for practice, we’ve got to start it up. We’re not going to just go out there and win games because we have all these players. I think if we handle our business in practice, we definitely have a shot at the playoffs.'

'Goodell knows public sentiment is on his side. He also has the power that comes with knowing that his league is more popular and lucrative than ever, despite the recent scandals. If it’s a fight Brady wants, Goodell is saying that the NFL is bigger than any one player, even the greatest quarterback of all time.'

'“We’ve got some talented guys, but hopefully they understand there’s a lot of work to get done before we can realize any kind of potential we have.”'

'This year, Kouandjio had the better offseason and is in the driver’s seat, but now the pads go on. Incognito solidifies the RG spot, and Miller, a third-rounder in 2015, has been a nice surprise who was plugged in as a starter from the day the Bills picked him. Wood and Glenn are locked in, and Urbik will be the key backup at both guard spots and center.'

'Bradham and Brown are going to be the two inside linebackers. The outside positions, in theory, will be manned by Mario Williams and Hughes, but as I said earlier, they aren't going to be performing normal LB duties too often. In essence, this defense is more like a 5-2 than a 3-4. This is what you need to know: The Bills are going to line up seven guys in the first two levels, and it will be a mish-mash of players in a variety of alignments. Powell and Johnson are the front-runners to earn the backup spots at ILB.'

'"I don't really know how I feel about it. Honestly, there hasn't been a whole lot of precedent set in this regard. I felt that the consistency shown is refreshing, because sometimes it feels like they suspend a guy and then they always end up taking it away, or taking half of it back or whatever. The consistency is nice. I guess I don't know enough about the whole situation to determine what I think the punishment should have been but I did appreciate the consistency and I'm sure there will be a lot more going on from here."'

'"I'm not on Twitter or social media, so it's hard to keep up with that," Williams said. "I'm a little upset I didn't get invited. Probably my wife's glad I didn't get invited."'

'The Bills will have to examine the progress of Cherilus' recovery from an offseason knee surgery. He missed all of the Colts' offseason program due to the injury.'

'It's not unreasonable to think the Bills will keep six linebackers on the roster, though it depends on how versatile they think some of their defensive ends can be. Lawson is a lock, while Johnson should make the team with a strong training camp. Bradham, Brown and Powell are safe bets to make the roster as well, so it's up to Steward, Tarpley or Jimmy Gaines to convince coaches the roster needs six linebackers.'

'"It's awesome that fans are excited," center Eric Wood said. "But from our perspective, we've got a long way to go and we haven't played a game yet."'

'The Colts cut Cherilus because of concerns they had of him coming off knee surgery.'

'The Bills parted with guard Chris Williams and tackle Wayne Hunter in the past week and have holes across the offensive line.'

'“Yeah, I think so. I think you see everything,” Williams said, as he enters his tenth camp. “From Rex, to the players, to the attitude change and player additions, you know I think you would be blind if you said you didn’t see it or feel it, but like I said we’re excited to be here. We’re excited about where we could go, but we have a whole lot of work before we get there. We got a whole lot of work before we have that first game in September, and hopefully, obviously we’ve got some talented guys but I think, hopefully, they understand that there’s a whole lot of work to get done before we can realize any kind of potential that we have.”'