Archives for August 7, 2015

'“I listen to my own self-criticism,” Wood said. “Our coaches bring a lot of criticism on us. They expect perfection – knowing that we’re not going to be perfect, but they expect it. That’s what you want. Outside, you hear it, it’s fine, but the real criticism comes from within. That’s how you kind of assess yourself and your performance.”'

'“Andre brings that perspective,” Rex Ryan said. “He’s a Hall of Fame player who was a Buffalo Bill. He gets it. He has been in the community. He understands what it’s like here and the fact that he’s been pretty darned good at his position. Obviously, he brings that kind of presence to the group.”'

'“When I was challenged, I was more than happy to do it,” Ryan said. “It’s a great cause.”'

'“I’d like people to think that we did our best,” Polian said. “We did it with guys that people could be proud of and we did it in a way that made people proud of the Buffalo Bills. If that’s how we’re all remembered, that’s more than legacy enough.”'

'“Brilliant,” Smith said. “Brilliant football mind. What he has done for two organizations, particularly the Buffalo Bills and Indianapolis Colts, taking them from out of the dark into the limelight, is just incredible. His football mind is unprecedented.'

'"You're replacing a Pro Bowl player," Brown said when asked what his thought process was when he entered his first training camp at Fisher thrust into the position he was. "If (Alonso) had played last year he would have been a Pro Bowl-caliber player, so you have to go in and try to produce. That was the main thing going to camp, just try to learn all three linebacker positions because I never knew where I would be each week."'

'"It's a little more severe, he's not that healthy, but we have to move on," Ryan said. "When Leodis is ready it'll be great to get him back, but we can't miss a beat. There's where (Ronald) Darby has had a real strong camp. We're pretty good at corner without Leodis, but injuries are part of this game and the next man has to step up and Darby is."'

'"Our approach was to put the past behind us and not be dragged down by it," he said. "It was to be very aggressive in terms of not settling for second best, not making excuses, not allowing atmospheric or outside issues come into play. It was a straightforward, single-minded, 'Let's put the best team on the field and let's win' approach."'

'"Not at all, not one bit," Incognito said. "The whole situation, they handled it properly. If you go back to the chronological order, the voicemail came out. We all knew what happened, but we all knew there was no harassment, no bullying. We knew what it was, so we were kind of hunkered down and ready to handle the PR storm, and then this voicemail pops up. As soon as the voicemail popped up, it was a game-changer. It was a different landscape. They had to suspend me. So that went down, and that's when things got out of control and really nobody could touch me at that point."'

'Cassel worked almost exclusively with the first-team offense and focused a lot on the screen game. He led a two-minute drill that was stopped short of points due to a sack from Preston Brown. Cassel's first touchdown was a beauty. He hit Justin Brown on the screws on a deep post pattern and Brown did the rest. The second touchdown came during red zone work on a quick in route to Robert Woods. Woods made a great play on the ball.'

'"I mean, he looked average," Bills coach Rex Ryan joked after practice. "We all know, I mean there's only … two or three guys at max that can probably make the runs that he makes. He shows patience, he shows timing, he shows speed, he can jump cut, all those type of things, and run with surprising power, so nothing he does is going to surprise me, in a good way. He's really … you know, we're happy we have him I'll just put it that way."'

'"Well, I know he's going to be back at some point," Ryan said. "I can't tell you if he's going to be back the first game or whenever, but it's a significant injury."'

'Cassel is the safe play but also has a $4 million price tag. If he struggles in camp, the Bills can cut him before the season begins and not take a big salary cap hit. There was speculation of this happening in Bills' circles after mini-camps finished in June because Cassel was that bad to that point.'

'"Oh, that's terrific," Ryan said before eating a second dog biscuit for fun.'

'"I don't think that's the case," Dixon said. "That's definitely not the case," Dixon said. "I'll be back. I just have the cape hung up a little bit. It's coming back definitely. You haven't seen the last of me."'