Archives for February 6, 2016

'"I like Tyrod," Dilfer said. "I think there were probably too high expectations for him. He hasn’t played a lot of real football. I thought his flashes were really good. I liked that he played hurt. He’s a tough kid. We were there in New England when he got banged up. I think he’s got a chance to be a solid starter in this league. I really do. I think their passing game needs to grow. I’m not a fan of what they do schematically in their passing game. I think it needs to grow a little bit. They’re very predicated off play action and their run game.'

'“We’ll see,” Ryan said. “I’m not done with EJ Manuel, either (as a backup to Tyrod Taylor). I think EJ’s got the talent, the size and all that stuff. Sometimes, guys just take a little bit longer to develop, so we’ll see how that goes.”'

'The decision by late general manager John Butler to leave for San Diego pulled the rug from under Phillips’ feet and there was no stopping his dismissal despite a 29-19 record with two playoff appearances. His 1999 No. 1-ranked defense was, like Denver’s is now, good enough to win a Super Bowl with.'

'I actually got to watch that game among the crowd as well, the only other time I wasn’t in the press box while covering the team. The Daily News had two reporter passes and one photographer pass for the season and the divisional playoff round, but due to the large amount of credential requests from national media, we were bumped down to one press box pass. Reporter Steve Bradley was doing the game story and me the column so we had him use the pass. I had locker room access and could have watched the game on television in a media room in the facility, but my buddy Tom Spink had an extra ticket so I sat with him and his friends.'

'“He knew what he believed in,” said Fried, 71, who works as a Del City attorney. “He knew who he was. At that age, everybody doesn't know who they are. Bob was very secure in himself.”'

'“I, of course, had a big problem (with Phillips) because we had pretty good special teams there for 13 years and now I had to up and move my family across the country in a situation that I thought was patently unfair,” DeHaven said. “But I understood. Somebody needs to take the blame when something like that happens.”'

'One of the many questions Taylor was asked about earlier this week was the Bills playoff chances in 2016. "I'm always confident in our guys, I know we have a playoff caliber team," Taylor said. "It's about us going out there and playing like that every week."'

'Brissett is one of those intriguing mid-round options the Bills have likely referred to. He has fantastic physical skills which will help in the interim as he — as a team would hope — better as a passer. Having Tyrod Taylor affords them enough time to keep Brissett far away from the field this year, and even keeping EJ Manuel on the roster, if Brissett isn’t ready to take over backup duties straight away.'