Archives for June 16, 2016

'“Coming from Michigan State, a lot of things came easy to me,” he said. “I was playing well, I was taught well and even in a tough conference, I was able to dominate. Coming into the NFL, everybody was the dominant figure in their conference. You have to get better with your game and create more opportunities. So I had to start from scratch, man.”'

'"Right now, with minicamp going on, it’s meeting prep, prepping for practice," Smith said. "We’ll go in and watch tape this afternoon and then get ready for tomorrow again in the morning, get ready for the meetings and practice cards and all that kind of stuff. Once the season gets here, we’ll see what that brings."'

'Maybe some playful bullying will help, too. Inside linebacker Preston Brown took it to Williams on Twitter Wednesday night. Enjoy.'

'"His eyes are in the right place all the time this spring," Bills quarterbacks coach David Lee said Wednesday, after the Bills' second of three minicamp workouts. "We've made a lot of improvement, I think, in those areas of the fundamentals of where his eyes are in looking for mismatches."'

'Tyrod Taylor has been sharp. Buffalo's starter has made quick reads and is displaying good accuracy through OTA's and minicamp. He hit Greg Little on one deep touchdown, though it might've been vs. a busted coverage. Whether it's 7 on 7 or 11 on 11, Taylor is making the right decisions, hitting Robert Woods and Charles Clay several times down the middle on Wednesday. There's been no hesitation to throw over the middle by Taylor. Clay dropped one pass Taylor put in the proverbial bucket up the seam.'

'Williams was one of the team's most pleasant surprises last season, a threat to get to the next level every time he touched the ball with 517 yards and seven scores on 93 carries. He played in the 240's then, which means he could be the high 250's (maybe the 260's?) now. What now? Those other, uh, hungry backs have a chance to make noise on the NFL's No. 1-ranked rushing attack. Motivation isn't a problem for rookie Jonathan Williams, returnee Mike Gillislee and James Wilder Jr. behind starter LeSean McCoy. Jonathan Williams found a whole new love for the game after missing all of last fall with a foot injury, Gillislee is eager to prove he belongs and Wilder Jr., the son of a NFL great, impressed in OTA's.'

'“I didn’t even approach coach Ryan about it; I saw him on the internet at this same podium give an okay for me to do it,” Goodwin said Tuesday when the Bills began their mandatory three-day mini-camp at One Bills Drive. “That was all I needed, really. When he said that it was kind of like, okay I guess I’ll do it.”'

'Either way, it seems we're a ways away from figuring out whether Gilmore will be a part of the Bills long term.'

'"I really believed it," Goodwin said at Bills minicamp Tuesday. "No one really embraced track and field like Rex and the staff that he does. So I kind of felt like I had to get rid of it just so I could thrive in the NFL, but now I am embrace it a lot. I try to live my life the best that I can for me and not live it for a coach, or my wife, or anybody else. Just live it the best I can for me."'

'"He hates to not be in on the goal line, because he's always been a goal line back," Lynn said. "And when you put him in goal line situations, he's always been successful. But that's one less hit he has to take, one less defender that he has to meet in the hole. I would use a bigger back for that going into this year. But if a bigger back's available, we'll see. Last year, our guy wasn't available and I had to use him some. We'll see."'

'Again, because I know them and they know me and I think some of that was already established, I didn't really want to overstep my bounds or anything, I'm trying to learn. I think they see that I'm working hard and trying to learn everything and do everything as best I can so I think through that they see that.'

'“I suppose, yes, there is (something to being the NFL’s first female coach). But that’s not really what I’m focused on … I recognize the honour in it, but I’m just trying to help the team and be the best coach that I can.”'

'"We want qualified people to help us win. And she fits the mold for that," Sanborn said. "You don't look at it as male versus female. You look at it as a name versus a name. And we already knew the name, and know what she's capable of. So we're happy to have her on board."'

'"Obviously he's not anywhere close to where he needs to play at a high level," Ryan said. "So we've got to get some weight off him and he certainly understands that. You guys can see him as well as I do; he's clearly overweight.'

'Bills running backs coach Anthony Lynn said Wednesday that McCoy's lack of reps this spring has been "by design," adding, "[to] keep him fresh, going into his eighth year, [there is] a lot of miles on those legs. So we'll do the same thing with training camp with him."'