Archives for July 1, 2016

'Dennis Cogan, McCoy's Philadelphia-based lawyer, told The Buffalo News Thursday that he has met with representatives of the Pennsylvania AG's office and came away with a "very clear" sense that McCoy was not going to be charged for the fight that resulted in injuries to two off-duty Philadelphia police officers.'

'On a drive from his Orchard Park apartment to Spot Coffee in downtown Buffalo, Lucas is stone-cold quiet. Only small talk about the early NBA Finals (“The Warriors couldn’t miss”), moving from South Beach to the boonies of Morgantown (“Big change”) and his linemen teammates here in Buffalo (“A great group”) break up long stretches of silence. Dreads pouring from a backward Bills hat, Lucas ambles inside the café, takes a seat and that steely exterior softens the moment he’s asked about his upbringing.'

'"I was just patient and knew that a team was going to come around eventually and, fortunately, the Bills did," he said. "Great opportunity here. They take pride in their special teams, and it's kind of what's gotten me eight years in the NFL now, my special-teams play."'

'So, first, Ryan drafted three players he hopes bring a Buddy-like attitude. Maybe Shaq Lawson, Reggie Ragland and Adolphus Washington provide the bite this defense needs. Lawson boasted that he once sent a kid in high school to the hospital: "Kids were crying. And they sent him to the emergency room.” Washington remembers one of his victims on the field squirming in agony. Ragland was used on offense as a running back early in games to set a physical tone. And, in Ragland, Ryan sees the type of player his father coveted.'

'"When Dad looked at football players, he would take them in his own image," Rex Ryan said. "That's what he grew up around; that's what he was when he was a master sergeant in the Korean War. That's what I took, and that's what I want on my football team."'