Archives for August 2016

'Williams, who showed up for offseason workouts 20-25 pounds overweight, has been suspended for the first four games of the regular season for violating the NFL's substance-abuse policy.'

'The Bills confirmed IK Enemkpali will be out for the season with a torn ACL. He was the third-string OLB starting in place of Shaq Lawson and Manny Lawson who are both injured. Shaq is expected back mid-season after undergoing shoulder surgery, while the team is hoping to get Manny back before the end of the preseason or by week one at the latest. Manny injured his pectoral muscle while bench pressing prior to training camp.'

'In addition to releasing Hankerson, the Bills also released defensive tackle, T.J. Barnes.'

'—Sammy Watkins had a great day from start to finish. He worked into every drill and team session, ran every route, and was highly involved in the passing game, making several catches with some runs after the catch.'

'“I keep that chip on my shoulder. That definitely motivates me, proving the doubters wrong” Striker said. "Being overlooked, you know yourself what you can do but it feels good to prove a lot of people wrong when they don’t think you can stand. You really can, knowing you’ve been playing this game for a long time, knowing you’ve been successful at a great college, at a big college. For some people to say some of the stuff they say about me, its kind of ridiculous. I keep that chip on my shoulder, keep that in the back of my mind when I’m playing."'

'Biermann, 30, is an eight-year veteran that spent his entire career with the Atlanta Falcons before becoming a free agent in 2016. He was relegated to a backup role in 2015, but started 15 games in the 2014 season. Over those two years, Biermann collected seven total sacks for the Falcons.'

'Alexander lined up at first-team right outside linebacker and is a player that Rex Ryan said that, had it been a regular season game, he would have started on Saturday. Alexander also isn’t someone that the Bills want to ideally start on defense. They view him as a big-time piece of their special teams units, and want him to be as fresh as possible for those plays.'

'Originally a seventh-round pick of the New England Patriots in 2010, Deaderick has appeared in 60 career games and made 17 starts. He has 62 career tackles (41 solo), 5.5 sacks, four quarterback hits, six tackles for loss, three forced fumbles, and a fumble recovery.'

'Primarily a rotational player for Atlanta, Biermann is just two years removed from his most productive season.'

'“It felt good to touch a football again and being around teammates in live action with live reps and being on special teams and going through drills with Coach Crossman,” said Williams. “It was just great to be back on the football field.”'

'Williams had been on the team’s Active/Non-Football Illness list since the start of training camp. His problem was the same one that kept his participation in practice limited during the club’s June minicamp. Williams was overweight.'

'Third-round pick Adolphus Washington started at left defensive end and saw extended action. The Ohio State product played the entire first half on a night when most starters exited after a couple of series. Coming out of college Washington’s pass rush ability was a known commodity. It was his run defense that was seen as the developing part of his game.'

'“There’s a lot of some real positives in that game … the way some guys played,” the Bills coach maintained. “I loved the way the defense played when the (first team was) out there in particular … that was outstanding. I loved the way our quarterbacks played. It might not be reflected in the quarterback ratings … we had four or five drops but the quarterbacks can’t throw it and catch it. So that was certainly an issue. I was happy with a lot of the things we did defensively. We held them to 30 yards rushing (on 23 carries). That’s a good sign that we’re doing some good things, so we’ll see where it takes us from here.”'

'“Really excited about him. He’s a guy that in minicamp you saw the raw tools that he has,” Ryan said. “He’s got that speed. You know, he’s a smart young man and he’s got a passion for the game, loves to play. So yeah, he’s done extremely well.”'

'Enemkpali has been a starter for most of training camp with rookie first-round draft pick Shaq Lawson out following shoulder surgery and veteran Manny Lawson still on the half with a partially torn pectoral muscle.'