Archives for May 2017

'His ties to Beane began with the Carolina Panthers, where the two broke into the NFL as interns a few years apart. Schoen spent seven years in Carolina's scouting department, while Beane worked his way up to become the Panthers assistant GM.'

'MMQB: Is Buffalo’s quarterback of the future on the roster now? McDermott: He is, in Tyrod Taylor.'

'Schoen has been a part of the Dolphins scouting staff for the last nine years, and has served as their Director of Player Personal for the last three. Before joining the Dolphins, Schoen earned his stripes with the Carolina Panthers where he worked as a Scouting Assistant and later promoted to the club's National Football Scouting scout. Schoen first broke into the business as a Ticket Office intern with the Panthers in 2000.'

'And yes, you guessed it: There is a Panthers connection.'

'"It's nothing like playing in it in high school and then playing and practicing on the professional level. It's way more intense," he said. "It's a blessing to be here.'

'And, speaking of connections, they extend to the coaching staff as well. Not just with Beane and head coach Sean McDermott, but with wide receiver coach Phil McGeoghan, who coached Buffalo's second round pick Zay Jones at ECU.'

'Schoen had been in the Miami Dolphins front office for the better part of the last decade, serving the last three as Dolphins Director of Player Personnel.'

'“I can tell you this, it’s been sleepless nights,” said White. “You know the week of the draft, I didn’t sleep at all. Then flying to Buffalo that morning, back to Baton Rouge and being in the hospital for two straight days, well four or five – it’s been something I’ll never forget [and] I wouldn’t want it any other way."'

'“Just in terms of mutual respect … that’s key in any relationship,” he said. “I certainly came up one way, he came up in a similar fashion through this business. When you look at his foundation that he’s been able to build for 19 years – coming up through a solid organization in Carolina, he’s been trained the right way, he’s earned everything he’s gotten and those are qualities, to me, that are very attractive.”'

'“I don’t really compare myself to anybody,” he said Friday after the Bills completed their first rookie minicamp practice. “I think I’ve had a good background. I’ve been taught very well, but there’s always things to improve on, so coming in here, it is a new offense. I’m just soaking up every word” quarterbacks coach David Culley and offensive coordinator Rick Dennison “have been saying, and just trying to learn it as fast as I can.”'

'We did learn Botterill and Beane likely aren't the types of managers who will sacrifice draft assets for the sake of being bodacious.'

'Like with everything else, it has to start at quarterback. Heading into spring practices, the pecking order figures to be Tyrod Taylor, T.J. Yates, Cardale Jones, Nathan Peterman and Josh Woodrum. The two biggest questions to me are, 1. Is Yates solidified as the backup?, and 2. Will Peterman push Jones off the roster?'

'"Jim, do you have any idea how much money you’d be making today?" the president said Saturday. "They’d hit Jim, it was like tackling a linebacker. They’d hit Jim, four guys, five guys that weighed 320, and they’d just keep going down the field. He was much more than a quarterback. He had tremendous heart, and he knew how to win.'

'The resumes of Botterill and Beane are interchangeable, two men who worked their way up the sports business food chain starting as coffee-fetching interns. Where many traditional GMs travel the hard-scrabble road of scouting, Botterill and Beane came up in the world of contract negotiations, salary cap management, budgets and logistics, all the office stuff scouts can’t stand once they become GMs.'

'Prognosticators should run away from Buffalo's dysfunction, not to it. With the Pegulas firing Doug Whaley, it's apparently first-year head coach Sean McDermott's club for the time being. His move to take the ping-pong tables out of the locker room sounds good until you realize the Falcons went to the Super Bowl with three tables in their locker room last year. And the Bills don't seem to like or appreciate their above-average quarterback. Prepare for a step back in 2017.'