Archives for April 2018

‘As usual, Belichick is the draft master. He turned the No. 43 he got for Jimmy Garoppolo into some extra juice that allowed him to move up and get Dawson, a No. 4 and a No. 2 in 2019. The Pats also added a No. 3 in 2019. Drafting Brady’s successor will have to wait ’till next year.’

‘Here’s a look at what some of the big national outlets think about the Bills’ draft…’.

‘Nobody truly knows how a player will perform in the NFL until he actually gets on the field. People who claim to know are lying or kidding themselves. NFL history is littered with consensus first-round picks who were all-time busts and late-round choices who became all-time greats.’

‘Some adventurous members of the national media published 2019 first-round mock drafts Sunday. Like with any mock draft, those projections should be for entertainment-purposes only.’

‘“It’s always great to come up here and see the Falls,” said Thomas, who was also in the city Friday to announce the installation of free public Wi-Fi in the downtown area. Thomas’ 34 Group is the vendor for the project. “The buildup here in the Niagara Falls area in recent years has really been fantastic.”’

‘”He’s definitely not racist,” Watts said. “He’s far from it. He’s a stand-up guy. We all make mistakes. We all quote lyrics from songs and things like that, and that’s all it was.”‘

‘The Bills are going to look significantly different than they did last season, but the larger point is that McDermott and Beane will have more of their own pieces in place. Unlike what this franchise had done before, grabbing at star power with little regard for how the bigger picture, Beane and McDermott are being methodical in the way they’re putting things together.’

‘The numbers are not pretty. The Bills ranked 26th in yards allowed, 29th against the run and 20th against the pass. They were 31st in sacks per pass attempt. They were 20th in points allowed. And the defense was the strength of the team! The defense bailed itself out by ranking ninth in takeaways.’

‘Beane and McDermott have systematically dismantled the roster and reshaped it with their own younger players. There are only five original Bills drafts picks left who were on the team when McDermott took over: Kyle Williams, Nick O’Leary, Shaq Lawson, John Miller and Adolphus Washington.’

‘”We do try to make sure we turn over every stone, but it wasn’t a target to go get those guys,” Beane said. “We spent time with those guys … but it’s just the way it fell.”‘

‘We know now what Marcell Dareus was traded for.’

‘”I’ve had a pre-existing relationship with them,” Austin Proehl said of McDermott and Bills General Manager Brandon Beane, who previously worked in Carolina’s front office. “Coach McDermott’s a great coach, first and foremost. Brandon Beane’s obviously a great GM. They’re both guys that I respect with the highest honor. I can’t wait to play for them. I can’t wait to uphold the Buffalo Bills’ standard that they play with.”‘

‘The Buffalo Bills got into the act Saturday night, according to various reports and players making announcements on social media. The Bills had 78 players on the roster after completing an eight-man draft class, leaving spots for up to a dozen priority free agents barring any more roster moves.’

‘”There’s other players out there, there’ll be 52 other players out there, and if they see he’s clearly the best, I don’t think we could (keep him on the bench),” the GM said. “We wouldn’t do that at any other position, so we’ll let it go. But he’s got a lot of catching up to do. That’s the thing. A.J. and Nathan are a long way ahead just getting in here with Brian when the offseason conditioning program started (April 16).”‘

‘”Johnson’s lack of size will drive him into a nickel role where he appears to have the foot quickness and cover talent to handle the job,” NFL.com wrote. Johnson is 5-foot-11, 192 pounds.’

‘Neal was a wide receiver in high school, moved to linebacker in college, then moved back to safety and cornerback. He was an all-conference selection at linebacker in 2016 (80 tackles) and at safety in 2017.’

‘The analytics site Pro Football Focus ranked Teller as the 53rd-best prospect in the entire draft and the fourth-rated guard. They said he gave up zero sacks and only seven total pressures last season in 443 snaps.’

‘ESPN ranked McCloud as the 16th wide receiver available when the Bills came up in the sixth round. Pro Football Focus didn’t have him ranked among its top 37 receivers.’

‘Proehl said on a conference call that he ran a 4.41-second 40-yard dash at a regional combine before the draft. That would’ve been tied for third among WRs at the official NFL Combine in Indianapolis, which is invite-only.’

‘Sean McDermott: I think, overall, each situation is a little bit different. The more you can do, the better off you are and obviously, for us at least, we put a big emphasis on special teams so you see a situation like Ray-Ray [McCloud], the ability to play both line of scrimmage a little bit as well as along the special teams situation for us and add value there. Versatility with Siran [Neal] as well, in terms of playing; he’s played some linebacker, he’s played some corner, he’s played some safety. Just to name a couple right there to your point.’

‘Q: Taron, how much contact did you have with the Bills during the pre-draft process? A: Actually, none until about 20 minutes ago. They just called me and told me. Yeah, it was out [of] the blue, so I was really excited when I got the call.’