Archives for April 2001

‘For Germany, who will be reunited with Clements at Buffalo, the pick meant a new lease on his football life after he was declared academically ineligible for the Outback Bowl. That started a dark period in his life, but he rebounded with a nine-catch performance in the Hula Bowl all- star game.’

‘"He’s a very, very productive player," Bills coach Gregg Williams said of [Travis] Henry. "Production should mean something. If a guy was able to produce at a high level at the level before, he should able to produce at the next level."’

‘Once projected as a possible first-rounder, he didn’t hear from the Bills until late in the sixth round, 196th overall. "I kept seeing all of these cornerbacks going in front of me and I was getting a little bit angry," [Jimmy} Williams said.’

‘After watching the NFL draft for hours Saturday afternoon and night, Brandon Spoon had to go to sleep still wondering where he would play professional football. The wait Sunday wasn’t so long. Spoon, a linebacker out of North Carolina, was taken early in the fourth round by Buffalo on the draft’s second day.’

‘"(Top pick Nate Clements) better have an excitement about playing the special teams before he thinks about playing defence."’

‘Their first draft with the Bills now complete, Donahoe and Williams came away impressed by the process and the performance of the holdover scouting department headed by Dwight Adams. "Dwight and the scouts did a phenomenal job, it’s the best job I’ve ever seen as far as preparation and thoroughness to get ready for a draft," said Donahoe.’

‘What most likely hurt Christie on the open market was his ineffectiveness as a kickoff man. He no longer has the leg strength to consistently get the ball to the goal line, and that became a major problem when the Bills’ special teams covered kicks so poorly.’

‘"Very good," was Donahoe’s assessment of his team’s draft. "We went in with the intention of improving our team, particularly looking at the depth on our offensive and defensive lines."’

‘Backup defensive lineman Shawn Price reached a deal in principal to re-sign with the Buffalo Bills on Saturday.’

‘Christie, who was an unrestricted free agent, will return for his 10th season with Buffalo.’

‘The Bills resigned kicker Steve Christie today in an effort to address the team’s current place-kicking needs.’

One-on-one interview with Brandon Spoon, the UNC linebacker the Bills selected in the fourth round.

‘Buffalo Bills president and general manager Tom Donahoe still believes in Kris Farris, even though the Steelers gave up on him eight months ago.’

‘The Stadium Wall message board is the place to be for analysis of the Bills draft. Over 600 messages have been posted in the last 24 hours and the talk will continue today (as it does every day – 365 days a year). So, head on over to the Wall and post your opinion on the Bills first day of the draft and check back during the day for instant analysis of day two!’

‘The TBD chat room was a hot bed of Bills talk yesterday. The discussion started well before the draft started and finished long after it ended. The room was packed with 60-70 fans during the peak times. Check it out today as we pick 7 more players!’