Archives for July 2003

But not even the weather could stop defensive end Marcus Jones, who has been anxious to get back into action after missing nearly a year. Jones was placed on injured reserve in September by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, after a knee injury sidelined him in a pre-season game against the Washington Redskins last August.

‘"I expect us to get into the playoffs. If we are not a playoff team I’ll be greatly disappointed. I think that we can beat anybody. Looking at the way that we stack up against any team in the league and looking at our schedule, I think we can beat any team in the league. I would expect us to do that on a consistent basis. But in order to do that we’ve got to go prove that everyday and it starts right here in camp. We’ve got to go prove it on the practice field and we’ve got to go out and prove it every day."’

* Coy Wire, Kevin Thomas, Tony Driver and rookie Terrence Mcgee were doing drills, backpedaling diagonally – zig zagging backwards maybe ten yards and trying to catch a ball thrown their way. Nice to see our defensive players going through passing drills.

* RB Joe Burns saw a LOT of work, running and catching passes. It seemed like today was a test to see which RBs could catch. Of the RBs I liked Ken Simonton best. A lot of heart.

* QB Travis Brown saw the most action. Bledsoe and Van Pelt threw a few and even Jason Johnson saw some action.

* Chris Kelsay looked very quick, spinning off blocks and following the play. He was double and even triple teamed at times. One time after a double team, he grappled with two lineman (could not catch the numbers) and it almost came to punches.

‘"We’re really just getting started (with serious contract talks)," Rosenhaus said from his Miami office. "I’m optimistic only because of the Bills’ track record. You’ve got to really respect what they’ve done in getting their players signed. (President and General Manager) Tom Donahoe and (Vice President/Administration) Jim Overdorf are very good administrators and negotiators."’

‘When his coaches told him he was too small to play professional football, Steve Tasker didn’t let that stop him from chasing his dream. The 5-foot-9, 185-pounder went on to enjoy a 13-year career in the NFL, which included four trips to the Super Bowl with the Buffalo Bills. Tasker made whatever sacrifices were necessary to make his lifelong dreams a reality, and that’s what he encouraged a gathering of 6,000 athletes to do at Wednesday night’s opening ceremonies of the Empire State Games.’

‘He didn’t flinch when asked if he thought this could be a Super Bowl team. ” Most definitely,” he said.’

‘There are just three two-a-days, that rite of passage that football players come to dread as teenagers. One takes place Aug. 1, when the Bills travel to Cleveland to practice with the Browns.’

‘” We’re still working on it and naturally we’d love to get something done,” Rosenhaus said. ” But we still have significant work to do.”‘

‘Larry Centers, one of the most prolific pass-receiving fullbacks in NFL history, may be getting a look from the Patriots over the next few days, according to Patriots sources.’

The following is a schedule for the McDonald’s Autograph Zone for the first portion of training camp.

Players will be in the tent following each session signing for kids 14 and under (limit one item per child).

The Bills today announced that the team has three more of its 2003 draft picks – defensive end Chris Kelsay (second round), linebacker Angelo Crowell (third round) and cornerback Terrence McGee (fourth round).

‘The 2003 Buffalo Bills VIP Training Camp is scheduled for Sunday, July 27, at 3:00 p.m. on the St. John Fisher College campus.’

Print out the Bills updated roster before you go to camp!

‘At issue is how to structure a contract that’s fair to both McGahee, drafted 23rd overall, and the Bills, who gambled on selecting a player who only began jogging in May and is likely a year away from playing his first NFL down.’

‘Kelsay, who played his college football at the University of Nebraska, was the 48th player chosen in the 2003 NFL Draft. The defensive end recorded 38 tackles (17 solo) with seven sacks and 18 quarterback pressures last season.’