Archives for April 2004

‘”You didn’t see it in his play,” rookie coach Mike Mularkey said. “I went back and looked three years ago to compare if there was any difference in his play. And, no, he didn’t have a drop off, I don’t think.”‘

‘One of the true signs of his character and toughness in the workout was that at the time he had a slight hamstring problem, and he said he was going to do all the running stuff except the forty yard dash. He was going to do that at the end of the workout. We worked him really hard in the field drills and my position drill that I did with him. I did not think he would even run a forty because he was gassed. To his credit and his toughness in character he ran a 4.9 forty after everything. There was no problem with is hamstring. He got through everything just fine. He wanted to prove to everybody that he will hold up.’

‘On knowledge of Buffalo: Not really a whole lot. I know we have a couple of ex-Buckeyes in the defensive backfield. A lot of their games aren’t aired here in Ohio, so I really don’t have a real good grasp of them, but I’m definitely looking forward to learning about them.’

‘We still have the second part of the draft to go, but we’re pleased with what we were able to do today. We’ve been talking since the end of last season that we’ve wanted to get a mentally and physically tougher football team. The people we took today address that, and they’re talented football players as well. We’re excited to have them, and they’re excited to be Buffalo Bills.’

‘Losman has been praised for his arm strength as well as his preparation and knowledge of the game. Scouts have criticized Losman for throwing off-balance on occasion, but Bills Head Coach Mike Mularkey does not see a problem with it. “Yes, he throws some balls off balance, and they’re complete so it really doesn’t matter,” Mularkey said. “Sometimes you don’t step the right way to make the block, as long as you make the block, who cares how you step?”‘

‘Three-year starter who is a tough, competitive football player with a blue-collar mentality.’

‘”He (Evans) is appealing in his speed and his ability to make big plays,” Bills President and General Manager Tom Donahoe said. “We felt that he was a complete receiver. There are a lot of guys that are fast who struggle catching the ball. Lee is a fast guy who can catch. That’s a nice combination to have.”‘

‘This was a need pick for the Bills, but it shouldn’t be seen as too much of a reach. Yes, Evans was thought to be a late first-round pick a month ago, but his stock has soared in recent weeks as he proved to NFL teams that his knee is fully healed after tearing ligaments in the spring of 2002. In fact, Evans ran the 40 in the 4.3s and showed great hands, great toughness and strength in his workouts. He also showed during his college career that he’s a big-time playmaker.’

‘He has some flaws in his footwork and the way he sometimes forces throws, but those are correctable. It will serve him well to mentor under Drew Bledsoe for a season. With the weapons now in place – RBs Travis Henry and Willis McGahee, WRs Eric Moulds, Josh Reed and Evans – the Bills have the makings of an explosive offense for several years for Losman to work with.’

‘Buffalo must believe J.P. Losman of Tulane is the next Jim Kelly, because the Bills surrendered their 2005 first-rounder and a second and a fifth this year to get the 22nd overall slot. After giving up so much, the Bills better be getting a future star. And they also made a serious reach for WR Lee Evans at 13th overall. That shows how badly new coach Mike Mularkey wants to upgrade the offense immediately.’

‘I know Nate Clements. We competed in high school together. He went to Ohio State so we also competed in college together, so I know Nate a little bit. Coming in on my visit I was able to meet with a few other people. Some of the people that work in the scouting department are from Cleveland and so I know a little bit. I know Coach Mularkey was over at Pittsburgh for a while and I’ve seen some things that he did over there. So I’m a little familiar with it but I’ve still got a little bit to go.’

‘When we did our board and we had some quarterbacks that we liked, we had a lot of players that we liked, but we had four quarterbacks that we thought were first round talents. We felt strongly that we wanted to add to our speed at the receiver position. We did that and as soon as we made our pick we began to explore the possibility of trying to get back into the first round to pick J.P. We were fortunate to be able to do it. We called just about every team from our pick on and proposed a trade to them. Finally we were able to get it done with Dallas.’

‘They told me to keep my eyes open for Buffalo with the 13th pick, but when they picked Lee Evans we didn’t know what was going to happen. Everyone’s been telling me this Green Bay and St. Louis type thing so I was kind of shaky and I didn’t know. But when Buffalo traded up with Dallas my eyes kind of opened up and my heart started pounding and then they called my name and it was just a sigh of relief.’

‘The Cowboys picked up another second-round pick (43rd) overall, a fifth-round pick this year and then a first-rounder next year. The Cowboys had the chance of getting either Oregon State’s Steven Jackson and Virginia Tech’s Kevin Jones, but chose to take more picks.’

‘The Cowboys have now increased their number of picks from five to seven in this weekend’s draft. And with Buffalo coming off a 6-10 record and losing their top cornerback in free agency, the Cowboys could end up with a high pick in next year’s draft.’