Archives for June 2004

‘"You’re at training camp for a reason," said Mularkey. "You’re creating your team’s identity."’

‘The locker rooms at East Aurora High School were used by the team for dressing and training room facilities. The players were shuttled between hotel, locker room and practice fields by school bus, sometimes driven by players or team personnel.’

Because expectations were so high for the Bills’ Mike Williams, the fourth overall pick of the 2002 draft, he has been perceived as a mild disappointment. Though Williams has been inconsistent, he has flashed dominance. Last season, for instance, he handled Jevon Kearse of the Titans. Williams has continued to get better, and his improvement should be accelerated this season. Playing next to him will be a rock in right guard Chris Villarrial, and coaching Williams will be Jim McNally, one of the best in the league.

‘Make no mistake about it – Krumrie is a coach, a solid football coach, one of the most highly regarded defensive line coaches in the business. The Bills will have trouble holding on to him after his contract expires at the end of this season. He has friends all over the league, including LeBeau in Pittsburgh, Matt Millen in Detroit and Gregg Williams in Washington. Williams, who was fired by Buffalo at the end of last season, hired Krumrie away from the Bengals.’

‘Maybe it’s that Mularkey was an NFL player, but the fact he instantly recognized that peer pressure could be more important than gratifying his own ego to get a result, showed insight I think will be appreciated and responded to by the current crop of Bills players.’

‘A half dozen candidates will push Brown for the punt return duties this summer, and Haddad adds to the mix. After spending the 2000 season on the Bills practice squad, he joined the Indianapolis Colts. In the 2001 preseason, he returned 14 punts for 292 yards, a 20.9 average, including 84- and 94-yard TDs.’

‘The Bills, who had little depth at center, are giving Dan Koons a shot to backup Trey Teague, signing the University of Louisville standout earlier this month.’

‘The Bills still have about 1,000 indoor club seats left unsold for the upcoming season, with many fans telling officials the environment is “too antiseptic for what they want to experience going to a football game,” GM Tom Donahoe said during a radio interview. Jacksonville recently lowered the price on 2,000 club seats but the Bills aren’t ready to take such drastic measures yet.’

‘If offensive coordinator Tom Clements is going use both Travis Henry and Willis McGahee in some of his formations, I hope sufficient time is spent in training camp on picking up blitzers. Foes are sure to test the willingness of both backs to protect Bledsoe when those human Humvees come crashing toward them.’

Travis Henry has quietly emerged as a productive workhorse for the Bills the past couple of years. He’s tough, breaks tackles and plays hurt. At the same time, he puts up good numbers. Now add a hopefully healthy Willis McGahee to the mix. McGahee provides more athleticism and versatility blended with the tools to become an outstanding feature back himself. It’s going to be interesting to see how the Bills blend these talents together.

‘”I’m anxious for the first game,” McGahee said. “I’ve got the jitters. I want to play.”‘

‘The Buffalo Bills and Labatt USA have signed a three-year marketing agreement that will bring the Canadian beer to the stadium. Under the terms of the agreement, the brewery will have the Labatt Blue Zone just outside the stadium, almost underneath the main scoreboard. In addition, Labatt beers will sold inside the stadium.’

‘That was the case for Bills 2003 fifth round pick Ben Sobieski who saw two of his fellow offensive linemen from Iowa also get drafted as guard Eric Steinbach went to Cincinnati, and Carolina took center Bruce Nelson. Also on that Iowa line was Robert Gallery who still had a year to play before being drafted by Oakland this past spring, and a relative unknown who went undrafted by the name of David Porter.’

‘The 2004 camp schedule includes seven days of double practices, including a joint practice session with the Cleveland Browns on Friday, August 6th. In addition, the Bills will host a full scrimmage on Saturday, August 7th.’

‘"I wasn’t there for the building blocks of what propelled the Bills to those four Super Bowls," Hansen said. "The building blocks of those teams were the same guys, the continuity, and that happened in the late ’80s. I got to experience the best part of it which were the Super Bowls. One thing that I remember in all of those years, with all the core guys being together, is no matter how far we were down, there was always something extra. ‘Ah, don’t worry. We’ll come back and we’ll win.’ It was just a sense. It was nothing I could write down on paper. It was just a feeling that we always knew we’d win. And we did most of the time."’