Archives for August 2, 2004

‘"I’ve been here with four head coaches now," Lester said. "It’s difficult to say good-bye to a lot of people when they leave. Marv Levy’s staff was a bit older and a lot of those guys were like father-figures to me. They were all mentors to me. It’s difficult to lose them, but it’s good as a growing experience as far as the game is concerned because you get to learn different philosophies."’

‘On Willis McGahee looking like a first round pick:

I think we still need to see him in some live competition. Whether that’s a goal line period or when the Browns come in. I’m sure the tempo of the hitting will go up. I think that he obviously has the tools to do it. I just think that he needs to see things at a quicker pace and a more physical pace.’

‘"He’s given me a chance to look at (the offense), have more time to study it," Williams said. "I felt it’s going to help the team if I know my information and know the terminology. Hopefully, as the week goes on, I can get back in there. But I’m going to continue to work hard as if there is no chance (to get the job back), just to push myself."’

‘"I’m not going to be pleased until I score my first touchdown," he said. "Right now it’s just a regular, day-by-day routine. But when I score that first touchdown, then I’ll be very pleased about how far I’ve come."’

‘”They want to win bad. They have a sense of urgency about them. . . . This is not a rebuilding process at all.”‘

‘My agent knew I wanted to be here but we were also going to take the right deal. Both sides cooperated with each other and bent a little bit but didn’t break. We got the right deal and I’m happy.’

‘"This is a whole new level," said Evans. "The college game is out the window. It’s so much more technical here and so much faster. You’ve got to be able to learn a lot of terminology real quick so it’s just different. I’ve always been somebody who loves challenges and this is a challenge I’ve got to overcome."’

‘”The one thing we did have to do on the one (Evans’ deal) is a voidable year, which we haven’t done,” said Donahoe. “I don’t like setting the precedent, but we had to do it. The numbers wouldn’t work, and we could have argued for weeks.”‘

‘”This is the first step for me really getting geared back up because I missed so much. I believe (it’s) the right move,” said Williams, who said he missed the June workouts for personal reasons. “He’s given me a chance to look at (the new offense), have more time to study it, and hopefully, as the week goes on, I can get back in there with the 1s.”‘

‘He ran hard during the three-quarter speed drills and bounced right back up after getting bumped and taking several tumbles in traffic. “I covered up,” McGahee said. “I know how to fall; you don’t have to worry about that. But I felt pretty good. It was a good day – no setbacks, no problems.”‘

‘”There’s only two seasons for me, football season and non-football season, and during the off-season I can’t wait for the season to start.”

‘”I always felt that in every drill in every practice I had to win,” said Tasker, now a 42-year-old East Aurora, N.Y., resident. “I think what kept me on a lot of football teams was my ability to exceed the expectations people had for me.”‘

‘"I know it hasn’t been like this in years past, but I’d rather start at this level, and if we need to cut back, fine," said the former Vikings and Steelers tight end. "You can’t start (low) and then say, ‘We don’t have enough practices, we’re not hitting hard enough.’ None of the two-a-days are back to back. … It’s not as grueling as it sounds."’

‘McGahee has had no setbacks in his recovery from major knee surgery and even shed his brace during off-season drills. He will be monitored closely, of course, once the hitting begins. Asked if McGahee was 80, 90 or 100 percent back, Mularkey said: "That question to me has got to be answered when we get the pads on and the speed gets picked up a bit. He’s got to take a few bangs and see how he holds up after a while, but to me personally, I don’t think there’s going to be a difference once we get rolling."’

‘Rusty Jones, the Bills director of physical development, divides the team into three groups when devising conditioning and weight-lifting programs: offensive and defensive linemen; linebackers, tight ends and running backs; wide receivers, quarterbacks, defensive backs, kickers and punters. "This team is in great shape," Jones told the Bills’ website. "With the improvements in technology and training programs in the past few years, this team has really taken advantage of that."’