Archives for July 2005

‘The Bills Digest Training Camp Preview issue hits newsstands in WNY on Tuesday July 19! The Official Publication of the Bills can be found at your local Wegmans, Tops and Noco Express shops, or online at www.billsdigeststore.com.’

‘Buffalo has a strong defense and special teams and those can take a team a long way. The Bills are moving in the right direction, but how far can they go this season?’

‘”Joe Burns has the most experience of the guys who will be in camp. Shaud Williams did an outstanding job for us last year. We were impressed this spring with ReShard Lee, who we picked up from Dallas, and Lionel Gates, who we drafted in the seventh round. So we have four backs who we think will be very competitive to see who becomes Willis’ backup.”‘

‘I imagine fans have mixed emotions. Henry certainly had his issues, both on the field (fumbles) and off (he pleaded guilty in 2001 to attempted sexual misconduct in an incident involving a 15-year-old girl). But you had to respect him as a player. He epitomized this city’s blue-collar work ethic. He played with as much toughness and heart as any Buffalo Bill in recent memory.’

‘"Jacksonville was really up and down and couldn’t seem to make up their mind with what they wanted to do," Donahoe said. "Tennessee gave us the best offer and gave us really what we were looking for."’

‘No one person was more responsible for making this trade happen than the Jaguars’ head coach because once he spoke up last week about the team’s interest in acquiring the veteran running back, Reese sprung into action.’

‘It could be argued that no matter which team Henry is traded to, his situation is no different than playing second banana to Willis McGahee. But, as often happens in sports, sometimes a change of teams is necessary for change’s sake. And the reality is, Henry has a lot better chance of earning the starting job from either Brown or Taylor, than he does McGahee.’

‘”On paper, did Tennessee get the best of this deal? Probably,” Donahoe said. “They got a heck of a running back for a third-round pick. But we’ll take the pick and hopefully we can use it to our advantage next year.”‘

‘Bills President Tom Donahoe portrayed the long-running negotiations as painful. “It’s probably been almost as difficult as childbirth, at least from what my wife tells me,” he said. “But we’re really glad it’s over. … Tennessee has shown the most consistent interest in Travis throughout the whole process. …”‘

‘”We don’t want to make the trade unless can make sure of some kind long-term benefit from it,” Reese said. “He’s 26, so he’s probably not going to play for another eight to 10 years, but we do need some kind of assurances that he’s going to be here for a little while.”‘

‘According to a league source, the Jaguars had worked out a long-term contract extension with Henry last week and offered a third-round pick to the Bills as compensation. After realizing the Titans had made the same offer, the Jaguars were prepared to counter with a second-round choice but said they never got the chance because Donahoe stopped returning phone calls before finishing the trade with Tennessee.’

‘”You can’t teach world-class speed,” Beebe said. “I can’t make everybody a 4.2, 4.3, 4.4 in the 40. But certainly, if a kid’s a 5.0 flat, I can get him to a 4.8, and in NFL standards, that’s huge. Even at the high school level, grade school level, if you can make a kid faster and quicker, now he starts instead of just sitting on the bench. We get kids those numbers so they can get noticed and get their name back on that chart.”‘

‘Henry will split time in Tennessee with Chris Brown, who rushed for 1,067 yards last season, but has missed 10 games due to injury over his first two campaigns.’

‘Travis Henry was granted his wish as the Buffalo Bills dealt the disgruntled running back to the Tennessee Titans. The Bills reached agreement in principle to trade Henry to the Titans for a third round pick in the 2006 draft. The deal is contingent on Henry passing a physical.’

‘”There’s some (cohesion), but I think it still has to grow,” Mularkey said. “We’ve been tinkering with it since we’ve been here. Some of that, the problem is that with the five guys you’ve got to get them here all at the same time. The first year here, that wasn’t the case for one reason or another, whether it was us making moves or putting different guys at different positions … This year, having two new linemen I think we’ve got a lot of work done with them here, but I think that’s going to grow as we get into camp without question. The more they’re together the better they’re going to be.”‘