Archives for September 2005

‘”I think we’re better up front than we were last year,” Clements said. “There’s more depth at receiver. I think the backs will be better than last year. Tight ends are doing well. Then you have essentially a rookie quarterback. The fortunate thing for him is a lot of rookie quarterbacks who play are with teams that don’t have that kind of talent surrounding them. So we think we can have a very good offense. It’s just going to be a matter of hopefully starting off fast.”‘

‘Losman appears to suffer from sensory overload, which happens when a kid spends too much time in the classroom, not enough on the playground. He looks shaky at best, like many a rookie starter. Bledsoe might be better today, but the Bills are convinced Losman, with more playing time, will take them farther tomorrow.’

‘”It’s definitely a concern,” Teague said. “I plan on losing weight when I’m done. There aren’t a lot of old men walking around at 300-something pounds. You try to stay in good shape and watch your diet but you’ve got to be big to play this game. But hopefully when I’m done I’ll lose some.”‘

‘Unloading veteran Drew Bledsoe was the right move for the Bills. He had taken them as far as he could in three seasons but wasn’t going to improve. It was time to make Losman the starter and hope for the best. Based on Losman’s preseason performance, Buffalo fans should be doing more than hoping. They should be praying.’

‘Safety Jim Leonhard made the Buffalo Bills as an undrafted free agent. After watching him emerge as a walk-on from tiny Tony to three-time All-American, this development shouldn’t shock any Badgers fans. The only questions about him are how soon will he lead the NFL in punt returns, and why didn’t the Packers sign him to return kicks?’

‘Tucker, 27, was ready to play Friday in the Bills’ preseason finale against Detroit. He feared something was wrong when he didn’t get in the game.’

‘“He was a great head coach, but I couldn’t get my hands on him,” said ex-Bills safety Pierson Prioleau, who joined the Redskins as a free agent this year. “Having him in the meeting room with you, having him teaching you things on the field, having him teaching you 100 percent of the time on defense, I love that as a player.” Williams says he has learned his lesson. He is at his best when he is hands-on, and he wasn’t in Buffalo. Next time, he’ll hire someone else to handle the offense so he can work one-on-one with his defensive players.’

‘”It’s really out of my control,” said Esposito, 24. “Obviously I’d like to be on a roster somewhere, but if I’m not I’ll still be here in Buffalo.”‘

‘Losman didn’t wait for us to ask. He tells all who will listen how much he likes Buffalo and Buffalonians. He says that’s why he lives downtown year-round. And he sounds sincere – as if this kid from California really gets us.’

‘The four O-line backups have combined for just one start in the NFL, and three of them essentially are rookies at their positions. However, the rapid progress of both Preston and Peters has been one of the promising developments of the summer for the Bills.’

‘If you have a question on the Bills or the NFL in general, Question Mark and he will respond to several questions each week.’

‘However, by releasing Tucker, the Bills left themselves without a single backup lineman with any experience of note. Greg Jerman is the only backup who has started an NFL game – one with Miami two years ago.’

‘Starting today, the Bills can sign up to eight of those youngsters to their practice squad, but Haddad, and obviously Tucker, don’t fit that criteria.’

‘Tucker started 12 games as a Bill last season, and appeared in 28 with Buffalo over the past two seasons. The Princeton product’s chances of making the roster were diminished in the offseason, when Buffalo signed free agent guards Mike Gandy and Bennie Anderson and drafted Duke Preston and Justin Geisinger.’

‘The Bills cut their most consistent receiver in camp in Haddad. The only thing I can think of is he’s been hurt a lot while just being on practice squads during his six years around the league. He catches most balls that come his way and didn’t have a dropped ball until about ten days ago when he started to drop a few like the whole corp. Haddad had two long punt returns in preseason too. 2nd round pick Roscoe Parrish is on the roster and will miss about three games with wrist surgery. Backing up Eric Moulds and Lee Evans are Josh Reed, Sam Aiken, Jonathan Smith and George Wilson. Reed’s habit of dropping balls is worse this year, but he does block very well as does Aiken. Aiken had some nice catches in preseason, but he had streaks of dropped balls in camp too. Wilson pushed his way on the roster making some circus catches in camp and being pretty consistent. Smith had a good final preseason game against the Lions and had a long punt return called back by penalty.’