Archives for September 2006

‘Antowain Smith and Sam Cowart were among players cut by the Houston Texans on Friday. Domanick Davis was not. Also among the Texans cuts was former New Orleans Saints linebacker Courtney Watson, whom the Texans claimed off waivers from the Buffalo Bills last week.’

‘Eight wideouts are currently on the roster and No. 1 Lee Evans, recently inspired Peerless Price and Josh Reed, and special teams ace Sam Aiken are locks. That leaves Davis, Roscoe Parrish, George Wilson and Jonathan Smith vying for what will likely be two spots.’

‘The Buffalo Bills are the first and only NFL franchise to open a facility dedicated for youth football on the same grounds as the team headquarters, pioneering an NFL youth football initiative first presented at the NFL Owners Meeting in March 2004. Since 2004, the facility has undergone several expansion phases.’

‘On the team’s confidence going into New England: “It’s a real good confidence booster. We know we can go out there and execute plays and do what we gotta do and everybody can do their assignments, you know we can’t lose.”‘

‘On the team’s confidence: “That’s what we wanted to do start off fast and use this momentum into the first game. We need to come into work tomorrow and get a little just start on New England and start looking at some film and keep things rolling.”‘

‘”I was confident coming into this week,” said Davis, a free agent who signed with Buffalo in March after spending last season with rival New England. “I needed to do something today and hopefully it was enough (to make the team). You just have to realize that you’re playing for 31 other teams as well.” Now, as Davis said, “it’s in the hands of the coaches.”’

McGahee may line up at times as a receiver to get him more touches in the open field where, as he put it, he’d be “devastating.”

‘The opening drive, an 85-yard march, made the Bills’ offensive players feel good. “Our goal was to come out and start fast,” Losman said. “We’ve been sluggish the past couple of weeks at the start. Our focus was to come out strong, eliminate little penalties. When we break the huddle, sprint to the line and look sharp out there. That’s what we accomplished.”‘

‘Davis is in a tight battle for a roster spot at receiver. The top four wideouts are Lee Evans, Peerless Price, Josh Reed and Roscoe Parrish. Sam Aiken arguably is No. 5 due to his value as a special teams ace. Davis’ TD might have done enough to win a sixth spot. The Bills could keep anywhere from five to seven receivers, but six is the likeliest number.’

‘2006 regular season record: 7-9 (3rd in AFC East); will miss playoffs for seventh consecutive season.’

‘Kyle Williams — The fifth-round pick out of LSU didn’t get as much preseason hype as first-round pick John McCargo, but he could wind up having a bigger impact as a rookie.’

‘Second-year LB Wendell Hunter, a member of Buffalo’s 2005 practice squad, is making a strong bid to be Takeo Spikes’ primary backup over Mario Haggan. Hunter earned the start against Cincinnati and was first off the bench at strong-side linebacker against Cleveland. How does he like his chances? "You know what? I’m actually not worried," Hunter said. "I try not to worry about things I can’t control. The only thing I can worry about is what I do on the field every day. I trust the staff and management and they’re going to make those decisions. It’s not for me to consume myself with."’

‘Holcomb played the second quarter and wound up 4 of 4 for 81 yards, including hookups with Josh Reed for 26 and 32 yards. It was Holcomb’s most productive showing of the summer after not playing at all last weekend against Cleveland. "I wish I could’ve played last week but it was good to get out there and get another game under you’re belt in this offense," Holcomb said. "It’s a new offense for me, so I felt comfortable tonight. I really enjoyed getting back out there and executing the offense."’

‘Many NFL experts are prognosticating that the Bills will end the season among the NFL’s bottom five teams. And that will put them in the middle of the Brady Quinn sweepstakes. Quinn is Notre Dame’s stud quarterback and very likely a top draft pick in February. Storyline A will probably follow the Bills’ final few games and see them needing losses over wins in order to get a shot at snagging Quinn. Storyline B will be whether or not the Bills should give up on the relatively unseasoned yet mostly ineffective Losman.’