Archives for February 2007

‘"In the beginning, I was ticked off at the world," Kelly said. "My wife made me realize I am a chosen father and my son was a chosen boy to help make a difference. I need to use my name to help. I can make a difference through my son."’

‘That’s a fair concern. The question is: how to judge how well smaller teams are working to push the bottom line? The Bills have been praised by NFL marketing types in the past for making the franchise more regional. They’re doing the best they can.’

‘The career stats suggest that Losman is the more accurate passer and less likely to throw interceptions. He’s also far more mobile and more apt to run for first downs. He had 38 carries for 140 yards in 2006 (Grossman ran 24 times for 2 yards in 2006). He also rates the edge for consistency (six games with a passer rating of 90.0 or above and only one game below 60.0 in 2006; Grossman had seven games with a passer rating of 90.0 or above and five games below 60.0). Grossman has done a better job of unloading the football to avoid sacks. Losman showed improvement in that department in the second half of the 2006 season but still has lots of room for improvement.’

‘Not everyone who covers the NFL thinks Dallas owner Jerry Jones made a wise hire in Phillips, but I believe Wade was a terrific choice.’

‘If you’ve forgotten about Wade’s tenure with the Bills, there’s an easy way to remember. He’s the last coach to lead the Bills to the playoffs.’

‘And that standard was set when Champ Bailey signed a seven-year deal with the Denver Broncos in 2004 worth $63 million, including an $18 million signing bonus.’

‘With all the players involved in one charity or another most of us leave jerseys, footballs and helmets out for our fellow Pro Bowl players to sign so we can all raise money for our respective causes. Now as we’re getting toward the end of the week more of those are being put out on tables for all of us to sign.’

‘"It’s a really cool feeling," said Moorman, who will play for the AFC in Saturday’s game in Hawaii. "I was probably more nervous when the announcement came out this year. The punter in Kansas City (Colquitt), the guy (Mike Scifres) out in San Diego, Lechler had a great year. … I knew my numbers were up there but I didn’t know how it was going to shake out."’

‘As followers of the NFL see every March, some franchise (Washington, anyone?) foolishly gives boatloads of money to an above-average player who is by no means great. Undoubtedly, Kelsay fits that bill, and he’ll probably cash in on a big payday somewhere next month.’

‘USA Football has partnered with the Buffalo Bills to host a coaching clinic designed exclusively for youth football coaches. Youth coaches will learn effective ways to develop and organize a football team, teach proper fundamentals, implement drills and communicate with players, parents and other coaches.’

‘Tuesday was awesome with the Special Olympians. Chris Samuels from the Redskins and I teamed up with a group of Olympians to coach them in a Punt, Pass, and Kick competition. It’s amazing to see the smiles on their faces as they compete and have a good time. It’s so cool to just watch how much they want all of their friends to do so well. We could all learn a lot from those kids.’

‘”Our guys may want to test the market, and we understand that,” Jauron said. “But we’d like to be kept in the loop and keep the conversations up with them and be as honest as we can be with them and keep an open mind as we chase our guys and others. That’s the game. That’s the business.”‘

‘”We’ve done troop shows before, but this is the first one in the Middle East so we’re preparing an hour long show for that,” Jills choreographer Kelli Wagner told Ch. 2. “We just want to represent Buffalo the best way we can.”‘

‘A forgotten player who could go a long way toward repairing the Bills’ woes against the run is defensive tackle John McCargo. Under a year after Buffalo made the ex-North Carolina State star its second first-round pick of the ’06 draft (after safety Donte Whitner), McCargo has already become somewhat cast aside in western New York.’

‘"Not many guys talk about it, but Thurman had a tremendous presence in our locker room," Ostroski said. "He just had a ton of pride. He set the tone for our team. He was one of the toughest guys I’ve ever been around and a tremendous competitor. When guys talk about running backs they talk about running the football. But Thurman was a tremendous pass catcher, maybe more dangerous as a receiver than a runner. And there was no one better at picking up the blitz than Thurman. As an offensive lineman, I had a special appreciation for the kind of player he was because he did it all. He was an unbelievable blocker on top of everything else he did."’