Archives for May 2008

‘"I was painting doing a job and we had the draft on and when his name came up I said, ‘That’s the guy I picked,’" recalled Velletri. "So I knew I had a chance to win. It was real exciting. I got the call on Monday."’

‘Felton had 42 starts in 47 career games with the Razorbacks, and was a member of a line that opened holes for McFadden, selected by Oakland with the No. 4 pick in last weekend’s NFL Draft. Listed at 6-foot-4 and 328 pounds, Felton allowed only one sack over his final 27 games and also played tackle.’

‘Below is a thumbnail sketch on the nine rookies that were added after the draft with comment from members of the Bills scouting department.’

‘The Bills’ move to play a series of eight games in Toronto over the next five years will generate a staggering amount of income for the small-market NFL team. In fact, the numbers are so good it’s hard to imagine Bills officials not entertaining options to play even more games north of the border if they are asked, either by Toronto interests or their NFL peers with whom they share revenue.’

‘The Bills worked out veteran free agent Donnie Spragan. The seven-year veteran linebacker has spent the past three seasons with Miami and before that started full-time for Denver. He’d be a nice addition spicing up the competition at outside linebacker. He’s also the kind of bigger player the smallish Bills are starting to sign after getting steamrolled on the ground in recent years.’

‘"I don’t think there’s any other position I could play, right? But to be honest with you, I didn’t even play corner until I got to college. I was a wide receiver my whole life until I got to Akron. The coaches gave me an opportunity to showcase my skill." — Rookie CB Reggie Corner commenting on his name that fits.’

‘”I wish this would have come first and pro football was the last one just to go through the progression of my whole career,” Thomas said Thursday. “But this is obviously a great honor. There have been so many great college football players to come through the ranks in Division I, II, III and so on. To be up there, especially as part of the class I’m going in with, it’s a great feeling. It’s just awesome. It just solidifies some of the things I did in my life and my career.”‘

‘Regardless, the Bills now have seven other cornerbacks than Youboty, which means one thing: He’s on notice. Youboty can either have a standout summer or say goodbye to the Bills, whom he’s never been able to find a niche with.’

"Chris is an explosive player with a great first step," said chief operating officer Russ Brandon. "He was a very productive college player. When he was there, we were very happy that we were able to bring him in. We’re a rotational defense. With what we were able to do in free agency with Stroud and Johnson, we feel that we’re certainly improved up front."’

‘”This is a great opportunity for me to showcase my talents and represent Coyote football,” said Little. “I am looking forward to going out and giving it my all. I will work hard and try my best to do well the tryout.”‘

‘”I’m going into the mini-camp with a positive attitude and we’ll see what happens,” Naylor said. “I’m going to play hard and just try to make as many plays as possible.”‘

‘Baker spent the past three months with the Miami Dolphins. He originally signed with Houston in 2006 as an undrafted free agent, and spent time on Dallas’ practice squad in 2006 as well as Arizona’s and New Orleans’ practice teams this past season.’

‘The Buffalo Bills have added a quarterback to the roster as the club claimed Matt Baker off waivers. Baker had been with the Dolphins up until early this week.’

‘We thought we would provide a comprehensive listing of what the rest of the media pundits across the country thought of Buffalo’s 2008 draft class. Appearing in alphabetical order by affiliation, here are the draft grades from coast to coast.’

‘So, while Buffalo’s first two picks — top-round cornerback Leodis McKelvin and No. 42 overall choice James Hardy (wide receiver) — in the draft are understandably grabbing all the attention from fans and media right now, don’t be surprised if Ellis steps in and has an immediate impact on a defensive line that was frighteningly weak at applying pressure last season. Four ends who are at least semi-competent are better than three, that’s for sure, and the Bills were smart to recognize they needed help in that area.’