Archives for May 2008

‘"I hold myself to high standards," said Stroud, who had three sacks this past season, and 22 overall in 100 career NFL games. "So I really don’t have to prove nothing to nobody but myself. That’s what I want to do right now. I want to see if I can take it back to how I was playing, and that’s exactly what I intend to do."’

‘"I feel like I gave Trent a little more confidence in his ability to complete that comeback on me this year," said Greer jokingly. "I know last year he wouldn’t have dared try that play. But there were two good plays where he put it right on the money, and I know that if I give him too many of those they’re going to be raining down on me all day. So I’m going to have to come back the next practice and pick a couple of those off so they know they should go pick on ‘T’ (McGee) next time."’

‘One of our viewers told 2 On Your Side that his credit card company charged him an additional three-percent fee to convert the transaction into Canadian funds.’

‘”As soon as I got drafted, people were telling me I’ve got to buy a lot of thermals and get prepared for the cold weather,” said first-round draft pick Leodis McKelvin, a Georgia native. “I’ve never played in snow. Probably the low 60s is the coldest game I’ve ever played in. . . . But it didn’t matter to me. Wherever I went I was going to adapt to it, and I’ll adapt to Buffalo.”‘

‘Tom Donahoe made his share of blunders during his reign as the Buffalo Bills’ president and general manager, but he learned a lesson after Mike Williams became a colossal bust. Donahoe suggested if he ever had a top five pick in the NFL draft again, he would dump it like yesterday’s junk mail.’

‘Scattering players across the field would naturally spread defenses, a strategy that would open more space for Lynch than telegraphing the offense’s attention by sending a roadblock straight ahead. The deception caused by having so many receivers running around will redirect defenders as they have to cheat backwards and outside to counter the passing threat, while the auspicious rusher’s ruggedly physical nature will help him win collisions with those who do reach him.’

‘Bowen and 17 other Bills rookies got their first looks at some of the sights in Western New York on Tuesday, including a stop at Niagara Falls. The brainchild of Chris Jenkins, Bills’ director of media relations, the rookie tour is designed to give those players new to the area an idea of what’s around. “It’s just a chance to show them what the Buffalo and Niagara Falls area really has to offer,” Jenkins said. “They’re here to play football and we understand that, but … we want them to be contributing members of this community.”‘

‘But common sense tells me if the Bills DON’T think in terms of a new waterfront stadium in the next several years, they will have NO shot at staying here. A stadium is the key, and there are many reasons for thinking that, although that’s assuming the NFL eventually hammers out a new CBA that helps small markets, and assuming the struggling economy eventually turns upward again.’

‘"It felt good," said McKelvin. "I just have to learn from the vets and take that to the field as best I can."’

‘”You just know what to expect coming in so it kind of gives you an edge and I’ve been working on my edge,” said Lynch.’

‘If over the next two years a new agreement is not reached then the 2010 season will be played without a salary cap according to the language of the opt out clause in the current CBA.’

‘The last thing the franchise needs is to lose a pass catcher on the cusp of elite status, especially after waving goodbye to two high-end cornerbacks in recent years. Failing to retain your best players isn’t the way to break an eight-year playoff drought that becomes more embarrassing with each passing season.’

‘”I think he’ll serve as a big complement,” Evans said Monday after the Bills’ first full-squad practice of the spring. “With his height alone he can do things that a lot of shorter players can’t. Just innately some of the things he can do will help us out – down in the red zone and jumping up for balls.”‘

‘Longtime Buffalo Bills play-by-play announcer and Ch. 4 sportscaster Van Miller has been named to the New York State Broadcasters’ Association Hall of Fame.’