Archives for August 13, 2008

‘"He’s going to hold off on surgery," Murphy’s agent, Kevin Fitzpatrick, told The Associated Press on Wednesday. In revealing the severity and nature of the injury, Fitzpatrick added it’s possible the rotator cuff could heal enough to allow Murphy to play and delay surgery until the end of the season.’

‘”As defensive backs, we go out and we want to dominate the opposing receiver,” Youboty said. “Just going out there and helping gain turnovers for the team helps our offense and gives us a chance to win.”‘

‘”Darian has done a really nice job through OTAs (offseason training activities) and into training camp,” said head coach Dick Jauron. “He is very physical and has good size. He understands the position and understands what we want from him. He has experience playing (fullback), so he becomes a very valuable guy in our offense.”‘

‘”You could see it when he came in from the off-season, he had a different type of mentality and work ethic and you can see it out on the field,” Evans said. “Obviously, he is a different type of quarterback but we have developed a rhythm.”‘

‘“I hate the NFL,” said Boyer, a laborer who has held season tickets since he was 15. “The CFL’s the game in Canada. The NFL can stay in Buffalo.”’

‘Giving him a chance to take more than the nine snaps he did in the sort-of opener will allow Edwards and his receiving posse to get warmed up, which in turn should lead to a less alarming stat line for the quarterback. He deserves and needs more work against Pittsburgh in Toronto so he and everyone else can get a fairer portrait of where he stands.’

‘”He told me I’m doing a good job and don’t worry about what happened,” said Omon, Buffalo’s sixth-round pick in this year’s draft. “Stuff is going to happen. You can carry the ball 1,000 times and not fumble but 1,001st carry, you’ll let go holding the ball perfectly. He said it’s going to happen.”‘

‘Meanwhile, coach Dick Jauron had no significant update on Matt Murphy, who suffered a shoulder injury Monday night. “He’s getting some more evaluation,” Jauron said. “I talked to Matt earlier. He certainly felt a lot better than he did last night. … He felt significantly better about the whole thing, so we’ll see.”‘

‘”We’d come to Toronto all the time,” Thomas said. “They have a bustling night life up there every day of the week. That’s why Buffalo was such a great place to play football. If you wanted to win, Buffalo was the place. I mean, had we been playing football in Toronto at that time instead of here, we would have been out every night.”‘

‘”I have so much respect for Jim Kelly,” said Edwards, who hopes to play the entire first half against the Pittsburgh Steelers in exhibition action tomorrow night at the Rogers Centre. “You want to be the best but you can’t compare yourself to a former great like that. I just want to win like he did.”‘

‘While “way too expensive” ticket prices will keep him out of the Rogers Centre tomorrow night, Mihay said he’d love to see the Bills become a permanent fixture in Toronto. “I’d love to seem them relocate here,” he said from the patio at Gabby’s bar on King St. E. “I feel it’s better than the CFL. NFL is real football.”‘

‘"I saw they did it and the normal things went through my mind like what’s their perception of me and how were things going to pan out," Greer said. "But in talking to my family and praying, I just knew that I had to be patient. I knew things weren’t going to be easy, but it was another case of adversity and things have come together for me."’

‘Two backup candidates, Matt Murphy and Patrick Estes, went down in Monday night’s practice and the Bills will go into Thursday’s preseason game at Rogers Centre against Pittsburgh with just three healthy tackles – starters Langston Walker and Kirk Chambers, plus rookie Demetrius Bell.’

‘You see, unlike Toronto, Buffalo sees itself as a player on the world stage not via commerce or education or culture, but through its sports teams. And, with all due respect to the Sabres, the Bills are the father, son and motherlode in terms of our sense of self.’

‘In fairness, all may not be completely lost, but what has Toronto gained? Consider that the Bills are guaranteed a total of $78 million (all figures U.S.) for three exhibitions and five regular-season contests between now and 2012. That’s almost $10 million per game, when the average gate at Ralph Wilson Stadium is $5 million to $6 million. Good call, Ralph.’