Archives for August 2008

‘It was hard not to get the message about this five-year, eight-game arrangement. Everywhere you saw the logo with the words "Bills Toronto Series" with a maple leaf, the CN Tower and the Rogers Center in the background.’

‘”What I’ve stated, and what I’ll say again, is that if holding one game a year in Toronto keeps the Bills in Buffalo, that’s our goal. Anything more, we’re not supportive of. I’ve expressed concern. NFL owners have read this, and understand how important the CFL game is to us.”‘

‘”Robert showed up,” said head coach Dick Jauron. “That was really good. That was a good thing for us.”‘

‘To celebrate this event, the Buffalo Bills and Fisher will host 50 children from Mayor Duffy’s summer literacy program at the Bills’ practice from 2:15 p.m. to 4:20 p.m. on August 18. These children will have a chance to play in the interactive games of the Bills Experience, watch the practice, and have a personal autograph session with a select group of players.’

‘”The atmosphere in there was electric, people were into it and there was a lot of excitement,” said Bills’ chief operating officer Russ Brandon. “It was loud and our guys really responded.”‘

‘”We put together a couple of good drives and converted on a couple of third downs, which we weren’t able to do last week and that’s kind of what we’re going to be able to do,” said Edwards.’

‘”I figured they were going to play the Canadian national anthem, so I got a chance to sing it proud with everyone else,” Mace said. “Everyone joined in, all the fans, so it was definitely a nice thing to see.”‘

‘”We need to be able to block up front, which I thought we did a nice job of tonight and we need to be accurate down the field and underneath,” said Edwards. “Every game you need to somehow gain confidence from the game. I thought (offensive coordinator) Turk (Schonert) did a really nice job calling plays for us. We called some plays that I felt comfortable with.”‘

‘"They couldn’t sell the tickets and tried to paper the room to not embarrass themselves and save face to the NFL," said a Rogers source. "They were handing out tickets to Rogers employees all day."’

‘There is an alternative: The league should man-up and give Buffalo fans a stake in the team, like in Green Bay. Under the Packers model (formed in 1923), 112,088 fans hold more than four million voting shares in the team, having paid from $5 (offered in 1923) to $200 (1998) per share. There’s no owner to pocket the profits, just an advisory group of fans to make sure every penny is reinvested in the team. The benefits are huge. In financial straits and need cash? A fan-owned team can sell more shares. Need pols to approve a new stadium? Your franchise is co-owned by voters. If Buffalonians are given a stake in their team, I’ll wager my 7-month-old pug, Chamberlain, that the Bills open the 2015 season in new digs on the shores of Lake Erie. Hello, revenue!’

‘Still, it’s great to come away from a game where the most negative development regarding the first team’s performance is that the tight end competition remains unresolved. Inventive play selection combined with solid execution is all one can hope for in real games, and watching them synch up more than three weeks before then is a promising sign. It’s never too early to start.’

‘”It seems to be going really smoothly,” Bills TV broadcaster Steve Tasker said at halftime. “It’s a well-attended game, for a preseason game, the stadium looks great, and the Bills organization did a great job with the field. It looks first class, and it is first class.”‘

‘"I think we’ve done a good job up front, stopping their front four," said Edwards, who was 1 for 5 last Saturday. "There has been plenty of time to throw the ball, and that’s allowed our receivers to get open down the field and allowed me plenty of time to be accurate with the football."’

‘"It’s preseason, and you sort of gauge yourself with where you’re at," Walker said. "We looked pretty good the first two series. It was two good series against their No. 1 defense. There were some mistakes, but I think we took a lot of good things away from that game."’

‘The question is not: What does Toronto have to offer the Bills? The $78 million check takes care of that. The question is: What do the Bills have to offer Toronto? Will the product on the field come remotely close to justifying the extraordinary ticket prices promoter Rogers Communications is demanding? Is there enough promise to cultivate among Toronto’s vast corporate base an interest that extends all the way to Orchard Park?’