Archives for April 2009

‘Early on in the draft process it was thought that perhaps Boston College’s B.J. Raji could potentially fall to the Bills at 11. But after a monster Senior Bowl and testing well at the combine, Raji likely won’t escape out of the top eight picks. “At the Senior Bowl he was ridiculous just blowing up stuff,” said Bills scout Tom Roth. “In the one-on-ones he performed well. He showed quickness and power and was blowing up inside run drills. I was looking at running backs and B.J. is blowing up the whole thing. An excellent player.”‘

‘Williams offered no excuses for his Buffalo years but he did say it wasn’t easy playing for three different line coaches in his four seasons as well as two different head coaches. And maybe, he said, thinking he had to carry the hopes and dreams of a franchise on his large but relatively young 22-year-old back had been a bit overwhelming. "But I was a professional and as a professional they expect you to adjust."’

‘”He does have an eye for the business, a knack,” said Tom Modrak, the Bills’ vice president of college scouting, who hired Fisher. “And he does pay attention to detail and has a great work ethic.”‘

‘NFL owners should address the issue after the 2010 season, when the collective bargaining agreement expires. The league desperately needs a rookie salary cap similar to the one that works in the NHL, where players spend three years earning their keep before becoming restricted free agents.’

‘The release of Derrick Dockery creates a void at right guard. Chambers and Bell were candidates to start, but they may be needed at tackle. The team did sign veteran Seth McKinney. This could be a spot for a rookie to step right in, although that may depend on the left tackle resolution. I doubt the Bills would want to start an all-rookie left side. Starting right guard Brad Butler could move over.’

‘"Dr. Keough intuitively understood the value of this potential partnership – as a means of generating awareness of the College, as an academic partnership for select academic departments and their students, and as an economic driver for Pittsford and the Rochester community," recalls Dr. Gerard Rooney, Fisher’s Senior VP for Enrollment and Planning. "She requested a meeting with Bills officials immediately after hearing of their plans to move the training camp to Rochester."’

‘Popko comes to the Bills from IMG, a leader in sports marketing, where he served as senior vice president overseeing IMG golf events, clients and governing bodies. Prior to IMG, he served as vice president of marketing and development for the National Football League’s Cleveland Browns, where he engineered the team’s business strategies for their 1998 return to the NFL. In addition to the Browns, Bruce worked in similar capacities for the National Football League, the San Francisco 49ers and the NY Jets.’

‘His responsibilities in Buffalo will include overseeing corporate sales and the team’s regionalization strategy, which includes the Bills playing annual regular-season games in Toronto.’

‘”It’s a critical year,” said Brandon, who also serves as Bills chief operating officer. “As I told everyone at the conclusion of last year, 7-9 is not good enough, and we need to get back to where our fans expect us to be, and that’s playing football in deep January. Obviously, the draft is an important layer to making this football team better.”‘

‘Popko comes to the Bills from the worldwide sports management firm, International Management Group, where he served as a vice president the past four years.’

‘The Bills were a poor pass rushing team after end Aaron Schobel was hurt early last season, and the Draft’s best remaining pass rusher could be the target with the newly-acquired No. 28 pick.’

‘Orakpo has the best measurables in terms of height and weight for a 4-3 end, and went against some of the best competition in the Big 12. But is he what Buffalo is looking for?’

‘Perhaps the reason why more teams weren’t involved is because they had some of the same concerns the Bills had in regards to Peters. The Bills have had Peters on their roster for the past five seasons and thus have more information about both his talent and work ethic than anyone and yet they could not compel themselves to offer him the $10 million a year he was seeking. He had begun to show too many of the bad habits that caused a 340-pound athlete running a 4.8 40-yard dash out of college to go undrafted and that made such a sizable investment too much to stomach.’

‘Whether parting ways with the pricey Peters equates to financial prudence is secondary to the core issue, which is that the front office can’t build an offensive line.’

‘Owens will be paired with model Joanna Krupa when the competition gets under way in the Bahamas on June 23 (8 p. m., Ch. 7). The eight teams will compete weekly in events including swimming, biking, running and kayaking. One team will be eliminated each week in the six-week series, leading up to the finals.’