Archives for April 2009

‘Do you find it curious that after Buffalo failed to reach a contract accord all of last year, plus this off-season, the Eagles and Peters had an agreement in a matter of hours?’

‘Peters was asked if his contract situation affected his play last year. "A little bit," Peters said. "I was thinking about it sometimes. If you get beat on a play and you think about your contract … It doesn’t affect me that much. I thought about it some early in the year, but later on in the year it wasn’t a big deal." Sounds to me that if a defender blew past Peters on a particular play, Peters could shrug it off with the notion "Oh, well. I’m not getting paid enough anyway." You wonder how that attitude affected him every day in practice — once he showed up, that is.’

‘The Eagles contacted the Bills last year regarding Peters and at the time the Bills wanted to work the situation out. After earning his second straight Pro Bowl and All-Pro nods, Peters did not show up for the Bills’ off-season conditioning program. It became evident that if the Bills could get what they deemed good value for Peters, they would move him. And the Eagles swooped in with a monster offer.’

‘”It blew my mind, first and foremost, for (the Bills) to trade me,” said Peters, who never demanded a trade, but missed all of training camp last year in an impasse over his contract situation. “I was thinking about (the contract) some times last year. It didn’t affect me that much. I thought about it some early in the year, but later in the year it wasn’t a big deal.”‘

‘I found it interesting that the Eagles, a perennial playoff contender, thought Peters was worth the big contract while the Bills, who haven’t sniffed the postseason in nine years, didn’t. I don’t get it.’

‘Rhodes said Friday the Bills informed him he could start their Sept. 14 season opener at New England.’

Eagles see Peters as the future (Burlington County Times)

‘In dealing Peters, the Bills immediately turn their draft focus to choosing one of the top left tackles: Baylor’s Jason Smith, Virginia’s Eugene Monroe, Alabama’s Andre Smith or Mississippi’s Michael Oher. Buffalo has the No. 11 overall pick and, now, the 28th selection to use on either a tackle or as trade bait to move up.’

‘Peters, on the other hand, simply disappeared last year and then showed up only when he had to for the first regular season game, when continuing the holdout would start costing him paychecks. Peters clearly wasn’t ready to play, and obviously gave no thought about how that effected his teammates, who knew very well Peters still had THREE years left on a deal he had renegotiated just a year before.’

‘Rhodes, who starred in Indianapolis’ Super Bowl victory after the 2006 season with 113 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries, should see a decent amount of playing time to start 2009. Marshawn Lynch, Buffalo’s top back, will miss the first three regular-season games for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy.’

‘He spent the 2007 season with Oakland and returned to the Colts last season, sharing starting duties with Joseph Addai. In 15 games, Rhodes had 538 yards rushing, including a team-leading six touchdowns rushing. He added 302 yards receiving and three TDs receiving.’

‘The veteran back is coming off a season in which he set a career high in receptions with 45 in 2008 as well as a career-high nine touchdowns.’

‘As predicted here three weeks ago, the Terrell Owens factor wasn’t that significant when it came to the NFL’s prime-time schedule.’

‘Last Dec. 6, the day before the Bills-Miami game in Rogers Centre, Lind wasn’t shy about making a bid for an additional game if the NFL added a 17th game to each team’s schedule. “Absolutely we’re going to go for that game, if it happens,” he said. “We’re going to look for that one and maybe another one.”‘

‘"It’s disappointing that a successful Canadian individual, who made his fortune in our country, would so intentionally disrespect the CFL and its history by coming out and feeling the need to support his stats, polls and findings by making it feel as though our league isn’t valued in this area," Argonauts co-owner David Cynamon said. "The CFL isn’t taking shots at the NFL for coming here, so why is he taking shots at the Argos and the CFL?"’