Archives for July 2009

‘"Anything I can do to keep the fans into it and let them know that I am thankful for them," he said. "I recognize them, I hear them out here. It’s not easy being in the stands and standing in the hot sun rooting and hollering every day, so it’s good to interact with those guys."’

‘"Him coming here is going to break the millennium drought," he said of the Bills’ non-playoff stretch through the 2000s. "He’s the second-best wide receiver in the league and we’ve got him."’

‘"Five is cool; we can work with 5," Rhodes said of Edwards and the QB’s jersey number. "Number 18, that was my brother for years; but it is what it is. Now I have Trent."’

‘"They need to be here," coach Dick Jauron said of the absent rookies. "That being said, I understand all the things that go into the negotiations, both sides, but they need to be here. They’ll miss work that’s just hard to make up, and one of the great advantages of playing in the Hall of Fame game is you have that extra week and for a young player it’s really a week they could use."’

‘The crowd, which would swell from 250 to about 2,500 in less than an hour, erupted in cheers. Boxes of Owens’ new TO’s cereal were thrust to the blue sky, led by a very vocal fan that was obviously riding a sugar high. The man jabbed a "We’re No. 1" foam finger in the air and rooted Owens’ every move, making the receiver laugh out loud.’

‘A winning record (6): Buffalo Bills (they’d tell you making the playoffs is a reasonable goal, but first things first; 9-7 might be good enough for a playoff berth), San Francisco 49ers, Jacksonville Jaguars, New York Jets (can’t bank on rookie QB Mark Sanchez but they could better rating if he’s this season’s version of last year’s Matt Ryan), Cincinnati Bengals (Carson Palmer returns), Washington Redskins (tough division).’

‘”We want to get these done, but we’re going to get them done within the framework of what we feel is right in terms of negotiating with these guys. We’ve been pretty solid at that for many years and we will continue to be. Obviously we want them here, but it’s going to be a fair deal on both sides.”‘

‘”Expectations are sky-high. I don’t see any reason why we can’t be playing deep into January and into February,” Edwards said. “That is the goal right now, and that is what we are preparing to do. That can carry into the season.”‘

‘Here are five questions each for the offense and defense that must be answered.’

‘It proved to be a circus-type atmosphere. There were fans who had ‘T.O.’ painted on their chests in Bills colors. Others brought their popcorn and spilled it on to the field. Many brought boxes of the limited edition ‘T.O’s’ breakfast cereal that’s available in local grocery stores. And there was certainly a large amount of No. 81 jerseys that dotted the stands.’

‘Fans in the distance were screaming his name. He’d just spent 30 minutes signing autographs for anyone who’d descended on little St. John Fisher College outside Rochester to watch the T.O. Show in person, but they wanted more.’

‘DiGiorgio had surgery two weeks ago in Vail, Colo., his agent, Chris Murray, told The Associated Press on Saturday. Murray said the surgery went well, but that DiGiorgio isn’t expected to be fully healthy until January.’

‘”That’s what we expect from the fans so the reception felt good when I came out,” said Owens. “I’m used to it. Everywhere that I’ve been there has always been that type of reception. Every time I touched the ball there was an eruption. I don’t know why it happens, just a T.O. following I guess.”‘

‘The DiGiorgio move came as a bit of a surprise. A valued member of Buffalo’s special teams and linebacking corps the past three seasons, DiGiorgio’s surgically repaired knee apparently has not responded as well as had been hoped.’

‘”Yes, the expectations are very high. I know with bringing in Terrell (Owens), with bringing in the rookies, a couple of other free agents Dominic(Rhodes) and with Fred (Jackson) and Marshawn (Lynch) in the backfield, I feel like there is a lot of potential there,” Edwards said. “We have the same coaches coming back on offense so I know the expectations are very high. There is a lot of reason to be expecting big things.”‘