Archives for August 2009

‘He said the team has gone over policies with players more out of routine than for fear of secrets being leaked via a social network on the Internet.’

‘”I have to make sure I don’t get frustrated with these questions,” said quarterback Trent Edwards, who’s been asked to address Owens’s presence in virtually every interview he’s done in nearly two weeks of training camp. “My family gets these questions, my friends get these questions. … I get asked so much about this situation, it’s getting over the top. I don’t want to come across as frustrated, but I would love to talk about Lee Evans and Justin Jenkins and Josh Reed and our rookie guards. But I’m happy and optimistic for the season and very happy with how [Owens] is performing right now.”‘

‘Edwards needs time more than he needs T.O.’

‘The coaches, and players, also have to get used to the fact that Owens is not like the rest of them. As everyone headed out to the field close to 10 minutes early for a 7 p.m. night practice last week, Owens came out to the field on his own, just seconds before 7. It’s the sort of thing that teams come to expect from Owens, the sort of thing that might be common in a place like Dallas, but isn’t likely to be as common in Buffalo.’

‘”It is football,” said Bowen. “We are just having fun, we are on the same team and we are out here to compete. No harm, no foul. We aren’t taking it outside of the field. Sometimes one person gets more aggravated than the other and it leads to that.”‘

‘”I wouldn’t say there was fear. I would say there was an extreme amount of pressure,” Smith said, recalling a key turning point. “When I ballooned up to 310 pounds, I quickly realized I wasn’t going to become the player that I wanted to be.”‘

‘”I want to make plays and show people I’m better than a seventh-round pick,” the rookie defensive back said. “I can start with the special teams, make my coaches proud of me and work from there.”‘

‘”I have that mindset that nothing is ever given to you,” the seventh-year veteran said after a recent practice at St. John Fisher College. “I am out here just trying to work hard. Every day I am out here trying to get better and be more comfortable with my teammates.”‘

‘”I’m definitely looking forward to running out on the field,” said the former McKinley high school star. “I’ve practiced and played there so many times, and this time as a pro is really exciting. I’m really looking forward to the whole thing.”‘

‘"My best strength I think is just my overall game as far as being a leader on the field and off the field," Florence said after training camp practice at St. John Fisher College. "We have a lot of young guys in the secondary, and those guys come to me and Terrence a lot just for advice about different coverage, different things we see and why we play different routes."’

‘"We’re setting up the screen game really well with our running and passing game, and I’m really happy with the way it’s going right now. … It’s a lot easier on me. It’s easy yards that I can get in the passing game and it’s easy first downs. It keeps defenses guessing and that’s what’s nice about it."’

‘"Every year you’re going to hear that," said Stroud on Tuesday after a training camp session at St. John Fisher College. "You get a little older and people (on the other side of the line of scrimmage) get a little younger and you hear it. I don’t let it bother me. I still think I have a lot of gas left in the tank."’

‘"Whatever it was going to be," he said. "It’s a hard thing, sitting out a game, the feeling you have knowing that you can’t play."’

’10th place in jersey sales was a lot better showing than the ratings for his VH1 reality show. SportsBusiness Journal reports that The T.O. Show tied for 798th-rated cable show of the week, with a 5 a.m. showing of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air on Nick at Nite. I didn’t know there were that many shows on cable TV.’

‘"Bruce has a combination of instinct and intelligence. Not everyone possesses that. That’s why you see so many guys who get out of the game and can’t move forward. They go backward. Bruce has moved forward."’