Archives for April 2010

‘Buffalo has the No. 9 overall pick and Nix said trading up or down are viable options. "We’re open to any of those discussions, but I tell you, it’s hard to find a partner sometimes," he said. "It takes two."’

‘Offensive tackle: The team lost its offensive anchor on the left side when it traded Pro Bowler Jason Peters last off-season. Young Demetrius Bell is coming off a knee injury and struggled when he did play. The team needs a player who can start immediately with the No. 9 pick.’

‘Coach Chan Gailey hasn’t lost any of the fire he needed to deal successfully with recruits and alumni when he coached in college. He recently wowed a crowd of Bills premium seat holders, who probably wished they could go out and tackle somebody. "I’ve been in that stadium when it’s deafening, and I was on the other side, and it’s no fun," said Gailey, referring to coming into Ralph Wilson Stadium as an opposing coach with Denver, Pittsburgh, Dallas, Miami and Kansas City. "So I don’t say ‘I’ or ‘me’ very often, but one of my goals is to make this one of the toughest places to play again in the NFL."’

‘Nix, however, insisted the team is not listening to offers. “We think he’s a good back,” Nix said. “We need two backs.”‘

‘The Bills have been without a franchise quarterback since Kelly retired following the 1996 season. Since then it has been a virtual turnstile on the starting job, as the team has started nine different quarterbacks. And the guys they brought in were either young and overrated, or old and with their best years behind them. Buffalo fans rallied behind the likes of Drew Bledsoe and Flutie only to have their dreams crushed by poor personnel decisions. Rob Johnson over Flutie? You’ve got to be kidding me.’

‘Nix has talked to Lynch in recent weeks. He characterized the conversation as follows: "He’s under contract," Nix said. "We expect him to be here. We want him to be here. Obviously it’s his decision. This is voluntary. That was the extent of it."’

‘”Let me just make this (clear) where it won’t be a shock on draft day,” said Nix. “You read about all the things we need. We’ve got to have a left tackle, we’ve got to have a quarterback, we’ve got to have this. The way we see our players is probably a little different than you guys see them.”‘

‘”Our intention is for Marshawn to be here,” Nix said during the team’s annual pre-NFL Draft luncheon. “He’s under contract. We think he’s a good back. We need two backs, and our intention is for him to be here. All this trade talk, it’s not coming from us.”‘

‘Earning 1st Team All-Mountain West Conference honors as a junior and senior at New Mexico, Ferguson is among the all-time leading rushers in school history. He ranks third in career rushing yards, rushing attempts and second in rushing touchdowns. As a sophomore he led the conference in rushing with 1,234 rushing yards.’

‘Ferguson spent part of 2009 on the Tennessee Titans practice squad after being signed as an undrafted free agent.’

‘"Everybody tries to pick apart why you like a player over another," Kiper said Wednesday on a national conference call. "It has nothing to do with anything except how he performed and how he played. For me, it wasn’t like I don’t like Sam Bradford. I have a very high grade on Sam Bradford. But I gave a slight, slight edge to Jimmy."’

‘More and more, the two most likely scenarios for the Bills with their first two picks (No. 9 and No. 41 overall) appear to be: 1. Select Clausen No. 9 if he’s still available (that’s more likely now, after the Washington Redskins traded for QB Donovan McNabb) and the best remaining offensive tackle, defensive lineman or linebacker No. 41.’

‘Hill became an All-American on ASU’s unbeaten 1970 team that won the Peach Bowl. He was chosen in the first round by the Buffalo Bills, the fourth overall pick of the NFL draft. In his second season, Hill made the Pro Bowl after catching 52 passes for 754 yards and five touchdowns.’

‘”Being able to have a coach on the staff that I’ve worked with the past year is a great thing for me,” said Maybin. “Me and Coach Sanders have a great relationship. I think that that’s going to be a huge help for me just because we’re so familiar with each other.”‘

‘”I think the system’s perfect for me,” Maybin said during a break in offseason conditioning workouts. “I’ve been telling people for weeks. I couldn’t be more excited about this season coming up.”‘