Archives for August 2010

‘"I grew up watching Warrick – that was my man," Spiller says of the retired running back. "Not just because of what he did on the field, but all the (good works) he did off the field. You never heard anything negative about him. I had the chance to meet him. Wonderful guy. He gave me some encouraging words, telling me not to worry about what people said regarding my size."’

‘The 2008 second-round pick had been competing for the No. 2 receiver job opposite Lee Evans(notes) before he was hurt near the end of practice on Aug. 10. The injury was the latest setback for a player who missed all but the final two games last season while recovering from left knee surgery.’

‘”What’s the biggest challenge? That’s a good question,” Gailey said. “Every time you take over a team in a new situation, you’re trying to change the mindset from hoping to win to expecting to win. And the mindset is one of the biggest things you deal with in any sport.”‘

‘”I kind of get lost sometimes trying to be too creative with routes and it kind of gets me in trouble,” he said. “But it’s just work that needs to be done, be crisper on everything and he wants everything to look the same. So I’m going to try to do that work on my routes and make everything still look the same. Like I said, it’s just work to be done.”‘

‘”It’s an interesting proposition,” Gailey said. “We’re not so polished in one area that we can just stay in that and beat people. We’re going to have to consider everything.”‘

‘It’s not just because Edwards is in his fourth NFL season; it’s because he’s at a time and in a place where he has a chance to flourish. At least, that’s how I see it now that Buffalo has Chan Gailey as its head coach. One thing I know about Gailey is that he goes far with young quarterbacks most people consider, well, little more than ordinary, and Edwards qualifies.’

‘”We’re going to ask him to do a lot,” first-year Bills head coach Chan Gailey said. “He’s going to have to be very involved in the offense this year.”‘

‘Gailey told the teens they would not be getting autographs from any players because going after a single player meant they were going after the whole team. Then, the whole team gave the kids wedgies and Gailey bought his players pizza. Obviously, the last part isn’t true, but the whole scenario is so quirky.’

‘”We know what we have and we know it’s not going to come overnight,” Spiller said. “Our main focus is to try and play for the Super Bowl. In order to do that, you’ve got to start saying it. You’ve got believe it. You can’t just say it. That’s why I always go out a limb and say it. A lot of people may disagree, but I’m a true believer, we’ve got enough talent on this team to be playing in Dallas.”‘

‘Edwards didn’t seem too bothered by whatever was being said, but he did appreciate his coach sticking up for him. "Obviously, I’m going to get some criticism," he said. "Hopefully, there’s more people praising me, but that’s nice that you have a coach that will fight for you."’

‘"In my opinion, if you do something you tell people why," he said. "When we make a decision with our football team, I tell them why. I told [the players] why we weren’t going to [sign autographs] and I told [the group of fans] why we weren’t coming over there."’

‘Like every training camp, there are players who improved their chances of making the team and those who didn’t help their cause. Here’s a look at some Bills players whose stock rose and fell…’.

‘The Bills have no one remotely like him. Chan Gailey says dog one, dog them all? OK, the Bills might have the worst linebacking corps in the league. Some are playing the position for the first time. Others are marginal NFL talents, or veterans on the decline.’

‘"If you look at something like that, you’re trying to create some diversion for the defense so that they don’t know where the ball’s going all the time," Gailey said. "If you can do that, you’ve got a chance to create more open spaces for the guy who does have the ball, and hopefully they don’t know who has it all the time."’

‘Donald Jones, an undrafted rookie receiver trying to make the Buffalo Bills roster, was a teammate of Nelson’s at Hubbard Middle School in Plainfield, N.J. They would go on to attend the same high school, though by the time Nelson, who is a year younger than Jones, got there, Jones had stopped playing basketball.’