Archives for February 2011

‘The Bills’ needs on the defensive side of the ball this offseason are simple. They begin and end with stopping the run. After finishing last in the league and allowing almost 170 rushing yards per game Buffalo needs to add talent and beef to their front seven. Two possible options made their presence felt at the Senior Bowl.’

‘Here are the results of a survey I took of 50 assorted NFL mock drafts updated since Feb. 1. Some are more reputable than others, but my intent was to post a list of the players we’re most likely to see among the first five overall picks. Here are the results…’.

‘Because in virtually every season of the past decade, eight of 10 to be exact, the Bills have drafted ahead of the Packers. In some years, way ahead of the Packers. Yet the team that emerged as impressive champion on the National Football League is a ringing endorsement for homegrown, homespun, draft choices but also a condemnation of teams with similar opportunity who just can’t find a way.’

‘”It’s probably taken a little longer than the first time because in this situation I didn’t have to rush,” said Parrish in reference to his wrist injury in his first NFL season in 2005. “In my rookie year I did it in training camp and I was trying to get back. This situation I can spend more time on getting it fully, fully healed. So it’ll probably be better than before.”‘

‘"My pension after 13 years in this league is $1,247 a month, before taxes," he says. "We’ve got [other] Hall of Famers getting $172 a month. It drives me crazy. The general public thinks we’re multimillionaires, especially if we’re in the Hall of Fame. We’ve got to work every day of our lives. When you say I’m retired, I chuckle. I’ll work until the day I die."’

‘The late 1980s and early 1990s were a time when Bills fans looked to Sunday not as just the last day of the weekend, but a day to watch Jim Kelly and the gang pummel another opponent. Back then, you didn’t pray for a Bills victory, you expected it. We were spoiled and we knew it. Times have changed, as have expectations. Instead of thinking Super Bowl, we’re thinking, wouldn’t be nice if the Bills had a winning season.’

‘Elected to the hall were defensive end Richard Dent, running back Marshall Faulk, cornerback Deion Sanders, NFL Films founder Ed Sabol and tight end Shannon Sharpe. Also elected were two senior nominees, linebackers Chris Hanburger and Les Richter.’

‘There is nothing quite so dangerous in pro football as a team weighed down by major injuries and with plans laid by superb coaches. The "Tuna," Bill Parcells, and his chief aide, Belichick, certain to be in the Hall of Fame when they are fully retired, created a classic game plan. They might even have leaned on the probability that Levy and Marchibroda had planned to beat them the way they had beaten the Raiders. Instead, the Giants used an even larger dose of small ball.’

‘The former Buffalo Bills wide receiver made it as far as the final 10 candidates before being cut from the list of Hall of Fame enshrines.’

‘”He was optimistic,” Rank said. “He thought this was going to be his year. But he knew Shannon Sharpe could be the one to worry about and they went with Shannon over Andre. He said all along that if it didn’t happen this year, it’s going to happen next year. I certainly hope so for his family’s sake, because they’re here every year waiting this out.”‘

‘”It was just one of those games where you play to exhaustion,” Giants linebacker Carl Banks says of the 20-19 victory. “I just don’t know how I felt if that kick had gone in.” Probably how they felt on the other sideline.’

‘Who knows if the Bills would have gone to three more consecutive Super Bowls if Norwood’s kick was good?’

‘Only two receivers who played the majority of their career in the 1990s have been inducted into the Hall of Fame. They are Jerry Rice and Michael Irvin. It stands to reason the hall eventually will have room for at least a couple more.’

‘The billionaire businessman didn’t rule out the possibility he would buy the Buffalo Bills if they were ever in danger of moving out of town.’

‘According to the odds makers Super Bowl XLV between the Packers and Steelers is expected to be a tight contest decided by less than a field goal with Green Bay a slight favorite. To get a better handle on what to look for in the game Buffalobills.com got a firsthand take on both teams from Bills safety George Wilson and center Geoff Hangartner.’