Archives for May 2011

‘"It’s just time to start doing some football stuff," said Bills cornerback Terrence McGee, who is planning to fly in from his offseason home in Dallas. "I know a lot of guys have been training and getting into shape individually, but this will be a chance to work on some things together."’

‘"It’s a basic message," said Levy in an interview prior to his speech. "Sports should be educational. Learn from them. And it should be fun. Enjoy yourself, and savor your teammates."’

‘”I haven’t talked to anyone from the Bills since the draft, but me and my trainer don’t know if we want me to get down to 360 pounds or anywhere near that,” Jasper said. “The way my body is, I’m not a regular 360-pound man. But I’ve done what the Bills asked me to do.”‘

‘"Kyle Williams, being undersized and holding down the point of attack at nose for the Bills, even getting to a Pro Bowl? I can’t wait to receive that knowledge. I’m coming in as an open book," Jasper said with excitement. He also has taken note of his fellow rookie D-lineman, the much more heralded Marcell Dareus, the third overall pick of the draft.’

‘Safety Jon Corto says players are set to arrive this weekend, with the first session scheduled for Monday. The workouts are tentatively planned to last the entire week, and were organized by the veterans.’

‘”I did a great job coming along throughout my career,” he said. “I was able to go against great defensive ends. My freshman year we had Gaines Adams there. I went against our scout team and we had Da’Quan Bowers come in, played a few years with him. We had Ricky Sapp, I went against him my freshman year, so that’s something that really came along. And I had to in order to survive in team drills, one-on-ones and team pass and all that.”‘

‘Other players have followed similar paths of revenge after draft snubs. Among the most notable was another Bills pick, Thurman Thomas, whom ESPN’s cameras famously captured agonizing/sleeping during his fall to the second round because of concerns about a knee injury. Thomas followed that path all the way to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. If Dareus possesses the same type of anger, maybe he will, too.’

‘Marcell Dareus is just a stud. There is no two ways about it. He is big, he is mobile, and he is aggressive. He is remarkably agile for a big man. He is explosive. And he is just a nice young man on top of all of that. Everything you would expect of a player picked in the top three selections in the NFL draft, Marcell is all of those.’

‘Kelvin Sheppard first off is a leader. Number two he is a very cerebral, smart player. He is a guy that lined up in a John Chavis (LSU Defensive Coordinator) defense. And the third thing is he gives incredible effort. He rallies and runs to the football and has a nose for the ball.’

‘The former Buffalo Bills great is part of a 2011 class that includes Florida State cornerback Deion Sanders, Ohio State running back Eddie George and former Bills fullback Bill "Earthquake" Enyart of Oregon State. Lloyd Carr of Michigan and Fisher DeBerry of Air Force are the coaching inductees.’

‘"The effort we’ve been going through with the Buffalo Bills and the business leaders in the surrounding areas is to regionalize the team and to draw from a broader area, including Southern Ontario and the Toronto area. I believe that’ll be good for the Bills to be successful in Buffalo."’

‘”I am hopeful that if we can get back to the negotiating table, we can get this resolved,” said Goodell. “It’s in the best interest of the game, it’s in the best interest of the players, it’s the best interest of the clubs, and I know it’s in the best interest of the fans. I think all of us should get back to negotating rather than this litigation strategy. I think we can develop solutions which I know fans want. They want football.”‘

‘”I can tell you with the NFL one of the things I’m proudest of is we continue to find ways to share new revenue,” he said. “Our system right now close to 80 percent of our revenue is shared amongst the clubs. That’s one of the core reasons that the system works and why the Buffalo Bills have the financial ability to compete. You always have to evaluate that system and balance that system to make sure as the economics of the league changes, as revenue growth changes that you continue to have a system that will allow that revenue to grow, but also share it in a way that will allow the fundamentals of the league continue to be successful.”‘

‘”There’s a guy that is a very good running back, played a lot of positions, is a physical guy, can block and can catch the ball out of the backfield,” said head coach Chan Gailey. “He’s a good runner both inside, has run the ball outside some. He’s 209 pounds, 5’10” and pretty thickly built. He’s got good speed, but he’s a versatile back. He can do a little bit of everything.”‘

‘”It’s been stressful,” White said. “I think about it every day. Really, as soon as I get up. I can’t learn the defense, I can’t learn what they do on special teams. I’ve never been to Buffalo. I don’t know when I’m going to get to go there.”‘