Archives for August 23, 2011

‘Apparently the Bills have figured out what we’ve suspected for the past two years. Demetrius Bell apparently isn’t a viable NFL left offensive tackle.’

‘"I was shocked," Jackson said. "I feel like a No. 1 back, and I should be treated like one. As far as what’s going on, you would have to ask them. I’m going to come out here and compete. I feel like I have been competing. I feel like I have done everything I can. It’s been like that for two or three years, and nothing has changed."’

‘If they’re serious about winning right now, why haven’t they addressed that pathetic offensive line? Do they expect Ryan Fitzpatrick to take the next step as an NFL quarterback while running for his life? And why in the world did they trade Lee Evans?’

‘”You would rather not look at those options at this time, but you have to,” Bills coach Chan Gailey said after the two-hour workout at the Bills practice facility. “Sometimes, you don’t get to do it exactly by the book. It’s kind of like quarterback last year. … You have to be smart and use all the things at your disposal.”‘

‘”He plays 100 miles per hour on every snap,” said coach Chan Gailey. “His technique is getting better, his understanding of the game is getting better standing up and playing linebacker, so he’s been a very pleasant surprise so far.”‘

‘Winning teams at the event will receive four tickets to the Bills’ Sept. 25 home game against the New England Patriots, as well as a post-game meet-up with Bell, while the day’s events also include a raffle for a Demetrius Bell signed Authentic Bills jersey.’

‘”I know I can play at this level,” Spiller says firmly. “It’s about me going out and doing it.”‘

‘Jackson says he doesn’t know where he stands with the team after C.J. Spiller started and got a majority of snaps with the first-stringers in a 24-10 preseason loss at Denver on Saturday. The five-year veteran spoke out after the team returned to practice at their facility in Orchard Park on Monday.’

‘After four seasons of averaging 4.4 yards per carry and picking up 1989 yards the last two years, Jackson doesn’t feel like he should be fighting for his life once again, “I’ve been saying it, I feel like a number one back and I should be treated like one. I should know what’s going on and know where I stand and what the situation is.”‘

‘This is happening because Demetrius Bell has struggled this preseason. It’s not ideal, but Gailey didn’t want to sit still, “You’d rather not. You’d rather not look at those options at this time, but you have to. You sometimes don’t get to do it exactly by the book. It’s kind of like the quarterback last year. We didn’t get to do it like how we wanted to. You have to be smart and use all of the things to make good decisions. That’s what we hope we’re doing this time.”‘

‘It continues a long trend of instability on the Bills offensive line and is hardly a scenario you would want to be in with the season opener fast approaching September 11th at Kansas City. The most important position on the line is up for grabs.’

‘”I think the coaches are trying to see what depth they have for all the positions,” Levitre told News 4 Sports. “I know the offense so I feel like it shouldn’t be too hard to pick up on. They are just some technical things that I am not used to working at guard that I’ll need to do at tackle.”‘

‘As I’ve said every time we talk about the offensive line, my job is to get the five best on the field. And maybe that our five best is playing Chad Rinehart at guard and Andy Levitre at tackle. We’re going to take a look at it. That’s our responsibility to take a look at it. Levitre is doing an excellent job. He’s a versatile player and he’s played it before. We’ll see how it goes.’

‘On how long he will look at the offensive line positions: I think it depends on them. It depends on both Levitre and Demetrius (Bell). How long we go with it or whether it becomes permanent or whether it becomes just something we tried for a little while.’

‘”My job is to get the five best on the field,” said Gailey. “Maybe that’s our five best is playing Chad (Rinehart) at guard and Andy (Levitre) at left tackle. We’re going to take a look at it. That’s our responsibility to take a look at it and Andy is doing an excellent job. He’s a very versatile player. He’s played it before so we’ll see how it goes.”‘