Archives for August 2011

‘Ultimately, though his title is commissioner, Goodell is really the NFL’s head public relations man. And fans’ flawed memories aside, when Vick came out of prison, he wasn’t exactly one of the league’s top marketing icons.’

‘The housecleaning process involved with rebuilding a pro football franchise that hasn’t been to the playoffs in over a decade isn’t all that dissimilar. That became clear at One Bills Drive over the last week. Aaron Maybin and Lee Evans were the latest two Bills deemed expendable as GM Buddy Nix and head coach Chan Gailey continued to cut ties with the previous regime.’

‘”Lee was one of the guys that was here a very long time,” Johnson said. “This is a business. You never know what’s going to happen the next day. The next day came and he was gone. We still have got to go about our business.”‘

‘”We have had a tremendous decade here at Fisher with the President and the staff,” said Brandon, a St. John Fisher graduate. “This is a tremendous place to prepare and we have had a lot of discussions over the last month and the long of short of it is, I think we are closing in on an agreement for St. John Fisher to be the summer home of the Bills for many years to come.”‘

‘”We have not been presented with any matter for prosecution involving Shawne Merriman or anyone else on the Buffalo Bills,” said James P. Kennedy, first assistant in the U.S. Attorney’s office in Buffalo. Kennedy said he was not even aware that Merriman had been stopped at the border.’

‘Vick the quarterback might not have solved the Bills’ problems on his own, but Vick the megastar would have contributed to turning things around. Like him or not, whether you wanted him or not, he’s a dynamic player who remains one of the best in the league. Fans are drawn to him, and players want to share a huddle with him.’

‘”St. John Fisher makes it work,” Brandon said Thursday at the conclusion of training camp. “The staff and everything about this campus and everything about this camp make this one of the best places to prepare in the National Football League. … [There are] no doubts we are going to be back here.”‘

‘”When you have the OTAs and the minicamps, a lot of the time you’re kind of working through the kinks and the struggles,” Fitzpatrick said. “Then when you get to training camp you’re kind of geared up and ready to go. We’ve put in some new stuff the last few days and we’re just not there yet. We’ll get there.”‘

‘”We’ve had a tremendous decade here at Fisher,” Brandon said. “This is a tremendous place to prepare. The long and short of it is I think we’re closing in on an agreement for St. John Fisher to be the summer home of the Bills for many, many years to come.”‘

‘After watching the Bills grind it out for three weeks, the case is not too difficult to make that they are worse off now than when they arrived given that Lee Evans is gone, the offensive line is a jumbled mess, and injuries have started to weaken a couple of positions.’

‘The Eagles probably would have wound up with Vick anyway because Buffalo or Cincinnati weren’t likely to win any bidding contest for his services, but it would be grossly inappropriate if the commissioner was a factor in Vick winding up in Philadelphia.’

‘Former Bills running back Thurman Thomas thinks it all stinks. “It goes all against what the commissioner has been trying to do,” Thomas said on a local Buffalo radio station. “It’s like another slap in the face to the Buffalo Bills. I’m upset about it. I want to know what the whole idea was about wanting him to go to Philadelphia and not Buffalo or Cincinnati. I think Mr. Wilson (Bills owner) needs to give the commissioner a call and see what happened. It was wrong, I think there needs to be an investigation.”‘

‘Well, there’s always this year … at least until they play the first game.’

‘With Merriman, Gailey said that it was a matter of making sure he’s 100%.

“He won’t play this week. We’ll let him get back to close to full speed and hopefully get him back next week.”‘

‘”Everybody has a much better overall knowledge of the offense today than we did last year, maybe at any time,” said Bills head coach, Chan Gailey. “With that in place, now you have something to build on. We’ve got a foundation that we can build on.”‘