Archives for January 2012

‘”We want to redo that study, to a certain extent, to now find out the condition of the concrete, how much it has deteriorated since the study was done in 1996, and how long it will last in the future,” said Jeffrey P. Zack, an engineer in the county Department of Public Works.’

‘"I think we take it as a learning experience and we try to move forward," Fitzpatrick said.’

‘Two offensive linemen and the team’s long snapper make up a relatively short restricted free agent list for Buffalo this offseason.’

‘Sports Fans Coalition, a national group that has been fighting the Federal Communications Commission’s blackout rules, announced Tuesday that it has formed a Buffalo chapter to press the FCC on the issue – and to explore ways to ensure that the Bills remain in Buffalo.’

‘”Last year was a year of getting to know everybody and everything, but I’m settled in now,” Smith told Buffalobills.com. “Last year was unprecedented. Even around the league you see a lot of guys that went to a different team and they were getting acclimated and it’s hard. From personal relationships to understanding offenses and defenses it was a weird situation, but I’m very excited about this year.”‘

‘”If you want to get the true measure of a football team go back and evaluate every first half of every game,” said head coach Chan Gailey. “You’ll get a true idea of who they are which is what we will do as we continue with our breakdowns to see who we truly are. What kind of team we really are being able to break down the first halves of what we did.”‘

‘The Bills led the NFL in yards per carry on first-and-10 situations in 2011. The Bills averaged 5.46 yards on 192 carries, not counting quarterback scrambles.’

‘So let’s be optimistic, as Bills fans need to be. With this last payment, state government could wean itself from funding pro sports ventures. Let’s hope so.’

‘In a letter to the FCC, Higgins noted that Bills fans are hit more than those of other teams by the blackout rules. That’s because Ralph Wilson Stadium has an unusually large capacity of 73,000 — 6,000 more than the average league attendance — making it more difficult to get a sellout.’

‘"Aaron played fairly consistently for a rookie … when he finally got his chance," coach Chan Gailey said. "He battled injuries all year long, and that’s always tough on a guy. That’s the one thing that we’ve got to hopefully do is train him in the offseason and get him where he can make a whole season without the injuries. I thought he showed potential to be a very good corner in this league for a long time. He matches up well size-wise."’

‘Lee was not unemployed long. Within two weeks he received calls from both the Buffalo Bills and the New York Jets who were interested in him as quarterback coach.’

‘But a city that ranks third nationally in poverty needs more than a football team that most residents can’t even afford to watch in person. Mr. Cuomo knows that, too. Proof comes in his $1 billion investment plan for Buffalo. The state can better reinvigorate Buffalo through the governor’s vision for the University at Buffalo than by signaling that it will do whatever it takes to keep the Bills.’

‘"I think Dave’s expertise is more 4-3, but again, you’re talking 50 percent of the time we’ll be in that and 50 percent of the time you may be in a three-man rush," Nix said. "You need to get players that are playmakers and put them in a position where they can play."’

‘”It didn’t kind of crop up. It jumped out at us,” said Bills GM Buddy Nix of the number of injuries the team sustained. “We probably had the most of anybody in the league. One of the reasons it hit us as hard as it did is we didn’t have the experienced depth and then it was who got injured for us. It was our main guys.”‘