Archives for April 2012

‘He graduated from high school early as a quarterback and earned the title, “Mr. Football” at South Carolina. He carried a 3.2 GPA and led the school to an impressive 11-2 season before deciding to go pro.’

‘”I always would have these big road cones in the driveway and he had to run the cones real good in the driveway before we could go in the house,” he said. “I’d have him backpedal and everything at five, six-years old.”‘

‘”One, I am happy I get to play left tackle, two Buffalo is one of my favorite teams,” said Glenn. “I am just happy that I get to play football and I know where I am playing it now it is just a big relief.”‘

‘On why he is excited to play for the Bills: The coach. I like the coaching staff. I like the offensive line coach (Joe D’Alessandris). I like the way he coaches, so (Buffalo) was definitely a big favorite of mine.’

‘You know, we saw him play guard prior to this year and then this year he played left tackle. As you watched the season progress, he got better and better at left tackle. He struggled in the first ballgame against Boise State and the whole Georgia offensive line did. You could see a tremendous amount of improvement every week. He’s got tremendous size. He’s got length and he’s got good foot quickness. If there’s one thing that he needs to improve on, he’ll get impatient at times and waist-bend, but he does not do that all the time. And we’re a firm believer that if he doesn’t do it all the time we can coach and we can get him out of that habit. It’s very similar to what Marcus McNeill was when we took him at San Diego and the coaches were able to get him out of it.’

‘”He’s 5’11” and something and he can run by most everybody, I mean the guy can fly,” said Gailey. “He can catch and has some return ability.”‘

‘I spoke with some people and they suggested that this was the earliest I would go. You expect the worst in this situation, so getting the best that they told me is a pretty good thing. I am pretty excited about it.’

‘On why they moved up two spots to draft Graham: Well, we were worried he wouldn’t be there. You just don’t want to get that close and not get him. The pick we gave up was 217 in the seventh (round), we had two anyway.’

‘They may not admit it now, but it’s very possible the Bills shopped the 10th pick and simply had no takers. Then when Gilmore fell to them at No. 10, it was an easy choice for the Bills. The franchise left tackle wasn’t there and the transcendent wide receiver or linebacker was nowhere to be found.’

‘On friday the Bills have the 9th and 39th picks in the second and third rounds. By midnight tonight I would like to see them bring a young wide receiver and an offensive tackle to Orchard Park. Names like Alshon Jeffery (Gilmore’s teammate at South Carolina) , Rueben Randall (LSU) and one of the most intriguing guys not picked, Georgia Tech 6’4" wide out Stephen Hill are still on the board. They might all be scooped up in the 8 picks before the Bills. They could also just sit still and wait to see if Stanford’s Jonathan Martin or one of the other top tackles are still on the board.’

‘”There is some depth at some positions we need,” said Bills GM Buddy Nix. “We think from the second round on that there are some pretty good players.”‘

‘”We had opportunities to move up more than move down, and so we listened,” he said of Buffalo being one of 16 teams that held its position. “We just didn’t want to give up draft picks. I never do like doing that.”‘

‘Two other corners were actually graded higher than Gilmore, but both – North Alabama’s Janoris Jenkins (marijuana and paternity issues) and Alabama’s Dre Kirkpatrick (marijuana arrest) – had major character questions.’

‘Bills starters Terrence McGee and Drayton Florence are getting older. McGee wil be 32 in October. Florence will be 32 in December. For the long term, the Bills figure to put Gilmore next to Aaron Williams, last year’s 34th overall pick. Williams is a rugged, 6-foot, 200 pounds. The Bills should have two physical corners to match up with the new wave of big wideouts in the NFL.’

‘It’s not just about the top pick. The Bills need to hit home runs on some picks in the later rounds and deepen the talent on the roster. Nix needs to do better than Torell Troup and Alex Carrington in the second and third rounds today.’