Archives for April 2012

‘"I have so much self motivation. Nobody has to kick me in my butt to get me going," he said. "I wake up for it and I love it and I am anxious to get back on top. … There is no other way to put that, other than me getting ready for the season, me being excited to be around these guys and put something together. That is what we are doing here, we are putting something great together and I am just happy to be a part of that."’

‘The Bills have never picked No. 10 overall in their history. Of the 42 players taken in that position since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970, 19 of them, or 45 percent, have been elected to at least one Pro Bowl. Two are Hall of Famers.’

‘Here is a list of the 10th overall picks since AFL-NFL merger…’.

‘So I think the Bills will draft Luke Kuechly at No. 10.’

‘The Vikings reportedly had offered Dunaway $54,000 over two years. They were even willing to give him a “personal service” contract, meaning he would be paid in full even if he were cut. The Bills reportedly offered more than $60,000 over the same time period.’

‘”We need tackles but I’m going to make this clear, we think Chris Hairston can play left tackle for us and win,” Bills General Manager Buddy Nix said. “Chris Hairston, he may not be the prettiest foot athlete, but he’s got so much length that he can protect the back side. We feel like he can do that.”‘

‘"Just talking to a bunch of fans around town, they let us know how excited they are about things. We sense that. We know that," running back Fred Jackson said. "At the same time, we feel the exact same way. We feel like the organization has done some things to give us a great opportunity to go out and win football games, so we’re putting a lot of expectations on ourselves."’

‘”Just talking to a bunch of fans around town they let us know how excited they are about things,” said running back Fred Jackson. “We sense that, we know that, and at the same time we feel the exact same way. We felt like the organization has done some things that give us a great opportunity to win some football games. We’re putting a lot of expectations on ourselves and hopefully we can make things happen this year.”‘

‘”He’s in there working hard, not asking for any special treatment, and not thinking that he deserves something more than any other guy. And I think that’s what’s really going to help him fit on to this team, and into this locker room.”‘

”’There’s a lot of excitement in this building right now,” Fitzpatrick said. ”That’s the message I think that’s clearly gotten across to the players through some of the stuff we’ve done this offseason.”’

”’I’ve said it before and it’s no secret, it’s time of us to take a step and be (relevant) all the way through,” Nix said. ”You can’t put a number on it, but I certainly expect us to be competitive throughout the year.”’

‘”Getting everybody back in, seeing what kind of shape everybody’s in, catching up with guys seeing how their off season was. A lot of guys had different surgeries and injuries that they had to heal up from. We’ll get in, have a team meeting, talk to the guys some more, interact with the coaches. We’ve got the new guys in so I’m getting a chance to speak with Mario and some of the other guys and just getting acquainted with each other.”‘

‘Jackson is here and he said, “It’s not a concern at all for me. I’m going to continue to show up and be with my teammates and that’s what I’m doing, showing up and trying to get ready for the 2012 season.” Jackson added, “I want something done, but I’m under contract so I’ll continue to work. It’s what I do, I come to work and it’s part of what’s being voted as a captain last year, you have to show up and do things like this, you want everybody to follow the lead that you do so that’s what I’m here doing now.”‘

‘Perhaps the biggest reason for such optimism is the Bills signing of the top free agent this off season, Mario Williams. Many think Williams is the key piece for the Buffalo defense. He said “once you hunker down and realize you have to focus on football things get a lot eaiser and that’s my mind set right now.”‘

‘Yeah. That’s the message I think that has clearly gotten across to the players through some of the stuff that we’ve done this offseason and even through what happened last year with the first half of the season and then what happened in the second half of the season. That wasn’t where we were supposed to be. The performance that we put on the last eight games, we need to be better than that obviously. We need to be ahead of where we were last year. This year it’s sustainability. It’s doing that but being consistent and doing it all year long. I think there’s been a message that’s been sent that we’re ready to do it right now.’