Archives for August 2, 2012

‘He’s even come up with a way to include a fully-functioning video scoreboard, laying an old smartphone on its side and using LEGO pieces to hold it in place.’

‘Asper, who was out of football for two years after high school due to a religious mission commitment, is 26 years old, married, and the father of two daughters, so he’s not exactly your typical rookie. But that one play sure made him feel like a rookie, and he knows there’s going to be plenty more of those as he learns to play a new position.’

‘"There are guys I’m watching on TV, and feel I can compete with them," T.J. Graham said after a recent training camp practice at St. John Fisher College. "I love to go out there and run. I do miss it sometimes. When I’m at the track, I feel at home."’

‘"The players were young, vibrant and together for a long time. They grew up together. That was driven home to me poignantly at Kent’s funeral when you see so many of the wives there supporting Kay. They remained close for all these years."’

‘”One of my best friends is Angelo Taylor,” said Spiller, referring to the U.S. track star. “I know him from being in Atlanta. We kind of got the same spiritual mentor.”‘

‘”If he gets open it is hard to catch him,” said Chan Gailey, Buffalo head coach, said about the team’s third round draft pick in last April’s NFL Draft. “He got open and he is catching the ball very well right now. He has still got a lot to learn, but he is doing some good things out there.”‘

‘”He’s the best player we have on offense,” said quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick. “He’s a three-down back who, obviously, is great with the ball in his hands, has great hands in terms of the passing game and who is probably the best blocking running back in the league, in terms of pass protection and chips. So he’s a complete player.”‘

‘I don’t think the Bills are yet on par with the Patriots, but they have drawn even with the Jets. As with every team there are questions that have to be answered in camp, which I address below.’

‘”Courage, instincts, toughness, a lot of things wrapped up in one,” said Modrak, describing Johnson. “We had a good sense about him and almost took him earlier, then somebody else popped up. It wasn’t as hard as the numbers would indicate. We were comfortable doing it. We thought he’d be a guy that’d make the team, be a backup, and he’s done a whole lot better.”‘

‘Without revealing what the issue is, Gailey on Wednesday said he expects Sheppard to miss a couple of days of training camp. Sheppard watched the team’s night practice from the sideline.’

‘”It’s a little early, but it’s a concern — and it’s not just Tyler,” head coach Chan Gailey candidly said on Wednesday. “He and Vince both are having some trouble there. The two’s in general are not performing well offensively. I think our one’s are doing some good things, but our two’s are struggling right now offensively.”‘

‘”I have felt since I saw Ryan play at Harvard that he had the capability to win in the league” Polian said. “I felt about Ryan Fitzpatrick, with a little different skill set by the way, the way I felt about Frank Reich. When I saw him(Fitzpatrick) play, I said this guy’s a winner. This guy’s got that spark about him that just tells you he can win football games and of course we know what Frank did under the most difficult and trying conditions.”‘

‘”They’re doing a good job,” said head coach Chan Gailey. “The defensive backs are seeing a lot of things and reacting to the routes they’re seeing a lot of. They’re doing a good job picking up on those things. They’re getting better.”‘

‘You take Jairus, you take George, and every Da’Norris (Searcy) is playing very well. You take those three guys and they make up for a lot of ills that might happen. They cover a lot of bases for us back there.’