Archives for August 2012

‘I am a big country guy. So anything that has to do with country, I am all down for it. People don’t really expect that about me. They wouldn’t think because of my hairstyle. I got the Mohawk going but its like a gel. I gel it up to make it look like a spiked Mohawk. I like to a lot of different things that people don’t really expect of me.’

‘It being Kids Day, law enforcement officials are expecting the crowds to be fairly well-behaved. “It’s a family-oriented atmosphere,” Joslyn said. “I’ve been doing this for years and we see less of the large parties and the funnel drinking and such.”‘

‘”Going from college where you’re kicking from the 30 to kicking from the 35, I definitely expected to consistently hit touchbacks,” Potter said. “Especially this time of year is the best time of year to be kicking. The weather’s always good. In preseason you’re kicking at night, and that helps a lot. There’s usually no wind at night, and warmer weather helps.”‘

‘”This is really the first preseason game that we have game-planned a little bit,” quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick said. “We spent some time in practice trying to work against some of the schemes that we will see. Spending some film time together, with everybody, watching them and really trying to prepare as if it is a game. Getting in that mode. I expect us to be a lot sharper just in terms of understanding the game plan. [We] should not have any pre-snap penalties at home. … I think we will be able to play faster this week just because we know the type of defense we will be playing. We better play faster because they are very good.”‘

‘At age 49, 19 seasons after he last played an NFL game, Kelso delivers the line dispassionately … without rancor or bitterness. You see, at a time when some 3,000 retired players have initiated a concussion lawsuit that some speculate could actually bankrupt the league, he’s already tackled the issue – excuse the pun – head-on.’

‘”If you’re not a starter, you have to prove to everyone that you can play,” he said. “There is so much uncertainty in this business. It’s a chaotic and hectic time for me. There are a lot of things riding on this.”‘

‘”I’m excited and it’s just another step moving forward. We’ve stayed on track this whole time and haven’t had any speed bumps and we’re hoping that stays that way until September 9th. I’ve taken a majority of the reps the past couple of weeks with the ones in practice, so still getting in a lot of good work in here, just not quite as many reps during the game. In the grand scheme of things I think I missed eight or so reps last week in the game. I probably got in 10 times that many last week out on the field so we’re getting good work in, we’re just not trying to take any chances.”‘

‘One thing that’s been notably absent to this point in the preseason has been the clear and definitive moment to where fans say to themselves “Oh, there’s Mario Williams!” While it doesn’t work out for everyone (see: Shawne Merriman vs. Chicago in the 2011 preseason opener), it still could put some minds to rest. I think Williams may have been saving himself a bit for the regular season in the first two games. Sometimes it’s tough to get fully invested in to a game where you’re slated to only play 10-to-20 snaps. This third game could prove to be different with the amount of time he’ll get on the field. That moment of clarity could be on the way.’

‘Bills starters will get 30 snaps according to Coach Gailey. “They’ll go a half for sure and maybe a little bit more,” he said. “Maybe the start of the second half. That’s kind of the plan. Maybe the first series of the second half. We’ll see where it falls.”‘

‘The Arizona Cardinals are often called “Pittsburgh West” because they employ so many former Steelers coaches and players. But there’s another NFL team with multiple ties to Pittsburgh. That would be the Buffalo Bills.’

‘"I don’t see that sense of urgency that we had last year, where we were just getting after people game after game, week after week," left guard Andy Levitre said after Thursday’s practice at One Bills Drive.’

‘”I told him when we visited I was proud of him for the way he fought to get back, but he just couldn’t make it,” Bills coach Chan Gailey said. “We saw he wasn’t going to make it this year. So we wanted to not let him worry about it anymore and go get well, and we’ll give him a run next year.’

‘Number me among the many, many Buffalonians counting the days until our area’s National Football League team takes the field for what is the most anticipated Bills season in years, if not a full decade back to Drew Bledsoe’s arrival in Orchard Park.’

”’We need to get better. We want to see improvement,” said Gailey, who traditionally rests his starters in the fourth preseason game. ”I don’t know what that will show. It should show more production, but we have to get better.”’

‘It had become increasingly evident as training camp progressed that Troup was going to have difficulty not only getting healthy, but making the active roster. In the latest depth chart released by the team this week, Troup was listed fourth and last behind starter Kyle Williams.’