Archives for April 17, 2013

‘How unusual is this year’s draft, set to begin next Thursday? The Top 6 players are linemen: two offensive tackles, two guards and two defensive tackles.’

‘”You know, I don’t know that I’m anticipating a lot. I think there is a better chance because of the rookie wage scale,” he said. “I think that helps movement. But all I can tell you is that we’re open for business and we’re going to answer all of the calls.”‘

‘Williams has failed to establish himself at cornerback over the past two seasons, since being selected 34th overall in the 2011 NFL Draft.’

‘”When you’re looking at linebackers, you want a guy who can run and cover and can match up against a slot or a tight end,” Bills General Manager Buddy Nix said earlier this year at the Senior Bowl. “See if that guy’s got enough mobility in space to cover.”‘

‘Pro Football Hall of Fame guard and former Buffalo Bill Billy Shaw was honored Tuesday in a special ceremony in his hometown of Vicksburg, Miss.’

”’There’s been some contact and we’re making an effort to try to get a long-term deal done with Jairus,” Nix said. ”But you know – and I don’t mean this in a bad way – I haven’t given it much thought. I don’t mean that we’re not interested, because we certainly need him and eventually he’ll probably be here. But there’s nothing we can do except try to get a contract done. If it doesn’t work, then the ball’s in his court. He comes when basically he gets ready.”’

‘That has many putting two and two together and coming up with Marrone’s old signal-caller at Syracuse, Ryan Nassib, as the team’s choice with the eighth overall selection. By doing that, however, Marrone would be severely curtailing his honeymoon as an NFL coach, a period which is generally far too brief to begin with.’

‘A team just doesn’t fly all over the country conducting private workouts with the top quarterbacks in the draft without the intent to take one, and to take one early. It certainly could go another way, but the evidence is adding up to one thing.’

‘”Coach said, ‘We’re going to move you to safety. That’s where you’ll best benefit the team.’ So after that you just go with it,” said Williams. “There’s no second guessing it. You don’t second guess coach. He’s the man and the head honcho so I ran with it and it worked out so far.”‘

‘Buffalo Bills head coach Doug Marrone and his staff have invited 11 players to One Bills Drive on a tryout basis during this week’s voluntary veteran minicamp.’

‘This is not a standard answer. I’ve said this from the start that two or three of these guys will be franchise quarterbacks, I believe that. You look back at last year and the year before, I mean Russell Wilson and Colin Kaepernick, right now if you were drafting you’d take them first. You’d take them first in the top five. So the jury’s out on this group but they do enough good things that if you do what they do best you can win with them.’

‘The 2013 Buffalo Bills regular season schedule will be released this Thursday, April 18 at 8 p.m.’