Archives for April 27, 2013

‘The Bills have a glaring need for a starter opposite Stevie Johnson, and Woods has the college credentials to step into the first unit on opening day.’

‘You build a foundation with first-round picks. But you elevate the structure by nailing choices in the later rounds. Teams don’t make serious playoff runs without adding solid starters in the second and third rounds, and often later. In a salary cap league, those picks become what I call value players, allowing you to invest elsewhere in the roster.’

‘”We feel real good about it,” Nix said after picking wide receiver Robert Woods of USC and linebacker Kiko Alonso of Oregon. “It fell good for us, and sometime it does. You can do all the preparation you want, but sometimes you have to have some luck when it comes to the draft.”‘

‘The Buffalo Bills had three huge needs in this draft. A quarterback. A reliable outside receiver. And a linebacker. By the 16th pick of Round 2 on Friday night at Radio City Music Hall, the Bills had filled all three.’

‘If you’re a man, he’ll call you sir, or Mr. so-and-so, and as he does so he’ll burn two holes through the back of your head by making eye contact. He’s polite as well as respectful — and as articulate as he is thoughtful.’

‘”There only needs to be one team that falls in love with you,” Manuel said. “I knew one of those teams (Buffalo, Philadelphia, Cleveland) would take a quarterback, and I’m just extremely elated I was taken 16th.”‘

‘Last season, Coach Lane Kiffin shifted the focus to receiver Marqise Lee — the 2012 Biletnikoff Award winner — and Woods caught 76 passes, 11 for touchdowns.’

‘”We’ve built a relationship, and now we can grow it even more,” Woods said in a conference call with Buffalo reporters Friday. “I look forward to the opportunity to play with him. He comes from a winning program, and hopefully we can do great things at the next level.”‘

‘Alonso was drafted earlier than any UO linebacker since Dave Wilcox went with the 29th selection in 1964 – the first pick in that year’s third round. At No. 3, Jordan was the highest UO defender ever drafted, as two of the team’s top three picks this year were on defense.’

‘Alonso was projected by most draft experts to be selected in the third or fourth round.’

‘But the former Los Gatos High star also has faced off-field issues, including being suspended for the entire 2010 season following an arrest for suspicion of DUI. He then was suspended for the 2011 opener after an arrest on burglary charges.’

‘The Bills picked Goodwin, an Olympic long jumper, in the third round with the 78th overall choice. Although Goodwin was only a part-time starter during his career at UT, catching 120 career passes, he zoomed up the draft board as soon as he ran a 4.27-second, 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine two months ago.’

‘Bruce Smith, the NFL’s career sack leader, is his godfather.’