Archives for August 2013

‘With injuries to presumptive rookie starter E.J. Manuel and veteran Kevin Kolb, undrafted rookie free agent Jeff Tuel is in line to start Week 1 of the regular season according to head coach Doug Marrone.’

‘”Both he and [Justin] Rogers have had some injuries during camp. We know that when we see them play in the games both those players have played well recently,” Head Coach Doug Marrone said after practice. “I think both those players right now we’re looking at, along with [T.J.] Heath still in the mix, with that cornerback position to see how they do. Both players played well in the last two weeks — Rogers and Butler.”‘

‘”I think there’s two things you look at. ‘A,’ the number of time he needs to go and play, and then ‘B,’ the number of days for preparation,” Marrone started. “So I think that, to give an example, if we were playing New England — obviously we are the first week — and the doctors said you’re not gonna get him on the field until Thursday and then he’ll be ready to play on Sunday, I would be concerned about doing that.”‘

‘Today we were hoping that it would be a slower day. It would be good for all of us. Yesterday we had a lot of stuff to cover. It’s never spread out along. All of the sudden you get so much stuff and you have to pick and choose what you want to go with. It’s kind of difficult.’

‘”That’s why one of the ways we’re training him right now mentally is getting him as much work as possible,” said Marrone. “Now he’s started the physical work, which is good so as soon as we can get out there and get him to start throwing again. That’ll help in the process, but the first day he’s out there doing anything I’ll have a good feel for how long it may be.”‘

‘”I think he’s always worked hard since he’s gotten here,” Williams said. “He’s really paid attention to the small intricacies of playing defensive tackle. You can see it as a player. He’s gotten a lot better over the year and a half he’s been here.”‘

‘Leinart has a little history here. In 2006, coming off a 5-11 season behind quarterbacks Kelly Holcomb and J.P. Losman, the Bills had the chance to draft him. They had the eighth pick. Leinart had a Heisman. He was the toast of the talk show speculation circuit. Buffalo, though, chose defensive back Donte Whitner.’

‘I don’t think the Bills got markedly better this offseason, but neither did the Jets. And for what its worth, I’m not sure the Dolphins did either. The Patriots, even in a down year, are still the class of the division, but there is no reason the Bills can’t be the second-best. But there is just one playoff team coming from the AFC East and that is the Patriots. So if the Bills don’t make the playoffs, does it really matter whether they finish in second or fourth?’

‘Don’t judge this team by their record in 2013. They just aren’t ready for a full-blown turn around. I could see EJ Manuel throwing for 2,800-3,000 yards and 18 touchdowns with an eye on the future.’

‘”It’s a little whirlwind right now and that’s part of our business and we have to be able to adjust to that,” said Fred Jackson. “I think the guys that are coming in are doing a tremendous job to try to pick up things so they can get out there as fast as possible. The guys that are here are making adjustments and that’s all we can do and if we continue to do that I think we’ll be fine.”‘

‘”I came here to play football, and that’s what I’m doing. Anybody that comes to a team thinking, ‘I want to come here and just sit on the bench,’ is wrong,” said Tuel, an undrafted rookie free agent out of Washington State. Tuel said his biggest challenge in getting ready for the Patriots will be earning the trust of the team’s starting receivers.’

‘”I’m going to leave the private matters of the business side between us,” he said. “I don’t really want to comment on other things. I’ll let coach Marrone talk more about the team aspect and what they’re doing upstairs. If you want to talk to Doug or whoever, I’m not in that position to talk about that stuff.”‘

‘You know it’s bad when the Bills are scrambling to sign Leinart and making a trade for Lewis, adding two L’s to a roster that should prepare for many more. Leinart has played a grand total of four games in three years. The Bills are his third team in three years, four if you include about 15 minutes he spent with the Seahawks in April.’

‘The Bills are thin at cornerback. Leodis McKelvin, the presumed starter opposite Gilmore, has been limited much of the summer as he returns from offseason groin surgery. With McKelvin out, the Bills have tried Ron Brooks, Nickell Robey, T.J. Heath, Crezdon Butler, Justin Rogers and even the since-released Don Unamba as a starter.’

‘Marrone explained that star running back C.J. Spiller has left the team to go to Florida to be with family after the weekend tragedy in which his step grandfather, Hubert Allen, murdered two people, wounded two others, and then took his own life. Spiller’s return to Buffalo is uncertain.’