Archives for April 2014

‘The Bills trade for Mike Williams brings up at least a couple of questions. Is it a good move? How does it affect their plans for the draft? In short, yes its a good move and it shouldn’t necessarily take wide receiver off their draft board.’

‘Highly placed sources say that the Jacobs family, owner of Delaware North Companies, leads the list of potential local suitors.’

‘It might be difficult to run a football team in Buffalo while leading a major mutual fund company in California.’

‘The Bills organization arranged, among other things, pictures of Wilson in his youth; a portrait of him watching one of the Bills’ four Super Bowl contests; pictures of him with players during great moments; a Saturday Evening Post feature showing him aboard that minesweeper in 1944; and a video of his induction into the pro football Hall of Fame. The team set his office furniture at the center of it all.’

‘”You know when your foot goes to sleep? That’s how his body feels all day,” his wife, Wiande, said Saturday. “He blocks out that pain. I see him trying to be so strong, but I know it hurts. He doesn’t complain. He’s just thankful that he’s here. That’s the main thing that I admire about him.”‘

‘Whether you played for him, worked for him, were related to him, or spent your Sunday afternoons rooting for the team that he created for you, everyone who attended the Celebration & Remembrance of Ralph C. Wilson Jr. at the practice facility on One Bills Drive had a connection with the 95-year-old patriarch who died on March 25.’

‘As for who the Bills will pick in that No. 9 spot, you could do worse than speculate a big (read: tall) wide receiver. At 6-foot-2 and 212 pounds, Williams, the same height and a shade heavier than Johnson, isn’t that guy.’

‘”I feel sometimes good, sometimes bad, and I probably shouldnt even be here tonight but I brought my daughter with me, she made the Dean’s List so I had to give her a little surprise for what she did in school,” Kelly said.’

‘Only in the third year of his NFL career, Gilmore is expected to continue to grow into the same kind of role with the Bills, a leader that can shut down the opposing team’s best receiver with little or no extra help. A big year for Gilmore would lift an already solid Buffalo defense, which in turn may lead to some national recognition for the cornerback. Just don’t expect to hear about it from Gilmore.’

‘”I’m proud to say that I’m from East Brady,” Kelly wrote in an email. “I loved growing up there. It’s a close-knit community in which everybody became friends. It’s a small town with great people. I go back home every year and look forward to going back again this year.”‘

‘The mood on Saturday was festive. Under grey cloudy skies and with a cold brisk wind blowing off nearby Lake Erie, a long line of fans snaked into the parking lot once the doors opened. Many wore team jerseys and posed for pictures in front of the Wilson memorabilia.’

‘”Ralph loved his life and he had a great full life that touched so many people in a variety of ways. He loved his family and his many friends. He loved his Buffalo Bills and he loved the fans. Before he passed, he told me that he wanted people to celebrate his life after he was gone. He wasn’t big on tears. And so that’s why we are referring to events such as the one today as “celebrating” the life of Ralph Wilson.”‘

‘”We looked at him as a father figure, a man with great integrity. When he gave you his word, that was his bond. It spilled over to the players in the personal relationship you could have with Mr. Wilson. You don’t find many player-owner relationships like that.”‘

‘Whether that sale is to a person willing to keep the team in Western New York is the question that will determine the team’s future.’

‘Now he is engaged in a battle for his own life. The Hall of Famer has fans and friends from his football career who are pulling for him. He also has fans who see him as a good man who has embraced this community and been one of its finest ambassadors. He has walked among us, greeting all and cheerfully signing autographs. He has become one of us, one of the finest among us. Our prayers are with Jim and Jill Kelly, their daughters and other family members.’