Archives for May 2014

‘Manuel and Watkins both worked full-go, but several veterans are not practicing due to injury issues. Woods (ankle) and Graham (hip) as well as another receiver, Marcus Easley (knee), were all sidelined. Tight end Scott Chandler (knee), defensive end Mario Williams (hip), defensive end Jerry Hughes (undisclosed), linebacker Kiko Alonso (hip), cornerbacks Stephon Gilmore (hip) and Leodis McKelvin (hip) and safety Aaron Williams (shoulder) all watched.’

‘”Right now I’m kind of slow. I’m not going full speed. I’m not running real fast. I’m thinking still,” said Watkins. “It’s a process that I have to get by and once I get to rolling full speed running out of routes and breaks it’ll be totally different.’

‘”It’s great just to put that behind you,” Watkins said minutes after signing. “Just to know you have financial stability and now it’s just all football. Every day I can come in and worry about football, my plays and my job. Just worry about the connection of the offense and learning from the older guys. That’s what it’s about.”‘

‘”It’s a legal issue. It’s not really something I’m going to talk about,” Dareus said. “I’m here to just do what I do, which is have fun, play ball, stay focused and try to get better and that’s going to take care of itself. We handle it and do the best we can with it.”‘

‘”We are going to put in a bid,” Trump said in response to questions after a luncheon speech at the National Press Club. “I don’t know what’s going to happen in Buffalo. If the price isn’t the right price, then I won’t get it, and I won’t be ashamed of it … But if I get it, I think I’ll probably do a good job.”‘

‘”They’ll need a new stadium,” he said of the Bills. “Initially we would fix up the (current) stadium, but the ultimate plan would be for a new stadium.”‘

‘Below we take a closer look at the players to track as OTAs begin Wednesday and run right up to mandatory minicamp in mid-June.’

‘All of this assumes the team remains in Western New York. And it further assumes that taxpayers buy into paying for a potential $1 billion facility. Still, planners are homing in on as many as 15 sites for initial vetting.’

‘While it will look at a dozen or so sites, the contract calls for the firm to identify three, and no more than four, sites in a final report due by July 11.’

‘Keep in mind this is for players that were on the roster at the end of the year in 2013, not for those that just entered the fray at some point in the current offseason. So who has the chance to rise up?’

‘The new owner, whoever that turns out to be, will not miss something obvious: A gleaming new stadium, better situated than the current venue, will help the bottom line and ensure the Bills’ future for several generations, but nothing will bolster interest and support more than winning records and regular playoff appearances.’

‘Many of the deficiencies that drove the Rams and Raiders out of the market in 1995 haven’t been corrected. California’s economic climate is unfavorable. Prominent advocates to bringing the NFL back to L.A. are giving up.’

‘Who will buy the team? Will they move it out of Buffalo? Will a new stadium be needed to keep the Bills in western New York? If so, where should it be built? Should Buffalo bar owners ban together to prohibit the playing of Bon Jovi music?’

‘”We have great site, it makes a lot of sense,” said Mancuso. “Batavia is the center of western New York. All roads run through Batavia.”‘