Archives for July 2014

‘It’s stories like those, and performances like the one Watkins had on Monday, that have this entire franchise giddy. In the midst of a 14-year postseason drought, five years removed from their last season in which they had more than six victories and a month after losing playmaking linebacker Kiko Alonso to a torn ACL, the Bills have plenty of hope. And Watkins is a major reason why.’

‘Marrone provided the update after practice Monday, in the latest twist in Dareus’ troubled offseason. Dareus was scheduled to return to camp in suburban Rochester later in the day.’

‘To make room, the Bills released receiver Ramses Barden and linebacker Nathan Williams. The free agent signings Monday come a day after the Bills opened training camp in suburban Rochester.’

‘Cohen joins his sixth club in six seasons. He played for current Bills defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz in Detroit during his first two seasons. He also has spent time with New England, Chicago, Dallas and Jacksonville.’

‘”We’re not just going to put him out there every day,” Marrone said. “We’ll wait until our weight coaches say, ‘Hey, you know what, we’re ready to go and let’s go.'”‘

‘”At the present time, I have excused Marcell,” the coach revealed. “He is taking care of some personal stuff, but he’ll be like everybody else. You’ve seen him before on the side, training and getting ready to pass the physical.”‘

‘”I don’t know that. It’s a medical condition. I’m preparing to go on as if he’s not playing, which he’s not,” Marrone said. “I’m just waiting for the doctors, and I can’t speak about the condition because it’s something that happened outside of football.”‘

‘Roosevelt will be joined on the roster by former seventh-round pick and defensive tackle Landon Cohen. The 6-foot-2, 300-pound Cohen played with both the Dallas Cowboys and Chicago Bears last season and has eight career starts since entering the league in 2008. He was added likely as a result of the Bills being without both Marcell Dareus and Alan Branch (Active/Non-Football Injury) to start camp.’

‘”Any way I can contribute to the team, I know they’re counting on me to step up,” Bradham remarked. “They know what I can do and I know what I can do. We can’t replace Kiko but you can have some guys step up and make some plays just as well, and that’s one of the things you have to do.”‘

‘Sammy Watkins picked a great day to have his best practice as a member of the Buffalo Bills. With the bigwigs at ESPN, NFL Network, FoxSports1 and the MMQB all in attendance on Monday afternoon, Watkins put on a show for all to see.’

‘The situation here feels urgent. As Whaley alluded to, the once-proud Bills last played more than 16 games — a birthright during the halcyon heyday of Jim Kelly and Co. — in 1999, and the only owner the franchise has known, Ralph Wilson Jr., passed away in March. The team is up for sale. The brass dealt their 2015 first-round pick to move up five spots in May’s draft and come away with Sammy Watkins. Last year’s No. 1 was spent on a quarterback. The feeling here, very clearly, is that the time is now.’

‘”With the crowd noise and the music that coach Marrone has playing during practice it’s causing us to communicate and guys are just flying around to the ball,” Hughes told Buffalobills.com. “When you turn on the film it’s looking great.”‘

‘We brought him in here to do that and he’s done a really good job. He has. He’s made plays in this camp. You guys have seen it. We just need to make sure that we continue developing him. He’s going against good players. He’s working with the first team, so he’s going against our corners and all of our guys. He’s a good football player and I think it’s one that, you sit there and the guy is making plays. I think a lot of people are excited.’

‘Roosevelt (6-0, 200) returns to the Bills after spending parts of two seasons with the team from 2010 to 2011. He appeared in 16 games and recorded 25 receptions for 396 yards and a touchdown. The University at Buffalo product now gives the Bills four Buffalo natives on their roster, joining Derek Brim, Corey Graham, and Mike Williams.’