Archives for August 9, 2014

‘Hundreds of Clemson fans made the two hours trip to Charlotte to get a glimpse of their latest NFL superstar. Maybe the Tigers fans made Watkins feel a bit more at ease, or maybe it was the fact that last time Watkins was on that field, the crowd was bigger, the stakes were higher and he came through with five catches, 80 yards and a touchdown as a true freshman to help Clemson win the ACC Championship against Virginia Tech.’

‘For the second straight preseason game, Woods led the team in catches. On Friday, in a 20-18 win over the Panthers, Woods had a game-high eight targets. He has the trust of the quarterbacks, including starter EJ Manuel, who targeted Woods four times while the two were in the game, as much as any other receiver.’

‘”When I go out there, my goal is to make a play,” said Brown. “Every time I get a chance to touch the ball or be out there on the field my main goal is to make a play some way, somehow.”‘

‘”His footwork was good,” Bills coach Doug Marrone said of Manuel. “We had good targets, the receivers were open. We had really good protection against a team that’s very good up front, a very good front seven. We were able to give him some time. … EJ looked comfortable in the pocket, good completion percentage. I really thought he did a very good job. We’ve just got to keep working, but I was very happy.”‘

‘Newton, the No. 1 pick in the 2011 NFL draft, sat out the game as a precaution for the Carolina Panthers. He had surgery on his left ankle in the offseason and has been experiencing some soreness in it during the first two weeks of training camp. Newton was limited in practice Wednesday and did very little on Thursday.’

‘Gundlach might not have enough cash to take the lead in buying an NFL club, but sources told The News that he and Kelly met with the Bills’ trust in hopes of being matched as minority partners with a more formidable bidder.’

‘”I want to do everything we need to do to keep the Bills, but I don’t want to put the cart before the horse either,” Cuomo said. “If we need a new stadium to keep the Bills here long-term, that’s something that I’m interested in talking about.”‘

‘”Well, I thought they did a nice job, especially EJ,” Bills coach Doug Marrone said. “I think he was nine for 13 and really moved the team. It was up to the people around him to really get the ball in, as I talked about before. We’ve been creating opportunities and we’ve got to take advantage of it.”‘

‘Through a few weeks of training camp, Gilmore has had his ups and downs. Rookie receiver Sammy Watkins has beat him a few times in practice, and on Friday that carried over to the game.’

‘Searcy insisted to Marrone that he could travel with the team and play against the Panthers in the preseason game Friday. A former North Carolina Tar Heel, Searcy didn’t want to miss out on getting back to Carolina. Searcy’s dad stayed with Kiki to make sure everything was taken care of around the house so Searcy could focus his mind on football.’

‘The Bills won the game, but they had to overcome some deficiencies in the red zone and a few bad penalties to do it. Still, Bills coach Doug Marrone came away encouraged by the first-team offense and his quarterback.’

‘Cuomo did answer a question about the future of the Buffalo Bills, saying he is not prepared to commit to the idea of building a new stadium in Western New York. He noted that the state, county and team are just finishing work on a $170 million renovation project at Ralph Wilson Stadium, part of the new lease the team signed with the county last summer.’

‘Overall, Manuel looked comfortable. The offensive line provided him with solid protection and most importantly, he was able to spread the ball around to his many weapons.’

‘”Last week is last week. I made a couple of plays last week,” Cohen said. “This week we won as a team. I was able to get out there a little bit earlier and do some things so that’s cool.”‘

Kelvin Benjamin has big grab in Panthers’ loss to Bills (Charlotte Observer)

Panthers’ Kenjon Barner looks to earn roster spot (Charlotte Observer)

Benjamin, defense impress early (Charlotte Observer)

For Panthers fans, game was a glass half empty (Charlotte Observer)

Panthers stuff Bills on goal line early (Charlotte Observer)

Twitter reacts (Charlotte Observer)

Photo gallery 1 (Charlotte Observer)

Photo gallery 2 (Charlotte Observer)

Initial impression of Panthers is some good news and some bad news (Gaston Gazette)

Newton warms up before game but doesn’t play (Gaston Gazette)

Football means extra green for some local businesses (Gaston Gazette)

Dry run for Panthers in preseason opener vs. Bills (Spartanburg Herald Journal)

Spartanburg product Cohen battling for roster spot in Buffalo (Spartanburg Herald Journal)

Benjamin shines in Panthers preseason loss to Bills (Fox Sports Carolinas)

Benjamin shines in Carolina’s 20-18 loss to Bills (AP)

Photo gallery (AP)

Bills 20, Panthers 18 (Panthers.com)

Preseason opener not about final score (Panthers.com)

Photo gallery (Panthers.com)

Photo gallery (BuffaloBills.com)

Photo gallery (Rochester D&C)

Photo gallery (Syracuse Post-Standard)