Archives for August 25, 2014

‘But Marrone wasn’t about to put excessive blame on Manuel. “Overall we’ve got to do a better job around him,” he said, “and we have to work through this adversity.”‘

‘Given the opportunity to defend his backup quarterback play following the Bills’ loss to the Buccaneers on Saturday, Doug Marrone again said he is not satisfied. After what happened when EJ Manuel got hurt a year ago, having depth at quarterback is important. The Bills could add a quarterback from outside to provide an upgrade over Thad Lewis.’

‘This is a reason for both hope and regret for Buffalo fans. While it’s encouraging to see that half the playoff field turns over on an annual basis, it’s maddening to know the Bills have missed 14 years in a row.’

‘All the improvements at Arrowhead cost $375 million when they were completed back in 2010. In contrast, Erie County and the state settled for $130 million in renovations at the Ralph this year after the Bills proposed a more thorough overhaul similar to Arrowhead’s, which local officials rejected as too expensive.’

‘Tuel and Lewis are a combined 46 of 78 for 404 yards with 2 touchdowns and 4 interceptions in the four preseason games. That’s a 59.9 quarterback rating in a league where the average is typically around 80.’

‘The Bills have until Tuesday to cut the roster down to 75 players but made the decision to cut ties with Branch a few days early. Buffalo returns to practice Monday at noon.’

‘An eight-year NFL veteran, Branch signed a three-year contract extension after last season. But he reported to training camp out of shape and was banished to the second and third teams after failing conditioning tests.’

‘A Michigan product, the 29-year-old New Mexico native participated in all 16 games, starting 13, during his first season with Buffalo in 2013. However, Branch failed a conditioning test upon reporting for training camp this season.’

‘The Bills saw plenty of Tuel and Lewis last season as Manuel missed six-plus games with knee injuries, and neither was particularly impressive, which left many who follow and observe the team somewhat shocked that no move was made in the offseason to upgrade the most important position. They were clearly committed to Manuel as the starter, but to have thought that Tuel and Lewis — a pair of undrafted players — were reliable second- and third-stringers now looks like a poor decision.’

‘Police said Branch failed a field sobriety test and had a blood-alcohol content of .14, nearly twice the legal limit of .08. He was charged with driving while intoxicated and released. He is scheduled to appear in court next Friday.’

‘They’ll be on the hook for $775,000 against the cap, which is his prorated bonus. The remaining money owed in a cap hit would be a total of $1.55 million, which are the remaining two years of prorated bonuses. That can either be lumped all together in 2015 if the Bills choose to.’

‘The Buffalo Bills today announced the team has released DT Alan Branch.’

‘”That’s one of the guys I hang out a lot with,” said Smith on the comparison to Hughes. “I’m with Jerry and he’s helped me out with my game and if I see stuff out on the field because we kind of correlate and we kind of have similar games as far as playing and we help each other out. I do kind of see myself as a Jerry Hughes type of player.”‘