Archives for August 27, 2014

‘”It’ll be cool,” Austin said. “I’ll go talk to him. He was always a cool guy to me. It’s going to be different, though, because now instead of seeing all of his schemes and tricks and whatnot in practice, I get to see it in a game.”‘

”’Snap counts and the stuff we do, some of our tricks, what plays we like,” Cutler said. ”But they still have to defend it, so we won’t change much, if anything. Maybe a few tweaks here and there, but we’ll just have to go play football and see how it goes.”’

‘From Alex Van Pelt to Drew Bledsoe and now EJ Manuel, none of the eight quarterbacks who started at least eight games for Buffalo since 2000 has held the job beyond three seasons. And only one, Bledsoe in 2004, led the team to a winning record.’

‘Palmer was signed Tuesday, two days after being cut by Chicago, where he lost the backup competition to Jimmy Clausen. In five NFL seasons, Palmer has appeared in just four games and completed 10 of 15 passes for 59 yards and two interceptions.’

‘Alonso underwent surgery to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament, which he suffered earlier this offseason while working out in Oregon. The move was just a formality, as he is expected to miss the entire season.’

‘Gay was released on Aug. 24 by the Carolina Panthers.’

‘Lewis started five games for the Bills last season and had some decent moments, completing 59.2 percent of his passes for 1,092 yards and four touchdowns with three interceptions. But the Bills were unhappy with their quarterback play during the offseason and preseason, particularly in the 27-14 exhibition loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Saturday.’

‘Notice how many times I’ve used the words “could” or “potential.” That’s why. Because no matter how much improvement the Bills have shown off-season after off-season, they always find a way to be the same old Bills; on the outside of the playoff picture looking in. Also, the team’s future in western New York is a major question mark. Who knows where this team will be after the lease at the Ralph runs out?’

‘Whaley and Doug Marrone told Henderson he has one chance and one chance only to turn his life around and stay out of trouble. He has done just that and has taken advantage of his opportunity to show things are different, “I’m glad they took the chance and drafted me. Ever since I’ve been here I’ve just been working hard and getting better with the whole team, doing everything I have to do in order to play.”‘

‘First and foremost, if Alonso has a miraculous recovery, he would be eligible to return for a five week window starting after Week 6. Upon his first day of practice, the Bills would have three weeks to put him on the active roster. If he practices and they don’t activate him, the Bills would either have to release him or place him on Injured Reserve.’

‘”Playing quarterback in the NFL is difficult,” said Palmer. “I don’t think it’s unique, but I was in a similar situation last year. I got called in about eight days before the last (preseason) game and I started the last game. So I’ve been in similar situations, I feel very confident in it.”‘

‘Gay originally entered the league with the Carolina Panthers as an undrafted free agent in 2013. The 6-1, 205-pound Centre College product has also spent time with the New York Giants in addition to the Panthers. Gay, who is a native of Danville, KY, handled kickoff and punt team duties for the Panthers during the preseason.’

‘His play however, fell on hard times in minicamp and training camp this summer as he struggled with his accuracy and decision making. Lewis’ statistics in his preseason appearances reflected that as he completed just over 51 percent of his passes with two interceptions.’

‘The designation means he no longer counts toward the team’s roster total, and it’s expected he won’t suit up this season. Alonso tore his ACL during an offseason workout on July 1st and had successful surgery a couple of weeks later.’