Archives for March 25, 2015

'"We were just kind of like stunned there a little bit," Ryan said Tuesday at the NFL owners meetings. "We were like, 'Really? Like, wow. Let's just take it from there.' Obviously we were interested. . . . We knew it wasn't going to be cheap by any stretch and losing a player like Kiko Alonso is obviously a steep price. But we felt really good about it."'

'"We were sitting around making our plans for free agency, what our team looks like, what we want it to look like. All of a sudden, we get this call from Philadelphia. That was when the trade started, and within 30 minutes, it was done."'

'"We were all sitting there in an organizational meeting. We had all of our coordinators. (Running backs coach) Anthony Lynn was present. (General manager) Doug Whaley. (CEO) Russ Brandon. (Team owner) Terrance Pagula," Ryan said. "We are sitting around making our plans for free agency. What our team looks like, what we want it to look like. And all of the sudden we get a call from Philadelphia. That is when the trade started. And probably 30 minutes later it was done."'

'“The one thing I know about fans in general is they appreciate effort,” Ryan said. “The results aren’t what anybody wanted there. Obviously, you want to win a championship, and that’s all that matters. I think fans overall appreciate effort, and I know I certainly gave what I have.”'

'“He won’t get his hair cut and is keeping that belly,” Rex said, according to Fox Sports. “[He said] ‘I’m gonna be a head coach and do it my way.’ [And I said], ‘No you’re not.’ It’s unfortunate. I’m still trying to get that message across to him.”'

'"Shoot, I was slapped down with a little humble pie there," he said of going 18-30 in his last three seasons including 4-12 in 2014. "It was tough. Embarrassing. But the thing I'm proud of is that it wasn't a reflection of the guys. My guys played as hard as they could. That's something I'm extremely proud of and that's probably why I'm sitting here today. But the results were a little embarrassing."'

'"I figured something good would happen, but I really wasn't sure," he said of his disposition after being fired by the Jets. "I knew that I wasn't going to be a coordinator. I said 'You know what, I'm either going to be a head coach or I'll find some other place.' That might have seemed strange to some at the time, but not to me. I knew I could coach, I think I'm a decent head coach, but obviously the record [4-12 in 2014] was an abysmal record that year. I was hopeful I'd get another opportunity."'

'“Frustrating?” Ryan said. “No doubt. You could make an argument we should have won the last six, but we didn’t. One-point game, two-point game (also two three-point games, by the way). But to their credit, that’s the difference. That’s a world championship team that found ways to win those games. It’s a tribute to Belichick. It’s a tribute to Brady.’’'

'"I got the sense that they were a team on the rise."'

'Hotel and restaurant owner Russell Salvatore has spent tens of thousands of dollars in recent years to buy unsold Buffalo Bills tickets so the team's home games wouldn't be blacked out in the western New York TV market.'

'"There are no hidden agendas or anything else," Ryan said. "This is who we are, this is what we want. There isn't anybody in this organization that doesn't want anything other than building a championship team. That's what we're all about. Everything thing we do is based on that. Everybody is on board."'

'"The trade for LeSean happened really quick," Ryan said at the NFL owners meetings. "We were all sitting there. We were having organizational meetings. … And all of the sudden we get this call from Philadelphia and I think that was when the trade started. Probably 30 minutes later, the trade was done."'

'“Obviously we were interested,” he added. “We knew it wasn’t going to be cheap by any stretch, and losing a player like Kiko Alonso is obviously a steep price, but we felt really good about it.”'

'The 2016 cap hit is rather extreme for a player at his position, however, the Bills can lower the cap number significantly if they so choose. Since the large majority of the $13.5 million cap hit is tied to a $10 million roster bonus, Buffalo has the option to restructure the contract and convert the roster bonus into a signing bonus, which would then be prorated into the rest of the contract.'

'“It’s probably not an ideal situation right now,” Ryan admitted. “You’ve got four guys competing instead of just going in with a clear cut number one, but nobody has established themselves yet. We’ll probably try to speed up that competition.”'