Archives for March 2015

'That Ryan and the Bills might have their eye on a big free-agent acquisition was evident earlier this week when they decided not to apply the franchise tag to productive pass rusher Jerry Hughes because doing so would tie up too much of their 2015 cap.'

'The trade also wouldn't have been initiated had the Vikings not been confident in Teddy Bridgewater, the first-round draft pick who took over as the starter in the third game of last season after Cassel broke his left foot. Cassel spent two years with the Vikings, taking over in 2013 after Christian Ponder struggled to keep the job.'

'"Knowing that we're making some moves to win this season and being honored for an accomplishment off the field, it's one of those things where I'll enjoy this week as long as I can."'

'Cassel started the Vikings' first three games this past season before breaking several bones in his left foot against the New Orleans Saints on Sept. 21. He was placed on injured reserve three days later.'

'Cassel appeared in 12 games over the past two seasons in Minnesota, completing 194 of 325 pass attempts for 2,232 yards, 14 touchdowns and 13 interceptions.'

'Don't get me wrong: Cassel isn't a savior for Buffalo. If he throws 450 times (like he did in 2010), 100 of those pass attempts are going to be screens and swings to Shady and another 200 should be bubbles and slants to Watkins.'

'Cassel and an "undisclosed draft choice" will come to the Bills, in exchange for "undisclosed draft choices" going back to the Vikings.'

'The main reason I like this deal for the Bills: Last season, they ranked 4th in the NFL in total defense (312.2 yards allowed per game) and 4th in scoring defense (18.1 points allowed per game) without Alonso, who was recovering from a torn ACL (he also sat out one season with the Oregon Ducks due to a knee issue)…It also is significant that Buffalo ranked 25th in rushing last season and 26th in yards per carry.'

'“I’ve been there since the second week after the season, the last nine weeks,” Kouandjio told host John Murphy. “I’m going to stay here until I have to report (to the Bills). We work six days a week, take Sundays off. A really strict diet. You’re surrounded by people who are like-minded in what they want to do in their lives. It’s a really positive environment. I like it.”'

'The Bills agreed to terms on a trade with the Vikings that will send two undisclosed draft choices to Minnesota in exchange for Matt Cassel.'

'"He's a Pennsylvania kid. He's never played football outside of Pennsylvania — high school, college, pro," the source told Anderson. "So of course he's not happy. Sounds like it's pretty final to me unless LeSean is refusing to go to Buffalo."''

'But the Bills’ defense ended up faring just fine without Alonso in 2014. The team finished fourth in the league in both yards and points allowed. Additionally, rookie Preston Brown and third-year veteran Nigel Bradham proved to be young, every-down linebackers with similar skill sets to Alonso.'

'You don’t carry the ball 300 times two years in a row if you’re not willing to go between the tackles and take a featured back’s physical pounding. Ryan and general manager Doug Whaley are banking on it. Otherwise, they wouldn’t invest $9.75 million in a back.'

'"(Ryan is) going to get Shady the ball any way that he possibly can," said Tomlinson. "He's going to utilize all of the assets that Shady McCoy brings to a team. That means running screen routes, possibly lining him out on the outside and create mismatches. They're going to try to get this guy the ball as much as possible. We all know that Rex Ryan leans on that run game; that's what he wants to do. He wants to control the pace of the game with the run game. This guy, LeSean McCoy has proven that he can do that. I think it's going to be a perfect marriage with LeSean McCoy and Rex Ryan."'

'"(You're) the face of the franchise, (you're) the quarterback, so you have to demand certain things; you have to demand everything," Spiller continued. "You have to let the receivers know where they should be if they want to get the ball. You have to the let the running back know, 'This is where the blitz is coming from, I need you to get over there and pick it up.' I think early on, he just really didn't understand how to step on guys' toes. Once Kyle took over, he (saw) how Kyle did it, and that kinda helped him."'