Archives for June 11, 2015

'“But when we started the OTAs, he came back and I said, ‘Woof! The guy’s impressive,’” Ryan said Wednesday, after the Bills’ next-to-last scheduled OTA session. “Now, it shouldn’t surprise me. I think his test score coming out” of North Carolina State before the San Francisco 49ers made him a first-round draft pick in 2006 “was the second-highest that I can remember for a defensive player next to Eric Smith, who’s one of our coaches now,” working as a special teams assistant. “He’s really a sharp guy.'

'“I don’t think we’ll see anything during minicamp that will say, ‘hey, this guy is our starter.’ That’s not going to happen,” Ryan said. “We’re going to keep that competition going and at least give guys opportunities when it’s time for football. But as far as being here, I feel good. I feel great about this team. I think there is going to be some competition at that position, and I think we have confident players at that position. But for us to say this guy’s the starter, that’s not going to happen.”'

'"It's safe to say we won't have LeBron at quarterback,'' Ryan said. "We may have a LeBron at defensive tackle and at defensive end, but we won't have him at quarterback.''

'"I think it's better," Robey said. "Last year, I was more just in coverage basically. Softer coverage, too. I didn't get to do everything I wanted to do as far as being aggressive and being able to play like I really like to play. This year, Rex allows me to do that."'

'Ryan insists he's not worried about the quarterback position, and the fact that he's willing to joke about it supports his words. Right now, it's the most glaring issue facing his team, and it's an issue he's familiar with from his time in New York. The only thing the Bills know at this point is that it's a long way from being settled.'

'Harvin missed practice last week but was expected to be back in town this week, according to wide receivers coach Sanjay Lal.'

'"I don't think we're gonna see anything in the new few days, through the mandatory camp, that will say, 'Hey, this guy is clearly our starter and all that,'" Ryan said. "That's not going to happen. We're gonna keep that competition going and at least give guys opportunities when it's tackle football."'

'What Kelly won't say, because he's smart enough not to create the kind of animosity McCoy did when he implied his ex-coach is a racist, is that he could no longer trust McCoy. Not just to hit the holes quickly, but to run with the same abandon he did in 2013 when he was out to prove he was the best running back in the world. (Remember all that back and forth with Adrian Peterson?)'

'Whaley said the team's medical staff has been monitoring Williams' progress, but provided no expectation of when he could begin practicing.'

'"Powell is the one that jumps out to me on defense," Ryan said Wednesday. "He's had four interceptions through these camps, and you can ignore it if you want, but he makes plays. He's smart, I know the history, former quarterback, bounced around, outside linebacker, defensive end, but he seems to have found a home at inside linebacker and I've been really happy with him."'

'There continues to be a very good battle going on for the backup tight end spots behind Charles Clay. There are five TEs on the roster and, after Clay, each of the other four are getting reps and trying to impress. Nick O’Leary, Clay Burton, MarQueis Gray, and Chris Gragg all saw action with the first and second team units on a rotational basis. Rex Ryan agreed with my assessment of the situation after practice saying, “You’re right. It is a good battle. They’re each a little different in the physical attributes that they bring, but all of them have a shot (to make the roster).”'

'Of the other quarterbacks, EJ Manuel had the best day of the bunch, while Matt Simms was getting worked in a bit more after having one week on the job. As for the most interesting man at One Bills Drive, Tyrod Taylor, Wednesday was merely a ‘meh’ day for him.'

'With the third week of OTA practices coming to a close this week there is still no sign of a clear front runner in the quarterback competition. Each of the signal callers have had their moments and their struggles, but no one has separated themselves from the other two when it’s come to overall performance.'

''Williams, who set a career high in sacks last season with 14.5, has been on the list before, but he now joins fellow defensive linemen Kyle Williams (#72), Jerry Hughes (#63) and Marcell Dareus (#53) who also made appearances on the list this year.'