Archives for June 19, 2015

'“You have to get a couple new systems taught,” Ryan said. “You have to see what you have from a physical standpoint as best you can without putting the pads on, enthusiasm and all that type of stuff. And, obviously,” there’s “the physical conditioning of your players. I have been happy with all of it.”'

'Coach Rex Ryan said Thursday the performance of the 2014 second-round draft pick from Alabama during offseason drills “probably puts him ahead” of Seantrel Henderson at offensive tackle. Kouandjio has worked at right tackle, where Henderson started for all 16 games as a rookie last season, during the three-day mandatory minicamp that ended Thursday while Henderson worked as a backup.'

'None of the three quarterbacks in the running to be the starter, EJ Manuel, Matt Cassel, or Tyrod Taylor, looked impressive whenever they had to go against the Buffalo defense in 11-on-11 drills. And that's with no threat of them being sacked. For that matter, they often struggled throwing against air, which means, when there were no defenders to go against.'

'"I think he's making a lot of progress. That's the number one thing. Guy is coming in every day, showing up number one, showing up on time, working hard and showing improvement, and that's what he's done," Bills offensive coordinator Greg Roman said Wednesday.'

'"Yeah, I think he'll be signed," Ryan said Thursday. "We're just putting him through the individual drills. We weren't putting him out there for any team drills. Just so he gets his feet wet and picks up some terminology and things like that. Where he will have a better chance is when we get back out there in training camp. It is good for a veteran player just to get out. I think he has impressed some coaches with how athletic he is. And he looks like he is in great shape. It will be fun watching him compete."'

'In the battle between second-year offensive tackles, Cyrus Kouandjio is ahead of Seantrel Henderson, who missed practice Tuesday because of a travel issue. Kouandjio again took all of the first-team reps at offensive tackle, and Ryan said it's because of the offseason work he put in. Henderson was not made available to the media for the second-straight day.'

'"No, I wouldn't say that," Ryan said. "You guys posted every stat known to man in there, and I thought, 'That's enough. Big boys ain't in there today.' It's a little easier to function when that front four ain't in there, so we did that a little bit. When you combine talent with scheme, it's going to be pretty spectacular on the other side, I believe."'

'That competition can complicate things for an offense. When three quarterbacks are dividing the reps with the first team offense, it's tough for any of them to establish rhythm during practice, building chemistry becomes a challenge and even evaluating their play is difficult.'

'“You just have to practice it. I think it’s just making things muscle memory. Once you make it muscle memory, then you can just go out and do it, like in a two-minute drill. You have to think about what the defence is doing. You can’t think about your fundamentals. So once it becomes second nature, I think you start to play better.”'

'"I have a lot to give back to the game," Reed said. "I had a feeling I wanted to do something after I was done playing, even before that but my kids were too small and I think as they're older now I can devote more time to it if I want to."'

'"There's not going to be any separation until the pads come on," Ryan said of the three-man competition. "It's not going to be one until we get to playing real football. The No. 1 thing is to pick the right guy. Is time on our side a little bit? Yes, it is. In an ideal world would you already have your quarterback named by now? Yeah, that's an ideal situation, but you know what, we're not there, we're in an ideal situation to have competition at that spot and I welcome it."'

'Noel was an undrafted free agent the Bills signed out of Wake Forest.'

'Today in 2-minute offense, the former first-round pick made two impressive deeper throws that were complete. One was almost a carbon-copy of the one he threw yesterday to Gray. This time it was to Marcus Easley, and it went for a TD. That touchdown was the finishing touch to a 65-yard drive.'

'It couldn't have gotten any worse for the Bills on offense on Wednesday, but on the same hand, they couldn't have asked for a step forward any better than the one they got from EJ Manuel on Thursday.'

'Mulligan, 30, like a good number of the free agents signed by Buffalo this offseason has a history with Bills head coach Rex Ryan. The tight end began his career with the New York Jets under Ryan in 2009 and played three seasons in New York.'