Archives for June 2015

'The top three places qualified for the World Championships next month in Beijing, China.'

'The only two games the Bills play in primetime also have Sabres games scheduled for those nights.'

'“I fell in love with Sanjay (Lal) as a coach,” said Harvin of his eight games with the Jets last season. “His ability to get me to process things so quickly… going into the second or third game, I felt like I had been playing outside for years. Working with him and him being able to get it through to me, the things I needed to work on, whether it was V-cuts or speed cuts or coming out of breaks—we just hit it off. His verbiage was just what I needed. That was all a part of my big decision to come here.”'

'"I am still in contact with some of my teachers, even as early as my fourth grade teacher," Jackson said. "Without them, I wouldn't be where I am today. I want you guys to make sure that every chance you get, thank your teachers and let them know what they mean to you."'

'“Woahhh, now. Wait. That’s the challenge,” the Buffalo Bills defensive backs coach told me, sweat still dripping off his gray curly hair after a mandatory minicamp practice last week. “Today’s athlete, there’s two things I talk about with them. That music they listen to, and the money they make. It really forms who they are. They have a different work ethic. They love what they do, but they show it in a different way. Ya know, their passion today is not like some of the guys of old passion.”'

'It looks like Darby may be even ahead of schedule from where the team thought he’d be at this point. With Stephon Gilmore and Leodis McKelvin not able to fully practice the past few weeks, Darby has seen plenty of reps and hasn't looked out of place much, if at all. There are coaches on staff who would like to be a little more patient with Darby’s development. But in a passing league and injuries always impacting lineups, the Bills won’t have that luxury. And if Darby continues to play in training camp the way he did in minicamps, he may force the coaches to play him, anyway.'

'This is NOT a projection of what the depth chart will look like in week one. And it's not necessarily what I would do at each position. It's an educated guess of how coaches will set it up heading into next month’s training camp based upon watching offseason workouts, talking with coaches and front office personnel, and gathering information.'

''With offseason workouts having ended throughout the NFL, it’s a good time to take a look at where things stand with the rest of the AFC East.'

'Nickell Robey quietly had a productive spring and seems energized by the scheme change on defense. By nature, Robey is an aggressive defender who is at his best when taking chances in coverage and blitzing from the slot. Rex Ryan's defense will allow him to do that, and he created some issues for the offense during minicamp with his blitzing. If this keeps up, 2015 could be a big year for the third-year cornerback.'

'Johnson was an undrafted free agent out of West Texas A&M who spent most of the 2014 season on the Bills practice squad.'

'“I definitely feel like I can still go out and compete,” Jackson told The Howard Simon Show on WGR Tuesday morning. “Especially being out in OTAs and minicamps and still feeling like I have enough juice to go out there and compete with the young guys that are coming in. But it’s something at 34 I do have to be aware of, that you can’t do this forever. But that’s definitely not something that’s on my plate this year or hopefully the next year. It’s on me to go out there and show that I still have some gas in the tank.”'

'The moves put the team at 89 players, one shy of the 90-man limit. Head coach Rex Ryan indicated last week the team was preparing to sign former Jets offensive tackle Wayne Hunter, although nothing from the team has been announced.'

'The Buffalo Bills today announced that the team has released DE Bryan Johnson.'

'“If someone were to say to me they were going to name a park and street after me in high school, I probably would have said, ‘Yeah, right,'” Reed said with a laugh. “I would have been like, ‘What do I have to do to have that happen?' You have to do something extraordinary or significant for someone to do that to you. It’s a heck of an honor.”'

'“We’re working with three, four quarterbacks,” running back Fred Jackson said last week. “So it’s a juggling game who we’re going to be playing with, but also we’ve got to know what we’re doing when we get out there.” All the more reason for coach Rex Ryan to make his decision as soon as possible in training camp.'