Archives for August 14, 2015

'"Not at all,' he said. " . . . IK's an excellent pass rusher off the edge, he does his thing in the special-teams area too, so he's an asset to a team. For real."'

'"You guys know," right guard Willie Colon told reporters, laughing. "You know what it is, man. Rex is Rex. So we weren't surprised that he went to Buffalo."'

'"I think it's like the ultimate troll move by Rex picking up the guy who broke his former quarterback's jaw," Woody told NJ Advance Media. "But obviously Rex was his coach last year. I tend to think Rex wouldn't bring someone in that he felt wouldn't be a good fit in his locker room. So it remains to be seen how everything works out but Rex does know the player. I'm pretty sure they probably talked, had some discussion about what happened and feels good about it."'

'With the Bills, Enemkpali has been reunited with head coach Rex Ryan, who had drafted him in the sixth round last year, when Ryan was the head coach of the Jets. Much of Ryan's former Jets staff, including defensive coordinator Dennis Thurman, is on the Bills' staff now, too.'

'"I want to apologize to the Jets organization, the fans, my teammates and the coaches. I apologize for what happened," Enemkpali said, speaking at a podium placed beneath a goalpost on one of the fields of the Bills' training camp facility in suburban Rochester.'

'A day after he was claimed by the Buffalo Bills, linebacker IK Enemkpali apologized for the incident that led to his dismissal from the New York Jets and said he plans to be a good teammate in Buffalo.'

'“And you know what, people are going to blame me for it, too. I get blamed for everything that goes on there,” Ryan said on the practice field Wednesday night. “Whatever. That part of my life is over. That’s all behind me. I’m just trying to focus on this football team. We’re going to do what is in the best interests of this team.”'

'Up until now, we’ve only been able to wonder how all the parts would fit together. How all those personalities, meshed with the many already on the roster, would be able to work together for the same goal. As of Friday night, the wondering stops and the watching begins. Albeit in extremely limited action for most, the Bills will take the field against the Carolina Panthers with the most talent they’ve had from top-to-bottom of their roster since the previous millennium.'

'It was never my intention to hurt anybody. I’m just very grateful for Rex Ryan and the Buffalo Bills organization for giving me an opportunity to further my career here in 2015. I’m very grateful and thankful and happy to be a Bill. I look forward to being a good teammate, accountable player, and accountable teammate to this organization. I'm just happy to be here and thankful. Thank you.'

'You'll probably hear a lot of this or that about depth and special teams. Just remember when you hear it that a starting rookie middle linebacker who played every snap on a good defense missed a whole season and in every measurable way the defense was better. (And, that talking about special teams as if it isn't almost completely random who's good from year to year is wasted brain matter.)'

'“Rex firmly believes in this guy,” General Manager Doug Whaley added. “I firmly believe in Rex and the Pegula’s firmly believe that if Rex says this is the type of guy on this team, we will support him.”'

'Rex Ryan said that he would look at the quarterbacks over the first two games, which could mean that the Bills will be tempted to narrow the competition down to two. It all starts against Carolina, and it will be a humongous evening for all three men. Cassel could go a long way to put a stronghold on the competition with a solid showing, while Taylor and Manuel could also get themselves back into it with a strong showing of their own.'

'How long Cassel plays is anyone’s guess at this point. The starting units on both sides of the ball are only expected to go a few series, but will the quarterback competition give Cassel the chance to play longer?'

'“I hate to say this because it’s going to sound like I’m tooting my own horn, but it’s the play of our top two picks,” Whaley said in a recent radio interview on Bills flagship WGR. “With the Leodis McKelvin injury Ronald Darby has stepped up and exceeded our expectations and John Miller has been rock solid. To go against the two Pro Bowlers every day in practice and hold his own has been very exciting to see.”'

'John Miller: The rookie right guard has done nothing to disappoint since being plugged into the starting role in the spring. He’s likely to play a bit longer than some of the other starters to get some additional game experience. How he fares against an interior defensive front with the likes of Kawann Short and Star Lotulelei will be interesting to see.'