Archives for August 19, 2015

'“The Bills defense I thought had the upper hand,” he said of his perspective from spending the whole practice watching Cleveland’s offense. “Some of our guys had different tempos. They have to understand the guy across from them is going at game-type speed, other than the live tackling part.'

'Invisible early, Clay has found his stride. Beyond this $38 million investment? Nothing is guaranteed. In “tight end heaven,” as MarQueis Gray put offensive coordinator Greg Roman’s offense, the tight end group has been erratic. Wildly inconsistent. Still a major unknown. Arguably no position group as a whole has more to prove into the home stretch of training camp.'

'But the optimism surrounding Taylor is mainly a referendum on Cassel, an uninspiring choice to lead any NFL team at this stage of his career. You know what he is? A poor man’s Ryan Fitzpatrick. Fitz, who was drafted in the same year (2005) and same round (seventh) as Cassel, has been a far more productive and mature quarterback over the latter stages of their careers – and he got run out of Buffalo.'

'“Not going to say it is a pull, we will find out what it is,” Ryan said. “The trainer said the hamstring is intact, it is not off the bone, so that is a real positive. But we are getting a MRI on it to see the extent of it. Hopefully, it is not a pull, just a strain.”'

'Coach Rex Ryan, who looked at a loss of words as he tried to wend his way through all the injuries, said McCoy will undergo an MRI exam, but the good news is that initially it looks like it might just be a strain, and that the muscle is not “off the bone.”'

'During an 11-on-11 session against Buffalo’s vaunted defense, he was classic “Johnny Football,’’ rolling left, coming back all the way right and firing a pass for a touchdown in the back of the end zone where only running back Timothy Flanders could catch it.'

'On a few occasions, the Bills weren't able to finish drills because of how many players were injured. The Bills had only two healthy running backs once McCoy went down and they were also short four wide receivers. The Bills had to cut a 7-on-7 drill short after McCoy got injured, and the practice also ended a bit early on the field the Bills' first-team offense was working on.'

'Here's a rundown of everyone that is hurt for the Bills and the latest on their status from Bills coach Rex Ryan.'

'The Bills were already without Fred Jackson (hamstring), Boobie Dixon (calf), Karlos Williams (hospitalized) and Bryce Brown (hamstring). The only two running backs left at practice after McCoy left were Bronson Hill and newly signed Ricky Seale. Wide receiver Marcus Thigpen was also rotating in with the running backs.'

'When asked about Tarpley, Ryan then offered a challenge. "He's a smart player, obviously, from Stanford, you get that. But he's got instincts, too, and he's got a chance and he's going have to step it up," Ryan said. "There's no doubt."'

'Williams was starting to work his way into the No. 2 running back role with injuries thinning the depth chart. Now he has joined those on the injury report. The Bills are left with LeSean McCoy, Bronson Hill and the newly signed Seale on the running back depth chart.'

'This is a football team with enough of the other pieces in place to make a serious playoff run. If, and it has been talked about ad nauseam, it can find a quarterback. The remaining two candidates are Cassel and EJ Manuel. Cassel is a low risk, low reward veteran of 11 professional seasons, five years removed from his best year. Manuel, just three seasons in, finds himself playing for his career, without too terribly much going for him at this point.'

'McCoy pulled up short and started limping during 7-on-7 drills about an hour into Tuesday night's practice. He walked to the sideline holding the back of his left leg, and then sat on the turf, where he was attended to by numerous trainers. He required help getting up, and then slowly made his way to the locker room.'

'"I think of it as a learning experience. I made a lot of mistakes, did a lot of good," Whitner said, reflecting on his time with Buffalo. "But that comes with maturity and growth. And I'm glad to be where I am now."'

'Groves is a seven-year journeyman who played for Tennessee last season. He has 32 starts in 100 career games and also played for Jacksonville, Oakland, Arizona and Cleveland. Seale is an undrafted rookie free agent out of Stanford.'