Archives for August 21, 2015

'One person said the sides haven't exchanged offers in a few weeks, raising concerns that a deal won't be completed before the start of the season in three weeks. The season opener is not considered a hard deadline.'

'Burton signed with the Bills as an undrafted free agent from the University of Florida.'

'Buffalo then lost wide receiver Chris Hogan late in the first quarter. He was carted to the locker room after suffering an ankle injury. Hogan, who was hunched over on the cart with a towel over his head, was ruled out for the remainder of the game.'

'Dareus believes the Bills aren't properly valuing him in contract talks. A fifth-year lineman entering the final year of his deal, he is a two-time Pro Bowler and was the third-overall draft selection in 2011.'

'That's enough for the Bills with this defense, but can Cassel (or Taylor) get there consistently? It could be the difference between a playoff team and an also-ran with a really good roster.'

'Buffalo, already without LeSean McCoy, Sammy Watkins and Robert Woods, among others, suffered back-to-back injuries in the first quarter. Goodwin and Chris Hogan both went down with ankle injuries on consecutive plays. Goodwin returned to the game, but Hogan was carted off the field with a towel draped over his head.'

'Taylor’s pocket presence was close to perfect except for the one sack. His throws were dead on and he went 3-for-3 on his first three third downs. He only went 1-for-4 after that, but I think this outing was so much better than last week. The points weren’t there, but a quarterback was out there.'

'Ryan admitted he and his coaching staff may very well know who the starter will be for the game, but that he has no reason to announce it publicly. He even went so far as to include all three QBs – Taylor, Manuel, and Matt Cassel – in the “keep them guessing” discussion.'

'Not satisfied with a tie, the Bills went for two and Manuel connected with Bronson Hill to convert the two point try.'

'Manuel has been buried in the quarterback competition, not receiving the same type of opportunities as both Taylor and Cassel. Like Taylor, he couldn’t win the job with his performance tonight, but he had a lot to lose. To his credit, he stepped up when he needed to. The big test will be how the Bills react with rep counts, and more importantly, who he’s taking them with.'

'Dareus, entering the final year of his contract, is making $8.060 million for 2015. That, combined with the $90 million offer, makes it a per year average of just over $14 million.'

'Just a few days ago, Ricky Seale was an occupational therapist for autistic children in San Diego, but on Thursday night, he took the field for the Buffalo Bills.'

'EJ Manuel played the second half at quarterback and was under duress for most of the night, but with a drive start at their own 14-yard line and 7:24 to play, Manuel marched the offense 86 yards and on a 4th-and-goal at the 14 hit Andre Davis for a 14-yard touchdown pass. Then Manuel made good on a two-point conversion with a quick strike to Bronson Hill, who came out of the backfield to make the catch. The conversion put the Bills up 11-10 with 1:31 left to play.'

'“It’s a blessing,” Darby said. “I’ve just got to keep carrying myself and keep competing”'

'“Again I’m not going to make that decision until we play Indy,” said Ryan in reference to the opponent for the regular season opener. “Competitive reasons or whatever, go for it. We don’t need to tell them. Until the league makes us tell them we can just go right up in there and not say anything. We may know, but why would we say any different? The quarterbacks we’re talking about they’re all different so plan for all three of them. I think that’s smart on our part.”'