Archives for August 2015

'Reading through the lines of Ryan's postgame press conference, it certainly seems Manuel will have a tough time winning the starting job. Ryan announced that Taylor will start Thursday against Cleveland and get most of the snaps with the first team. Ryan was non-committal when asked if Manuel would get a chance to show what he can do with the starters in the third preseason game. He wouldn't even commit to EJ receiving any snaps with the second team Thursday in Cleveland.'

'Taylor’s biggest upsides include a strong arm. Best of all, as he did Friday against Carolina, he threatens a defence at all four corners and everywhere in between, because of his speed, evasiveness and willingness to run. That opens up the interior run game.'

'“I don’t condone what he did, but he’s being portrayed as a thug,” Stan Eggen, who was one of Enemkpali’s coaches at Louisiana Tech, said in a telephone interview. “When you get the image of a thug, that’s not IK Enemkpali, I can tell you that. I would trust him taking care of my house.”'

'This is a cutthroat business, but Ryan should have stayed away from Enemkpali out of respect for the Jets by refusing to give a job to a player who’d just committed an unforgivable act of workplace violence and who will likely get suspended by Roger Goodell for violating the personal conduct policy.'

'“The first thing I thought of was the old [1970s-era] Raiders,” a NFC personnel executive told The Post on Friday when asked to describe Ryan’s version of the Bills. “Those teams had some guys who could just as easily have been in jail. They won, but you can’t get away with that stuff now. Not even close. Rex had better be careful.”'

'“They called to see how I’m doing and called to check on me,” Enemkpali said of his former Jets mates after the Bills’ 25-24 loss to the Panthers in the preseason opener for both teams at Ralph Wilson Stadium.'

'It quickly became clear that Smith was far from innocent for his role in the altercation. Coach Todd Bowles and cornerback Darrelle Revis said as much later Tuesday.'

'The Browns boast one of the NFL's best offensive lines. The Bills feature one of league's toughest defensive fronts. There's Browns' safety Donte Whitner and his history with his former team. There's Bills bad boy guard Ritchie Incognito. There's truculent Rex Ryan, who in January said, "we're going to build a bully" in Buffalo.'

'Except Ryan and the Bills might be taking that last statement a little too literally. The Bills are quickly becoming the new Oakland Raiders, adopting a renegade persona and taking chances on several players — and even a coach — with a history of emotional issues and character risks.'

'layer I saw and really liked. A.J. Tarpley, linebacker. There’s so much emphasis on the front seven in a Rex Ryan-coached team, specifically versatility. When Kiko Alonso was traded to the Eagles, Buffalo looked a little thin at linebacker. Tarpley — underrated out of Stanford — can play different linebacker positions, as well as special teams, and is a dark horse candidate to make the team.'

'Tyrod Taylor lived up to his billing as well, providing the wow factor. Taylor solidified his lead over EJ Manuel and has me eagerly anticipating the Bills second pre-season game when Taylor gets a chance to play with and against number one units.'

'“No one likes giving up passes. Especially a DB and a rookie as that, and my first preseason game, as that. I wish it went a lot better. But I’m going to come back next week.”'

'“Hopefully it’ll be clean … both teams are wanting to establish the physical part of the game. We’re looking to get some good solid work out of it.”'

'“[I’m] just happy to stick it in the end zone,” he said. “[I] didn’t know if I wanted to dive, didn’t know if I wanted to walk it in. Kind of a half-way dive and coach is definitely going to get on me about that one.”'

'“I thought the quarterbacks played excellent,” Bills running back LeSean McCoy said.'