Archives for January 2016

'It’s nice that Poloncarz is willing to stand up to the NFL monolith, and push for whatever option takes the smallest bite out of taxpayers’ wallets. But the goalposts keep moving, and our circa-1970s stadium is an anachronism in the 21st-century NFL.'

'Former Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum admitted he, too, was caught off guard by the news. “I’m surprised but not shocked,” Tannenbaum, now the Dolphins’ executive vice president of football operations, said in a phone interview Friday. “She really was always interested in things, was always around, a lot of energy, a lot of questions.”'

'First, he has given my daughter and your daughter and the 45 percent of NFL fans who are women — according to a 2013 NFL commissioned report — something new to aspire to. And second, by hiring the first full-time female assistant NFL coach, he has helped focus public attention on the massive gender-hiring gap in professional sports.'

'"To me, the best part of this is that Kathryn has a chance to just learn so much and ask questions and pick up so many things," Carberg said.'

'Noah Spence is one of the most interesting stories in the draft this year, because it’s a bit mysterious as to how high he’ll be picked in the draft due to the off-the-field concerns.'

'That is to say, if you’re raising ticket prices, even for unfailingly loyal and hopeful Bills fans, wait until their optimism has been buoyed a bit by free agency and speculation about the draft.'

'“He talked with us for a few minutes. He was asking my boys if they were big Bills fans,” Caswell says. “He also asked them if they’re good and listen to their parents. My little guy said 'Well … sometimes.' Jim thought that was pretty funny. He talked to me, too, and noticed my Tyrod jersey.”'

'Other than that, there was mostly what the record reflected: mediocrity.'

'“This will allow Dennis freedom to go, if he wants to spend more time with the secondary, with whatever, that’s fine,” Ryan said. “But Tim McDonald’s our secondary coach, and I feel great about that.”'

'“This is my football team,” Ryan said. “That’s how I’m approaching it. It’s not that I’m just a defensive guy. No, this is my team. It’s offensive players … every offensive player, every special-team player, every offensive coach, special-team coach, this is it. This is all about who I am. I think (hiring Rob) will help me to really tie in more to this football team.'

'“And Kathryn goes, ‘Well, Rex, we can get that up (from a video archive). We’ll call it up on their sacks,’” Ryan recalled Friday. “I said, ‘No, it wasn’t a sack.’ So I left it at that. I go out to practice, I come back in off the practice field and she has this thing already drawn up and put it on my TV screen. And she goes, ‘I believe this is the play you were referring to.’'

'“My job is easy; we want this guy or that guy,” Whaley said. “But Jim Overdorf has the dubious task of fitting them into the salary cap and dealing with the agents. Right now it’s pretty restrictive. I believe we’re over the cap and JO will be working hard, working his magic.”'

'"You know what? I'm a competitor," Ryan said Friday. "Above everything else, I'm a competitor. And I believe in myself, but I believe in this team. I believe in the coaches I've got and I believe in the players I have. … (Being) linked with something that underachieved, that bothers me. And so I'm ready to go. I can tell you that much. I don't know what the results will be, but I know what the effort's going to be. I can't wait to play. I don't even know who's going to be on the team, but I can't wait. I can't wait until it's all said and done and we're ready to roll. Hey, we're coming out here on Sunday. I can't wait for that. Maybe it's the competitor in me and whatever, but I know one thing: I believe in myself and I believe in the people that are with me."'

'"Well, there's an old saying that one bullet gets both of you," Rex explained Friday. "In that business, that's what happens. You set your own path. That was something, as much as we're proud of being the son of Buddy Ryan and things, for us to make it, I wouldn't be standing in front of you today if all I did was follow my dad. And the same thing with my brother."'

'"She's picked up things along the way," Ryan said. "This is just another opportunity for her to move forward. Is it and entry level position in the coaching field? It is. A lot of people break in as quality control coaches, but don't think it's not an important position, because it really is. It's a very important position. But I feel great about it. I truly believe she's going to do a tremendous job this way. She does not have field experience per say, I get that, but I know she's going to excel in the other areas of being a quality control coach, and I think she's going to be successful on the field as well."'