Archives for February 25, 2016

'"Obviously, he's a great physical talent," Ryan said at the NFL Scouting Combine. "And, hopefully, this is just a setback and it's not something that's going to affect his career."'

'So there you have it, your unofficial 2016 Bills slogan: “Fully pregnant.” Whatever that means. At Lucas Oil Stadium, Ryan defended his beleaguered defense and set a clear narrative for the offseason. This is his show. Buy in or leave. And how dare you question his defensive acumen. A year ago, the NFL’s fourth-ranked defense fell to 19th. A unit that harassed quarterbacks to the tune of 54 sacks and a 74.5 opposing passer rating had only 21 sacks and finished 8-8 against a soft schedule.'

'"You prepare for everything as far as players," Ryan said while addressing reporters at the NFL Scouting Combine. "We’ll be prepared to draft, or have a list, of running backs, offensive linemen, defensive linemen, whatever it is. That’s how we go into it."'

'"Not the communication you would normally think — player to player — but, no, it was more player to coach and coach to player," Ryan said. "I think that bodes so well for us moving forward and I'm excited about it. We put Manny Lawson in a spot he shouldn't be playing, inside linebacker. But, you know what, we let him do it because he ran the whole show. He was vocal. That really helped us. You have to be. You have to be that confident and run it. And he did. So those are the things we can take as a positive last year from our defense. Being together and going through the growing pains we did will benefit us moving forward."'

'“Yes, most definitely," said Williams, on if there's a way to make it work in Buffalo. "I love my team. I love my teammates. Everything has been fine. It’s just a matter of if there can be a better understanding of being able to do what we do… at least meet half way. That’s all, meet half way."'

'Speaking on separate conference calls Tuesday to preview the combine, two veteran NFL Draft analysts said the Bills should consider using the No. 19 pick on a quarterback if that indeed was the case.'

'“I tried to combine and that was a mistake,” he said of his attempt to meld his system with the one that Schwartz used in 2014, which clearly did not work. “I think we’ve got to be all in. It’s kind of like being half pregnant; forget that, we’re all in, we’re fully pregnant now.”'

'"We were terrible," Ryan said sarcastically. "And I can't coach defense anymore for some reason. We'll see what goes on. I forgot the question."'

'"Yes, most definitely," Williams said. "I love my team. I love my teammates. Everything has been fine. It's just a matter of if there can be a better understanding of being able to do what we do … at least meet half way. That's all, meet half way."'

'On Tuesday, NFL Network's Mike Mayock suggested the Bills should consider drafting a quarterback in the first round if one of the top three is available at No. 19. Tyrod Taylor is entering the final season of his contract, and Doug Whaley has spoken openly about the team's willingness to spend a draft pick on the position. That makes this week a bit more interesting.'

'“You’re right — the ability to play fast, I think, is a major part of success when you play defence. And I expect to play extremely fast next season.”'

'"Here's a guy that's been a coordinator for the last 12 years. Obviously has been on championship teams as a position coach but his experience and knowledge and his work this and his passion is hard to match in this league so it's been great. He's so excited he's like 'gosh, we should have done this a long time ago!'"'

'Two separate sources with knowledge of negotiations have told WGR the Bills are very close to finalizing a restructured contract for tight end Charles Clay, and also in the process of trying to restructure the current deals of defensive backs Leodis McKelvin and Corey Graham.'

'In an interview with ESPN’s Josina Anderson, posted entirely on her Facebook page, Williams said “Yes, most definitely,” when it came to being open to a return to the Bills, where he still has two years left on his contract. “I love my team. I love my teammates. Everything has been fine. It’s just a matter of if there can be a better understanding of being able to do what we do..at least meet half way. That’s all, meet half way."'

'The Bills head coach went on to say the team became committed to one defense the last two weeks of the season when they defeated the Dallas Cowboys and New York Jets at home. “The last two weeks of the season we said ‘forget it, we’re doing it,’ Ryan said. “Ironically we had five players out. So it was like ‘why not do it?”'