Archives for February 27, 2016

'As the years have flown past and the NFL game has evolved, however, that affection has waned. More and more teams are raising questions about the true benefit of such events, wondering whether they need to be revised or simply eliminated.'

'“I would like to be the best player to have ever played the game,” Lawson said. “Hopefully be a Hall of Famer one day when I leave the league. Just be the best I can be. That’s all I can ask for.”'

'"He does releases on DB’s and just pulls away immediately," Peake said. "Different ways to use your speed and how to control it, that’s what I learned from him.”'

'“So when I think of a franchise quarterback, not only do I think of the physical ability, but I think of being a winner, winning ballgames, taking command, being a leader,” Wentz said. “All those things come to mind.”'

'“There’s two types of teams in the NFL; teams that have franchise quarterbacks and teams that are looking for franchise quarterbacks, and then there’s a subset of teams that think maybe they might have a guy who could be a franchise type of guy but needs more time to percolate and I think that’s where the Bills are with Tyrod Taylor,” said Mike Florio, founder of profootballtalk.com.'

'EJ Manuel in 2013, Levi Brown in 2010, Trent Edwards in 2007, J.P. Losman in 2004. Those are the only four quarterbacks the Bills have drafted since Kelly was carted off the field on that December afternoon in 1996 when the Bills lost to the Jacksonville Jaguars in an AFC wild-card game.'

'“I think the thing you know about Doug Whaley, and he showed it last year, is that, draft the best player for our football team,” coach Rex Ryan said. “Don’t force a need. If you go chase a guy and elevate a guy over other good football players, you have a tendency to make mistakes. If you end up taking the best player, that generally works out well for you.”'

'"He seems like he's a great coach like Coach (Dabo) Swinney," Lawson said. "I've seen him a couple times at Clemson just laughing and kicking it with Coach Swinney. It would be great to play for a guy like Rex Ryan and Rob Ryan."'

'Do any of these contract tinkerings by General Manager Doug Whaley have any effect on what the experts are saying about the Bills 2016 Draft and the No.19 pick? Let’s find out.'

'For example, here are the brothers Ryan arriving at the NFL Scouting Combine wearing throwback Bills jerseys, while carrying what appear to be giant iced coffee drinks loaded with whipped cream…'.

'"We know we have to get better on defense and I truly believe we will," said Ryan, who acknowledged that in the last couple weeks of the season he reverted solely to his defensive calls and the Bills responded favorably in wins over the Cowboys and Jets. "The thing I'm super encouraged about is the communication. It wasn't just player to player, it was player to coach, and coach to player. I felt like we finally figured it out and that's what I'm excited about, taking off from that point."'

'Nkemdiche told reporters Friday he was drunk at the time of the incident and that the drugs didn’t belong to him. “There was more people in my room,” he explained. “The hotel was under my name, and nobody wanted to take the fall. So, it had to go under my name. So it happened to play out like that.”'

'“Absolutely,” Whaley told me when I asked if signing Gilmore to a long-term deal this offseason now becomes a priority. “And that’s why (Jim Overdorf) and his staff will be meeting with his representatives. Not only will they be meeting with the unrestricted and restricted (free agents), but other guys on the team that we might want to extend.”'

'Every single year, there’s at least one of these press conferences that leaves you a bit baffled, and 2016 was no different. Ole Miss defensive end Robert Nkemdiche, who many mock drafters have linked to the Bills over the course of the past month, spoke with the media for one of the first times since being charged with possession of marijuana, broke a window at an Atlanta hotel, and fell out of it in December.'

'“You could look at it that way, but there’s always pressure when there are draft picks,” GM Doug Whaley told Buffalobills.com. “But yes, for us to get some depth and backup quality we’re really going to have to do well in the fourth through sixth rounds. With what we’ve done the last couple of years I’ve got complete faith in our scouting staff with Kelvin Fisher and Jim Monos and all our scouts. We’ll be up for the challenge.”'