Archives for February 2016

'“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.”'

'“I think that is something you weigh into your decision making,” Whaley told Buffalobills.com. “That’s where you ask, ‘Is this guy such an impact player that you don’t want to pass, or do you think you can get a guy that’s a little bit less of an impact player later on in the draft and address another area?’'

'Let me get this straight. A guy scheduled to make nearly $20 million this season, coming of a horrible statistical campaign, is willing to take a pay cut … if he can dictate the defense on 50 percent of the snaps. What a great message to the coaching staff and the rest of the team.'

'The Buffalo News learned, however, that someone with McCoy during the altercation that resulted in two off-duty police officers suffering injuries could be charged.'

'“I think it’s a good issue to have – we have good players and we can’t keep them all,” Whaley said. “Is that a bad thing? It’s bad because you can’t keep them all. But I have to give it to our scouting staff. We’ve made some very good choices in building this team.”'

'“You guys put pressure on us no matter what, whether we had $50 million (in cap space) or zero million,” Whaley told a gathering of Western New York media at the NFL Scouting Combine Thursday. “The pressure’s always out there. And it’s the pressure to win because we’re competitive. We want to win more than you guys want to win. We want to win more than the fans want to win because this is our livelihood and this is what we do for a living.'

'But if they take a quarterback in the middle rounds, Stanford's Kevin Hogan could make sense. Remember, Whaley has lamented the fact publicly that college quarterbacks today can't read defenses on a NFL-level. Spread offenses are proliferating at an unprecedented rate. Quarterbacks' knowledge was so limited that Whaley told the Wall Street Journal he was “a little nervous about the long-term future of this game.”'

'When asked if he'd want a quarterback with a similar skill-set as Taylor as his No. 2, Whaley said that “Greg Roman and his offense can be adaptable to any skill-set of a quarterback." Prescott would be the running threat that, at least athletically, fits this offense. The Bills relied heavily on the shotgun as the season progressed with Taylor setting a franchise record for rushing yards by a quarterback.'

'“Obviously, I just played fullback in college, but actually at the Senior Bowl, I was playing a lot of H-back, fullback and they even had me out at slot receiver,” he said. “I think I adjusted to it very well, so I think I can do more than just play fullback.”'

'As GM Doug Whaley said Thursday, if you believe you have a quarterback who “can take you to the promised land, absolutely you want to keep him.” Well, the team should wait on the long-term deal, cut Taylor loose more in 2016 and, if he shines? If he lifts Buffalo back to relevancy? Then, at that point, he’d be worth the blank check.'

'Of course, in order to do that, there are several moves that will have to be made: first and foremost, the release of defensive end Mario Williams, which would free up nearly $13 million in cap space. That move alone would create the money necessary to use the franchise tag on Glenn, if the Bills need to do that, which is currently projected at $13.7 million for one season.'

'"At that position, if you have a quarterback you think can take you to the promised land, absolutely you want to keep them. Again, you keep every option, and if there's a deal out there that makes sense for both of us, we'll go from there.'

'Despite Whaley's confidence, it's tough to deny that the Bills have one of the worst salary cap situations in the NFL. The NFLPA announced Thursday that the Bills will carry over a little more than $4 million in cap space heading into 2016, but they still will have to part ways with defensive end Mario Williams and his $19 million cap hit to make room for their two offensive linemen.'

'Hogan met with the Bills at the local train station, and he confirmed the Detroit Lions and Chicago Bears were among others that interviewed him. "I felt good with every meeting I had last night," Hogan said. "That was definitely one of them."'

'Coach Rex Ryan has already pegged Taylor to be Buffalo's starter next season.'