Archives for March 15, 2016

'But the combination of Ryan and his twin brother, Rob, the Bills’ assistant head coach/defense, could very well drive the selection of one of the several tackles who look to have the versatility to play inside and outside. Both Ryans place a high premium on that quality.'

'After inking a $108 million contract extension before the season, Dareus too often looked miscast in Ryan's defense. He finished with 51 tackles and only two sacks after totaling 17.5 sacks the last two seasons combined. In Ryan's 3-4, Dareus took on more double-teams than before and, yes, was asked to drop into coverage. Ryan is still revered as one of the game's brightest defensive minds, and is quick to point to the past himself. Somehow, some way, he needs to get this right.'

'Blake, 55, is a coaching veteran of more than 20 years, with experience in both the NFL and major college football, including a three-year run as the head coach at Oklahoma, where he also played. The Sooners went 36-11 during Blake's four seasons as a player, finishing two seasons No. 3 in the national rankings.'

''Taylor is entering the final year of his deal with the Bills, and if he can put forth a performance similar to, or better than, his 2015 season when he topped 3,000 yards passing and threw 20 touchdowns compared to just six interceptions, Taylor is going to be a very rich man.'

'Ryan made the decision to fire defensive line coach Karl Dunbar over the weekend after Dunbar spent the last four seasons on Ryan's staffs in New York and Buffalo. As it turns out, Dunbar was as caught off guard by the decision as everyone else.'

'Blake hasn't coached in the NFL since 1995 when he was the defensive line coach of the Dallas Cowboys. He's spent the majority of his 18 seasons in coaching at the college level. In the late 1990s, Blake went 12-22 in three seasons as Oklahoma's head coach. He's been coaching since 1987 but hasn't coach a game since 2010.'

'Blake was the subject of an NCAA investigation into his financial relationship with then-NFL agent Gary Wichard that resulted in Blake resigning from North Carolina in Sept. 2010. Blake, whom NCAA investigators found was compensated by Wichard for access he provided to student-athletes, was given a three-year show cause penalty in March 2012 and remained out of coaching until being hired by Lamar.'

'The Bills received two compensatory selections for their net loss of unrestricted free agents last off-season. One in the fourth round (pick 139 overall) and another in the sixth round (218). They have eight picks total, including number-19 overall.'

'“My confidence has never wavered throughout my NFL career,” Salas told Buffalobills.com. “Every time I’ve gotten a chance or opportunity I’ve always made the most of it. So that’s what I look to continue to do. That’s my mindset every year, when you get an opportunity to make plays you do it and you come through and work extremely hard and everything will work out.”'

'“I’m just excited to come back and see our growth from year one to year two,” said Incognito in a recent interview on Bills flagship station WGR Sportsradio 550. “Give these coaches time to sit back and assess what we did well and what we didn’t do well. Now we come back as a group and we’re all together for another year and we can all grow together and take that next step and get to the playoffs.”'