Archives for March 18, 2016

'A total of 24 of the NFL’s 32 team owners must approve any proposal in order for it to pass. In some cases, proposals are modified before being approved.'

'Hackenberg was supposed to be the cream of the quarterback crop this year. After he stepped on campus as a baby-faced freshman in 2013 and lit up the Big 10, Hackenberg looked like the next big thing at quarterback. A coaching change and offensive line issues derailed what looked like a promising career, though. Hackenberg was either a shell of himself or just regressed to the norm in his final two seasons for the Nittany Lions.'

'The Bills have proposed a rule change that would allow coaches to challenge any official's decision outside of scoring plays and turnovers. Buffalo is not alone in wanting to expand replay. The Ravens have proposed that teams get three challenges instead of two. Washington wants personal fouls to be reviewable and wants to eliminate the rule that a team must win its first two challenges in order to get a third.'

'When Steward met Rex Ryan, the Bills coach told him the biggest reason the team drafted him was because of the kind of person Steward is. “Now every time I see him he cusses me out, gives me some crap,” Steward said. “He is probably crazier than what you hear about. But Rex Ryan had that connection with Clemson and gave me a shot, and I told myself, ‘I’m going to make the most of it.’ ”'

'“Boy, you know what? I think the one thing about Rex is he hasn’t learned his lesson,” Bills Hall of Fame running back Thurman Thomas told Damon Amendolara, who was filling in as host of CBS Sports Radio’s The Doug Gottlieb Show. “After coming in and saying, ‘Yeah, they were fourth in the league in defense last year and they wanted to be No. 1. We’re striving to be No. 1’ – he put a bullseye on his back. People got excited about that and it didn’t happen for, what, the 16th year in a row the Buffalo Bills haven’t made the playoffs? When you bring a coach in like Rex Ryan, (he’s got to realize), ‘You know what? I can’t be saying stuff like I did in the past. I’ve got to really go out and prove that I’m worthy of still being a head coach in the National Football League.’'

'Right now, the Bills 51st earner is LB Tony Steward at just under $556,000 (without knowing what Jim Dray’s deal is for). So, the next free agent or draft pick signed to a contract above that amount will only count for the amount of that deal minus $556,000 against the team’s overall cap.'