Archives for March 2016

'Here's a quick look at who the Bills have on the roster behind the starters, in no particular order. Whaley certainly could draft someone, but this year's crop isn't as talented as the last two. It might be difficult to find someone who can step in and play immediately, especially with the needs on defense.'

'"I was not for that renovation," an unnamed league official told The Buffalo News this week. "In other words, we thought we should have gone right to the question of what should be the big renovation or a new facility. Because if you're going to build one, you're going to try to break ground within five or 10 years from now. If you're going to do that, then you sort of didn't need to spend that $130 million. You should have saved that for the new facility."'

'Hankerson tweeted out #BillsMafia on Thursday night, and Rapoport reported the news of his new deal shortly after that. The former Falcons and Patriots wide receiver spent some time in Buffalo late last season after New England cut him. He caught 26 passes for three touchdowns in Atlanta last season and didn't record any catches in Buffalo.'

'"They're multibillionaires, folks. They don't care about the people of this community. They don't care about the Buffalo Bills. All you have to do is ask the people in St. Louis. Do they care about the St. Louis Rams? No. St. Louis bent over backwards to try to keep their team and then they lost them. They're now going back to Los Angeles."'

'"I go back to what I said a couple of years ago," Poloncarz told WGRZ-TV in Buffalo. "If the NFL is gonna talk about the viability of the team in Buffalo, then show me the books. We know the team is viable in Buffalo. We know it's successful here. But what this is is not a question of the viability of the team in Buffalo. What this is is a question of the other owners who truthfully are trying to reap as much dollars as they can. They're multibillionaires, folks. They don't care about the people of this community. They don't care about the Buffalo Bills. All you have to do is ask the people in St. Louis. Do they care about the St. Louis Rams? No. St. Louis bent over backwards to try to keep their team and then they lost them. They're now going back to Los Angeles."'

'“I’ve been holding back my emotions,” he said. “But this year, there’s no more sitting back, not saying anything. I’m going to say what I have to say. And if I’m right or wrong, we’re going to work it out.'

'“They have to prove to me that the Bills can’t be viable in Ralph Wilson Stadium,” Poloncarz said at the time. “If we’re going to have to build a new stadium, I want to see something that really proves we need a new stadium.”'

'“I always want feedback,” Ryan said earlier this week at the NFL owners’ meetings. “I don’t think until late in the year that they realized that I meant it. That I wasn’t just going to scold somebody because they, you know, struggled with something. I wanted to know things.”'

'Butler, who had 10 tackles for loss and three sacks in 2015, was an All-Conference USA selection last season. The Bills are allowed 30 pre-draft visits, and Butler is one of the prospects planning to make his way up to One Bills Drive.'

'Here’s what analysts around the inter-webs are saying about the Bills upcoming draft in the first-round…'.

'According to NFL.com, wide receiver Leonard Hankerson and offensive tackle Jordan Mills have signed on the dotted line, keeping them with the Bills for the 2016 season.'

'“John’s great expertise I think is his pass rush, maybe a different way of looking at some things,” Ryan says. “The way he attacks people. Jerry Hughes has used John in the summer, he has gone and worked out with John all the time. He is an expert there no question about it.”'

'“We’ve had points of emphasis in the past; they needed teeth,” NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said as this week’s league meeting at the Boca Resort and Club concluded. “Sportsmanship is important to us. The message from the membership, our clubs and the coaches is they’re going to be held to those high standards.”'

'The NFL also has chosen the Rams as the first team to play a regular-season game in China in 2018.'

'A source with intimate knowledge of the NFL’s stadium situations described Ralph Wilson Stadium as one of the “three worst stadiums in the league,” along with those in Oakland and San Diego. It will look only worse when compared to state-of-the-art palaces such as AT&T Stadium in Dallas, MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., and the new stadium in Los Angeles that will be the home of the former St. Louis Rams in 2019.'