Archives for April 30, 2016

'Friday night, Whaley said the value just didn’t add up for the Bills with any of the quarterbacks still available when it was Buffalo’s turn to pick in the second and third rounds. I completely agree with him on the second-round assessment, though I did think Michigan State’s Connor Cook would get chosen in that round by someone, and I thought the Bills might take the leap with the 49th overall pick.'

'Was the move too expensive? “Not for a caliber of player this high,” Whaley maintained. “For us, for what we need and what he brings to this team and the type of player (he is), a fourth rounder this year, when we have two, and a fourth rounder next year … we thought we made out on it.”'

'“We made a concerted effort last year for offense, we improved it,” General Manager Doug Whaley said. “This year, we made a concerted effort for defense, and we’re looking for improvement.”'

'"We'll have two guys that our defensive players that play football well," Whaley said. "You've got a guy in Ragland that's 258 and runs in the 4.6s. I think a lot of people think this guy is a true 'Mike,' but we feel he can play 'Will.' And with Preston at 'Mike,' I think we've got two physical linebackers that fit our defensive scheme (that we're trying to build in Buffalo. And that's tough, physical players."'

'General Manager Doug Whaley said Washington would compete for a starting spot. Whaley also said Washington had some pass-rush moves, "which is rare for an inside player," but also said he needs to work on his techniques.'

'But if there was any doubt about whose vision is driving the operation at One Bills Drive, it was put to rest in the second round of the NFL draft Friday night. Rex Ryan is the head man, the face of the franchise and a man whose defensive chops took a serious hit in his first season in Buffalo.'

'"He's a winner and he's a leader," Whaley said. "He's going to come in and bring something to this defense that we need and that's knowing how to win.'

'Per court documents, Washington answered an ad for an escort service in December that police posted on Backpage.com. Once he arrived, Washington told the officer he wanted a “short stay” at the hotel and was told that a short stay would cost him $60. Washington took cash out of his pocket, per the documents, and said he had $100.'

'Ragland was flagged for having an enlarged aorta, according to a report from the NFL Network. Whaley made it clear the Bills had no concerns about the condition. “We were taking him at 19,” he said. “No concern at all.”'

'Washington was arrested for soliciting an undercover police officer posing as a prostitute for oral sex. The charges were eventually dropped, but Washington was suspended from Ohio State’s bowl game against Notre Dame.'

'The connection was instant. Shaq Lawson was a freshman defensive end at Clemson, moving into his dormitory with one of his new teammates, Seth Ryan. Seth’s father, Rex, was coaching the New York Jets at the time. The elder Ryan made an unforgettable comment about Lawson graduating from Hargrave Military Academy in Chatham, Va.'

'We liked him. Like I said, we would have taken him at 19. So, when he was still there, we made a concerted effort to try to go up to get him and lucky for us, we found a trade partner with Chicago and I think, like I said, we got two of our guys. We would have taken both of them at 19.'

'He’s going to come in and compete to start, for sure. If you look at it, we got some holes and we got some guys that need to be pushed or asked to push other people, and that’s what we’re getting this collection of guys to do, and Adolphus is going to be one of those guys. Throw him in there and see who wins the job.'

'When I first met Rex Ryan was my freshman year at Clemson. Me and Seth were both moving into the freshman dorms and he was just talking about how he had two first-round picks that attended Hargrave and he said maybe that can be you one day and that was the first thing that he said to me when I first met Rex.'

' But this was a situation that called for the Bills to simply allow the draft to come to them rather than force something that, at least on the surface, figured to be less certain.'