Archives for June 7, 2016

'"We feel great about our draft, but again this isn’t a devastating thing. I think if we see the big picture this is not a devastating injury at all. We just think it is what it is. He is not going to be available for how many games, we can’t even tell you that. But we know at some point he will be 100-percent healthy and combine it with the really good players we have, that is going to be good for us."'

'“When you come in, you have to be committed to what you’re doing," Williams said. "You have to dance with who brung you. It’s so volatile and so demanding that if you leave or you get asked to leave, you look back and if you didn’t do it your way, you can only point at yourself. So everything’s been good this spring.”'

'"It's interesting, (Sunday) night when we were at the (tournament) banquet, I looked at the one big banner on the right side of the stage and then I saw the five, the 10, the 15, the 20, the 25 and the big 30," Kelly said. "It's amazing that we've been able to sustain it and get the people that we get to come out here each and every year.'

'"Bruce goes, 'You got your number retired and you're not even the best Buffalo Bill ever,'" Kelly recalled of Smith making the point that the honor went to the wrong former Bills great first. "I said, 'I know, O.J.'s in jail.' I had to throw that at Bruce. … I thought Thurman should have gotten his number retired before Bruce."'

'"For some reason or another, I don’t think we’ll ever get to that," Smith said. "But obviously there’s some light that can be shed on the subject. But for reasons that may be too sensitive, for reasons that may be too damaging, we won’t ever get to that point. However, I do think they’re taking steps to move in the right direction in the protection of players and future players in the present time. But there are some guys who are suffering that we need to make sure are taken care of."'

'"Stadiums are important, just to making sure that the team can continue to compete, not only throughout the NFL but also compete in this environment. Because we’ve got great facilities here now and the Bills have to stay up with that.”'

'Perhaps the defining part of Incognito's comeback is what Bills tight end Charles Clay told Banks. Clay was on that 2013 Miami team. He knew Incognito and Martin. He felt the bullying saga was blown out of proportion, and he offered the consummate ringing endorsement of Incognito: "I tell the young guys on the team, 'If there's one guy to emulate, to look at, to see how it should be done? You look at that guy. He's the ultimate professional.'"'

'“You want all hands on deck when you start, anybody that we would lose, but especially a guy like that where that time is so important to develop (as a rookie),” said Williams. “But we’ll be on him, stay with him in meetings and make sure that when it’s time for him to go, that he’s up to speed and he’s ready to go because he’s going to be an important part of what we’re doing.”'

'“I think the world of Terry and Kim, they’ve made a big difference in the NFL already, they’ve been very active, and I know they feel strongly about this region, as I do,” Goodell said. “They’re looking to find the right solutions, they’ll do it patiently, but they’ll find the right long-term solution, ultimately.”'

'"The media looks at it [like" target="_blank">, 'Well, we have to win this year,'" Ryan said. "Or what? Oh, I am going to be fired? I don't think so. I'm not going to worry about it, because we are going to win anyway. But it's like, that is an ultimatum. No."'

'"You would probably have to ask my wife about that," Smith said. "I forget a lot of things sometimes. I'm not one to sit here and complain. While I did not know the severity of what continuous head traumas could do to an individual and the mind and so forth, I'm not going to sit here and complain. I'm very blessed to be standing here."'

'"Obviously, you always have great respect for what your (league) partners" want, "but we have to focus on what makes sense for us, what makes sense for our community, for our business partners," Brandon said at the NFL owners meetings.'

'“For the 30th year, we wanted to go big, and what better way to go big than a helicopter full of 500 golf balls and Rex Ryan?”'

'Lawson, however, won't be ready for start of the season after having surgery last month to repair a shoulder injury. He played through the injury during his four years at college, and then aggravated it during the Bills rookie camp last month.'

'"It felt great to finally get the deal done and be part of the Buffalo Bills," Lawson told the team's website. "I've been waiting for this opportunity. It's something I dreamt of as a kid — have a chance to play in the National Football League."'