Archives for January 28, 2017

'"When you vet a person, you ask yourself, 'What is his pedigree? Where has he worked? What is his level of experience? What is his level of success? For whom has he worked? What are the influences on his career? Is he organized? Does he have the right approach? What's his teaching philosophy?'" said Polian, who was at the Senior Bowl practices this week for ESPN and SiriusXM NFL Radio.'

'The Bills have three picks inside the top 76 of the draft, in the first round (No. 10), second round (No. 43) and third round (No. 76). They do not have a fourth-round selection, as that pick was traded to Chicago last year in the move up for linebacker Reggie Ragland. Buffalo has two fifth-round draft picks, its own and one acquired from Dallas as part of the 2015 trade of quarterback Matt Cassel, one in the sixth round and does not have a pick in the seventh round, as that went to Dallas as part of the Cassel deal.'

'"He's tough, he's honest and he's fair. I think he's the right guy for the job. The guys in Buffalo, we need somebody we can believe in and we can trust. And not to say anything bad about Rex because I love Rex. I was actually behind Rex's staying. I think it's more the players, we need to step up more. But I think that Sean is a guy who will get it done."'

'"You know, I really haven't thought about it right now. Just been down here and the first few weeks of the offseason I've just tried to reconnect with my family and everything like that," he said. "But I always take a month or so off then I'll get back to preparing like I'm going to be back in Buffalo and I'm going to play.'

'Does that mean Overdorf is absolved from bad personnel decisions? No, it's his job to say that a player isn't worth the money, or the roster is top-heavy, or a big contract could hurt them with dead money later. The team should have protected itself with a behavior clause in Marcell Dareus's $100 million contract. And the Taylor deal wasn't as team-friendly as it seemed at the time.'

'But with a desire to learn as much as she can about Bjorn so she can pass that insight along to her frazzled children, Mary Lois – prepared only with a few old house numbers culled from her child-support case and a search of public records – invited a Buffalo News reporter to drive across the Southwest last week in hopes of finding Bjorn.'

'“It was normal for kickers to get together to shoot the breeze and talk about the trade,” Andersen said. “I don’t recall it 100 percent, but I remember I enjoyed meeting him.”'

'Certainly it would make for a delicious provincial storyline — Chad Kelly, graduate of St. Joseph’s Collegiate Institute in Buffalo, coming home and reprising the role of savior that his uncle performed so remarkably during his Pro Football Hall of Fame career. However, just because his name is Kelly does not mean that young, oft-troubled Chad is the answer to the Bills’ never-ending quest for a franchise quarterback.'

'"You know, I really haven't thought about it right now," Williams told Orr. "Just been down here and the first few weeks of the offseason I've just tried to reconnect with my family and everything like that. But I always take a month or so off then I'll get back to preparing like I'm going to be back in Buffalo and I'm going to play."'

'"I'm actually happy for Tom," McCoy said. "Now, I play for Buffalo, don't get me wrong, same division. But I love a player who is building on his legacy. It would mean a lot to see him win another championship. He's going down as one of the best quarterbacks to ever play the game. You know, to build that legacy is hard, this league is hard. If fans and people only know how hard it is. For that guy to keep going and going back to championships. And after this whole year with the … I don't want to talk about it, if he were right or wrong or whatever it is, you know they punished him. And he came right back strong. So that's amazing, an accomplishment."'

'Signing Anderson gives the Bills six safeties under contract for 2017. The depth chart now includes Anderson, Corey Graham, Aaron Williams, Shamiel Gary, Phillip Thomas and Joe Powell. Anderson, however, is best known for his work on special teams.'

'"I like Sean," McCoy said. "Even when I played in Philly he was there and he had heart, I liked him. I think kind of back then he had to get the scapegoat. Something is going on, you know how it is, you gotta bring in somebody. He's tough, he's honest and he's fair. I think he's the right guy for the job. The guys in Buffalo, we need somebody we can believe in and trust. And not to say anything bad about Rex because I love Rex. I was actually behind Rex's stay. I think it's more the players, we need to step up more. But I think that Sean is a guy who will get it done."'

'For a lone year in 2014, Dennis spent time as quarterbacks coach for the Baltimore Ravens. During that season, Buffalo quarterback Tyrod Taylor was Joe Flacco’s backup.'

'“He has a great blend, because you can’t have a guy that’s just micro-managing everything, who’s always trying to light the fire. Your players must lead. If you don’t have the right players leading, then you need to get new players. So if you have the right leadership, which we’ve had in Carolina, we’ve done a great job of being able to lead ourselves. But you still have those days where your team is just not responding. If his guys are not playing or practising with the enthusiasm that’s needed, Sean’s not afraid to speak up and really get under people.”'

'He missed the first three games with a foot injury, and was then placed on the season-ending injured reserve list after being sidelined by an arm injury in 30-19 win at Los Angeles on Oct. 9.'