Archives for March 2017

'The Bills have dismissed director of player engagement Paul Lancaster, his assistant and team chaplain James Trapp, athletic trainer Greg McMillen and strength-and-conditioning assistant Dan Liburd.'

'He looks like a fit for what the Bills want to do defensively.'

'A 55-year old man pleaded guilty Thursday to vehicular assault stemming from a crash in Cheektowaga that paralyzed a driver who was heading home after watching the Buffalo Bills home opener in 2016.'

'"It didn't work. But that wasn't all on Rex. For one, Reggie Ragland got hurt in camp and was out all year. And Shaq Lawson's shoulder, an issue everyone knew about at the time of the draft, became a problem, and he played just 225 snaps (with two sacks) after returning. The Bills' defense was safely in the bottom 10 by any metric, and, well, here's a new coach. The class gets better if Ragland steps up now that he's healthy and if Lawson comes up with sacks. Hopefully Adolphus Washington plays a bigger role and Cardale Jones is at least a reliable backup. But for now it dips, because it certainly couldn't save Rex."'

'“It’s nice to be out there and able to run but this is not track practice, this is football,” McDermott said. “So we’ve got to be able to be physical and tackle. That’s a big part of it for us and our identity – you guys have heard me say it before and you’ll continue to hear me say it – our identity on defense will be built around our corners and their tackling ability and how much our defensive line runs to the football. Those to me are big selling points for our defense.”'

'You have to do everything fast in practice. Move with urgency in each drill and between drills. No coasting. Ever.'

'They didn't specifics his health issue, but Crichton hasn't played since suffering a concussion late in the 2015 season.'

'But putting Whaley in the shadows (he was seen, but not heard here) is awkward, especially when he won't be part of the annual pre-draft media briefing, the one time each year that every GM who has worked for the Bills is always heard. It's standard operating procedure throughout the NFL, despite the fact the GMs say almost nothing of substance.'

'Reasons: 1. He's highly decorated.'

'The Bills have it darn good in Buffalo. It's worth reminding them of that fact on a week when the NFL moved the Raiders to Las Vegas.'

'Pushing further the agenda of unity at One Bills Drive, Pegula said when it comes time to pick players in the draft, “It's going to be a group effort. It's just like everything else most businesses do in their life. If somebody feels more strongly about something than somebody else, then maybe you lean in that direction.”'

'"The Bills took much heat early in the offseason for their indifference toward Taylor, but they kept him in the end," said Sando. "They arguably overpaid for DiMarco at $2.1 million a year. Of course, who besides salary-cap managers should lose sleep over a four-year, $8.4 million deal for a good player, even if he's a fullback? New coach Sean McDermott got great production in Carolina from S Kurt Coleman. Imagine what he'll be able to get from the more talented Hyde. It's understandable why a new regime wouldn't be all-in for Gilmore, although watching the talented corner land in New England was not optimal."'

'"Yes, I think I did," Rivera said at the NFL owners meetings in Phoenix. "But Sean and I talked a lot about those things. That's one of the things I'll give to Sean's credit is that every now and then Sean would want to come in and say, 'Hey, let's talk about this coach and let's debrief about that.' He's seen a lot of things I've looked at. I know Sean has done a lot of analytics in terms of studying things on his own as well. I really do think you guys are going to get an aggressive play caller.''

'"I'm glad that Sean is not in Carolina anymore, although we have to play Buffalo," Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Dirk Koetter said. "Sean is an excellent football coach in general. He was always going to try to exploit your weaknesses. He did a great job of attacking your protections with his blitzes. Very, very sound defense. Rarely out of position. Tough to get big plays on. I've been going against him twice a year for five years and have a lot of respect for him. I'm happy for him getting a job and I'm glad he's out of our division."'

'“Well, it's a lot simpler to have one spokesperson for the organization. And when we sat in our coaching interviews this last go around, we talked to all of the candidates, and Doug was in those meetings, is we wanted a coach who could be the face of our organization and that could step into that role,” Pegula said.'