Archives for April 2017

'“I did it to understand our situation,” McDermott told Buffalobills.com. “I want to better understand this organization and I think it’s kind of an off the field and on the field type approach. What’s it like to play and what’s it like to see this town on fire for this football team? So better understand that and then also just the brotherhood and the bond that went into those teams is so rich. You could just smell it in the room, just the love for one another that was present.”'

'“Yeah, Sammy looks good. He’s right on schedule,” McDermott said. “There [have] been no setbacks. I know he’s chomping at the bit to get back on the field and we’re anxious to have him back on the field, in all honesty. We just expect him right now to keep attacking that rehab process for us like he has been to this point.”'

'That's an admirable thing for Alexander to say, but it doesn't fall on him. If a player doesn't buy into what the team is doing, or is worried more about his own stats than the win-loss record, there is little any leader can do to change that.'

'He models his game after Greg Olsen. In an interview with the website nfldraftdiamonds.com, Barnes names the Carolina Panthers' tight end when asked if he models his game after an active player. Olsen is a three-time Pro Bowler who is entering his 11th season. Given that new Bills coach Sean McDermott came from Carolina, that's a good comparison for Barnes to make.'

'Thus far Stewart has a combined 17 workouts and top-30 visits including the Buffalo Bills, Tennessee Titans, Atlanta Falcons, Los Angeles Chargers, Seattle Seahawks and Tampa Bay Bucs. He was forced to turn down four visits due to scheduling conflicts. Some in the scouting community feel Stewart could go as early as the third round and most believe he won't get out of the fifth."'

'"Even with QB Tyrod Taylor returning, the Bills are still in the QB market and Watson is a worth a look to see if he can develop in their system. He can make the necessary throws, whether throwing with touch or working the seam, it's just a matter of tying up some of the finer points of the position like moving in the pocket and working through his reads. Watson's three-year production is difficult to ignore, including a 90.7 mark in 2015 and a 91.2 grade that ranked third in the nation in 2016."'

'"Sammy looks good," McDermott said. "He's right on schedule. There [have] been no setbacks. I know he's chomping at the bit to get back on the field and we're anxious to have him back on the field, in all honesty. We just expect him right now to keep attacking that rehab process for us like he has been to this point."'

'"Marcell, he's a good football player," McDermott said, "and I had the chance to evaluate Marcell when I was in Carolina. Marcell and (Carolina quarterback) Cam Newton came out, I believe, the same year, and so I've been through that process with Marcell. I've known his background. I know his game on the field. I know what he's capable of, and he's a very good football player. We need him to play at a high level for us, and this time of year is important for us."'

'“This was my first time actually sprinting and actually doing full movement things,” Taylor said. “I’ve felt great since the surgery and the doctors here and the training staff have done a great job of getting me to 100 percent and I feel real good. I feel very explosive.”'

'“There’s a first time for everything, and this was my first time in front of the players,” McDermott said. “Like I said, it starts with their mindset, and they have the right mindset. They’re here to work and to earn the right to win. For me, it really went into what’s important to us. What’s important to me as a head coach and we went through that progression. Listen, I can’t convey everything in one meeting and so you have to really skinny it down. A wise coach once said to me years ago, ‘When you say a lot, you risk saying nothing.’ The other side of it is say a little, you say a lot. We took that approach (Monday).”'

'“Just a confident individual,” quarterback Tyrod Taylor said of McDermott. “Very detailed, very straight-forward. And he expects us to be the same way.”'

'Webb, 5-foot-11 and 190 pounds, played collegiately at William & Mary, as did Bills coach Sean McDermott. The Dallas Cowboys selected Webb in the fourth round in the 2013 NFL Draft, and after one year with them he spent a season in Pittsburgh and then one in Tennessee before landing in New Orleans. In 49 career games, he has 68 tackles, 14 passes defensed and two interceptions, while also seeing plenty of playing time on special teams.'

'"It's voluntary. I am encouraged by my conversations with LeSean throughout the whole offseason since I got the job," Bills coach Sean McDermott said. "It is voluntary, though. That is what it is. I'm encouraged by the guys that are here, and that's really where my focus is at this time."'

'Mahomes is in the conversation with Clemson's Deshaun Watson, North Carolina's Mitch Trubisky and Notre Dame's DeShone Kizer to be the first quarterback selected in the draft later this month. According to NFL.com, he has already worked out for the Browns, Bengals, Chargers, Cardinals, Saints and Jets. At least 18 teams have scheduled either a workout or pre-draft visit with him, according to the website.'

'There’s a first time for everything, and this was my first time in front of the players. Like I said, it starts with their mindset, and they have the right mindset. They’re here to work and to earn the right to win. For me, it really went into what’s important to us. What’s important to me as a head coach and we went through that progression. Listen, I can’t convey everything in one meeting and so you have to really skinny it down. A wise coach once said to me years ago, ‘when you say a lot, you risk saying nothing.’ The other side of it is say a little, you say a lot. We took that approach today.'