Archives for May 14, 2017

'“Just in terms of mutual respect … that’s key in any relationship,” he said. “I certainly came up one way, he came up in a similar fashion through this business. When you look at his foundation that he’s been able to build for 19 years – coming up through a solid organization in Carolina, he’s been trained the right way, he’s earned everything he’s gotten and those are qualities, to me, that are very attractive.”'

'“I don’t really compare myself to anybody,” he said Friday after the Bills completed their first rookie minicamp practice. “I think I’ve had a good background. I’ve been taught very well, but there’s always things to improve on, so coming in here, it is a new offense. I’m just soaking up every word” quarterbacks coach David Culley and offensive coordinator Rick Dennison “have been saying, and just trying to learn it as fast as I can.”'

'We did learn Botterill and Beane likely aren't the types of managers who will sacrifice draft assets for the sake of being bodacious.'

'Like with everything else, it has to start at quarterback. Heading into spring practices, the pecking order figures to be Tyrod Taylor, T.J. Yates, Cardale Jones, Nathan Peterman and Josh Woodrum. The two biggest questions to me are, 1. Is Yates solidified as the backup?, and 2. Will Peterman push Jones off the roster?'

'"Jim, do you have any idea how much money you’d be making today?" the president said Saturday. "They’d hit Jim, it was like tackling a linebacker. They’d hit Jim, four guys, five guys that weighed 320, and they’d just keep going down the field. He was much more than a quarterback. He had tremendous heart, and he knew how to win.'

'The resumes of Botterill and Beane are interchangeable, two men who worked their way up the sports business food chain starting as coffee-fetching interns. Where many traditional GMs travel the hard-scrabble road of scouting, Botterill and Beane came up in the world of contract negotiations, salary cap management, budgets and logistics, all the office stuff scouts can’t stand once they become GMs.'

'Prognosticators should run away from Buffalo's dysfunction, not to it. With the Pegulas firing Doug Whaley, it's apparently first-year head coach Sean McDermott's club for the time being. His move to take the ping-pong tables out of the locker room sounds good until you realize the Falcons went to the Super Bowl with three tables in their locker room last year. And the Bills don't seem to like or appreciate their above-average quarterback. Prepare for a step back in 2017.'

'After winning the program's Most Improved Offensive Player award in the spring of 2015, Denman took over as the starting right tackle and kept the job until late in his redshirt senior season, when Rutgers turned to redshirt freshman converted defensive lineman Kamaal Seymour as part of a youth movement in a 2-10 season.'

'Jones writes in his piece McDermott’s "move to take the ping-pong tables out of the locker room sounds good until you realize the falcons went to the super bowl with three tables in their locker room last year."'

'" I'd like to recognize a friend, who is here with us today…who can serve as an inspiration. Someone who doesn't know the meaning of the word quit, a real champion," Trump said to a large crowd of family members and students in Lynchburg, Virginia.'

'I don't think the plan going forward is for McDermott to do it all himself. I think he is smart enough to know that when you hire someone you trust (i.e. Leslie Frazier as the Defensive Coordinator) you let the person do the job. Maybe it is just semantics, but I think this organization will finally be more about influence and less about power. I think the plan is for McDermott to bring in people like Beane that have his respect and his trust, and then to watch them go to work.'

'Many of the Buffalo faithful are excited to see what Jones can bring to the Bills offense this season. But the storyline of the first practice was the matchup of Jones and the Bills first round draft pick, Tre’Davious White a corner out of LSU. The Bills coaching staff decided to match the two up against each other to see how they would fair against strong competition.'

'“I’m a competitor, so I want to go against the best guys that are out there,” White said. “We matched up every rep and both of us got better. If we continue to do that the next couple of days we’ll be ready to roll once the vets get here.”'