Archives for May 2017

'“I know this: I know that the margin of winning in the NFL is so small that you can't beat yourself, and that speaks to pre-snap penalties, post-snap penalties, discipline, accountability – all those things that you're probably referencing, we spent a lot of time emphasizing that through different avenues when we teach.”'

'“When he did his first workout, I saw him out there and I told McDermott ‘This is Luke Kuechly, just maybe not quite as fast but this is Luke Kuechly.’ Just joking around with him. I don’t know if he’d like those expectations put on him but I did tell coach that.” Wood said smiling.'

'Lindsey is trying to do what only two others have done—graduate from Harvard and play linebacker in the NFL. Isaiah Kacyvenski had a good run from 2000-06 at LB with the Seahawks and the Rams. And the Bills drafted Harvard LB Joe Azelby in the 10th round in 1984-he played 14 games that year.'

'"Depending on who showed up for the game would depend on where I was going to play. Sometimes I played middle linebacker, sometimes I played safety, sometimes I played corner. I played D-line sometimes. And I always played receiver, because I was very unstoppable out there.'

'Sully: I'm confident it won't be the Bills winning the Super Bowl and Sean McDermott holding up the Lombardi Trophy while declaring that it all started when they fired Whaley the day after the draft and he was kind enough to leave those first-round picks behind as parting gifts.'

'"The only thing missing is a couple more years, a couple more thousand yards and some winning games," McCoy said Thursday. "That's what every player strives to do to have a great career. That's the only thing I'm missing is the ring and some more yards."'

'"In 2015, Darby came in and immediately started for the Bills and as a rookie, earned an incredible 86.1 overall grade — the third-highest PFF overall grade ever for a rookie cornerback. While 2016 was certainly a step back, he at least maintained a strong performance defending the run, and was far from alone in regressing in a Bills' defense that capitulated over the season. Darby's ability showed that he can play at elite levels from day one, earned him the selection here over his competition."'

'“I believe that we made a lot of strides and the credit goes to the players and the coaches and really everybody here at [the] ADPRO Training Facility. This is a team effort. It’s been that way since day one. It will continue to be that way,” McDermott said. “We’re improving in every part of what we do, not just the football part. I’m encouraged by that. I’ve seen it on a daily basis, I’ve seen it on the field, [which] is what you’re asking about. The players are working extremely hard.'

'“It’s never a finished product. It takes time,” McDermott said. “You look at all the different aspects of building a roster, it’s not just the guys that are on the team. You have to look at draft picks … what draft picks we have for next year, do we have all of them, are we one short, how that looks, and then, salary cap. So there’s a lot of facets of building a football team that can not only be successful, but also sustain success.”'

'"It's not just from the money aspect, but to see where I rank among some of the top guys in the league — defensive ends, outside linebackers, I rate them in one category. We all want to be the best. That's why I put in the work in the offseason. So I come in with a chip on my shoulder."'

'The rehabilitation isn't over, but the hardest parts are behind him. Now it's just a matter of reaching a point where there are no limitations — where he doesn't have to take a day off from practice, as he did last week.'

'Maybe someone should have asked him about the gift of tight end Charles Clay, one of many huge contracts that were handed out during Whaley's time and continue to bloat the Bills' salary structure. McDermott admitted Thursday that he was concerned about Clay's lingering knee issues, and said they're "managing" the situation moving forward.'

'"We are concerned with Charles' knee situation," McDermott told reporters Thursday before the Bills took the field for an OTA workout. "It's something we have to manage moving forward in order to have him on the field for us, which is important moving forward. He's a weapon for us."'

'Hodges, meanwhile, instantly upgrades Buffalo’s linebacker corps.'

'Buffalo's newest linebacker has some familiarity with Leslie Frazier, the team's defensive coordinator. Frazier was the Minnesota Vikings' head coach when the team selected Hodges in the fourth round of the 2013 NFL draft.'