Archives for July 20, 2017

'It’s not unheard of for young pass rushers to take some time to adjust to the NFL level. Khalil Mack, the University at Buffalo product who might be the best defensive player in the league today, had four sacks as a rookie, then increased that total to 15 in his second year.'

'Of course, fairness wasn't the point. Javad and Filipowski were just having fun by appealing to sensitive Bills fans who over-react to every perceived slight.'

'He fell on hard times after leaving football. He was charged with resisting arrest after a confrontation with police in Los Angeles in 2014, but a judge ruled him not mentally competent to stand trial.'

'"It got to the point where I thought, 'Man, maybe there's a chance here.' Even though he had told me, 'You're going to help me find the right GM here. You've got a bright future.' I still felt like, you know, there was a lot of momentum in the building for me to get it and a little bit in the city. But you know how it goes, you guys are in that business. A lot of writers are looking for big names. And I wasn't a big name. And I think there was a lot of pressure on (Richardson) to bring in a name other than somebody from the same regime that he just fired from. It was fun for that three months. It was also a little bit gut-wrenching to have it taken away at the same time."'

'"Hopefully the new regime, the new culture, the new way of doing things — what you'd like to see if for Marcell to jump on board," Beane said. "And not only do it himself, but he's been in the league long enough, you'd like to see him grabbing some others. First of all, before you can lead, you have to do it yourself. I'm not just talking about Marcell. That's anybody. But he's gonna be given every opportunity."'

'"Well, it's just the spring, but I'll tell you this about Tyrod: I come in early to work out with some of the guys and he's in here early. The guy does every single thing asked of him, above and beyond, and that's what you're looking for," Beane said. "I respect the heck out of what I've seen here the five or six weeks I've been here. I'm looking forward to watching him take this challenge on and see how it goes in camp, then obviously two weeks in that leads to games, and see how it progresses. I've watched him from afar on cross film, but I did go back and watch some games last season, flipped through some of his throws. Some of it before I got here, some of it since I got here. I mean, he's got some tools. He wasn't accidentally thrown into a starting role here. He's earned his opportunities."'

'"She was just unbelievable in terms of support, but firm," McDermott said. "My dad emphasized athletics. My mom did, as well, but my mom was really hard on the academics end of things and always stressed, 'hey you've got to have the grades, you've got to be prepared for life outside of sports.''

'"Oh, it crushed me early on," McDermott said. "It crushed me from the standpoint of, I looked introspectively, just looked at myself and said, 'What did I do wrong?' I didn't place any blame, no. It was, 'What did I do wrong?' I feel like that period of my career, that period of my life, had I not gone through that, I don't know if I would be here now. What I mean by that is, my whole career had been going like this every year. You guys see the resume. Every year was going like that. What I learned from that is, the game is more than just X's and O's. It's more than just scheme. That to me, as I've said over the years, that setback was a setup really for a comeback for myself and the mental toughness part of life."'

'"I just felt something," Beane said in a June interview. "Seventeen years. These people are dying for a winner. I believe in myself. … I want nothing more than to watch this community go ape nuts that the Bills are back in the playoffs. And I have no doubt."'

'The playoff drought has been the elephant in the room for every player, coach and executive who has walked through the doors at One Bills Drive. Previously, Rex Ryan and other players grew defensive about the drought, fairly claiming they hadn't contributed to the entire thing. McDermott and Beane are taking a different approach.'

'"In this league, not just Brady, whoever, you have to get after the passer," Beane said. "You have to make them uncomfortable. You have to get them off their spot. I think what the Giants did to them in the Super Bowls, that is not a shot at Tom Brady, that's anybody. I don't care how great you are, if you're getting hit, you're not gonna be as accurate. So we have to find ways to make him uncomfortable. He's super smart. There's nothing that schematically that we're probably going to throw at him that he hasn't seen. We'll have to be dialed in. You have to get to him, you have to affect the quarterback. If he's back there playing 7-on-7, you're not gonna beat him. You have to get him out of the pocket, flush him, hit him, hands up, batting balls. You got to do everything right to knock this guy down."'

'In the past, the Pegulas have dealt with coaches who didn't get along with the general manager and the power vacuum that created. So the big question for Beane, McDermott and the Pegulas is how they will all communicate on a weekly basis. The Pegulas will trust Beane and McDermott to run the football operation, but Beane recently provided some clarity on how the Bills' new leadership plans to keep ownership in the loop every step of the way.'

'“I just want to prove to all the teams that called me or gave me any attention that I could have been a part of what they have going on,” Lewis said. “I’m proud and appreciative that the Buffalo Bills selected me.”'

'In May 2014, Hardy was arrested and charged with felony resisting arrest after a fight with police officers in Los Angeles that left two officers with minor injuries. A judge ruled that he was mentally incompetent to stand trial. TMZ later reported that Hardy had been involuntarily committed to a mental institution.'

'The Allen County Coroner's Office said Wednesday that the 31-year-old Hardy died of "asphyxia due to drowning." Michael Burris, chief investigator for the coroner's office, says the determination of suicide was based on Hardy's medical and psychiatric history, his contacts with law enforcement and other evidence, including some found on his body.'