Archives for September 5, 2017

'The study calculated the cost of tickets, beer, hot dogs, transportation and accommodations to find which fans would be paying the most money this season and the Bills finished as the sixth most expensive team to support.'

'“With any starter, it gets to the point of the week where you have to say, ‘we have to go one way or the other,’” McDermot said. “We’ll cross that road when we come to it at this point.”'

'“There’s also an element of special teams baked into this here with those players. There’s three phases to the football team, as you’ve heard me say before, and having a balance in all three phases is important for us,” McDermott said.'

'But the Panthers released Webb Saturday, later picking up former University of Miami quarterback Brad Kaaya off waivers to become their new third quarterback. The move was not greeted warmly in Carolina’s locker room, where Webb was noted for a popular figure due to his do-anything demeanor. He was the only quarterback in the NFL to regularly contribute on special teams as anything besides a holder.'

'Webb has been unique in the league as the only quarterback who plays on special teams. Webb played 16 snaps with the Carolina offense and was on the field for 260 special-teams plays last season.'

'"He is ready," McDermott said. "When you look at what he's done throughout the preseason, I'm confident, and we're extremely confident in Nathan. I expect that he's only going to continue to get better."'

'“I really like who’s in charge of this organization. That’s one of the reasons I was so anxious to re-sign with them,” said Wood, who signed a two-year contract extension last month. “We’re going to be very tough to beat because we’re going to be disciplined, we’re going to play hard, we’re going to play physical. And we have a few superstars. I’m all for that.”'

'Expectations: Have plummeted over past month with new regime continuing offseason purge in exchange for draft picks. With Williams cut on Sunday, roster features just 16 players team drafted, including six rookies this year, leaving team in jeopardy of extending NFL’s longest active playoff drought to 18 seasons. Only 25 players return from last season, including OT Seantrel Henderson and WR Walter Powell, who open season serving NFL suspensions.'

'The sport of American football is not alien to Schecter, who captains the Great Britain women's team, and proof of that – and her expertise in another contact sport kabaddi – ensured she was swiftly accepted by Bills players.'

'"You've heard me say this before: Resilience is important. Resiliency, grit, being adaptable. Sometimes a setback is a setup for a comeback. That's the name of the game in this business. We feel good that we'll have clarity around the situation when we need it. This team is ready. We've adjusted before, and I expect that we'll adjust again."'

'Peterman put together a moderately effective preseason campaign, completing 43 of 79 passes (54.4 percent) for 457 yards (5.8 per attempt) and a touchdown. He was drafted by the Bills to develop behind Taylor for at least this year, and potentially take over as the starter down the line if the team decided it did not want to commit to Taylor into the future.'

'2017 will be a success if: Real progress is shown by the team under the new front office. Buffalo has had a sometimes head-scratching off-season, stockpiling draft picks while simultaneously causing panic with questionable trades, signings and cuts. If no true direction is obvious come season’s end, how is this regime any different than the rest?'

'"It's very easy, I think it happens a lot quite a bit out there, when you come in and you say, 'Let's err on the side of not rocking the boat.' Well, short-term gain sometimes doesn't equal long-term success. We want to make sure we're doing both. We always do that with the team-first mentality. That comes with the territory. Our teams, we’ve been there. You guys have seen what we’ve gone through in preseason and training camp and this team is ready to adapt. That's an important characteristic of good football teams."'

'But the head coach stopped short of declaring Taylor out just yet. “With any starter, it gets to a certain point in the week where you have to say, ‘hey, you know, we’re going to have to go one way or the other,” he said. “We’ll cross that road when we come to it at this point.”'

'Webb started his career with the Minnesota Vikings in 2010 as a quarterback. He played five games that season (starting in two games), throwing for 447 yards and three interceptions. The next season, Webb started one game out of eleven played and threw for 376 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions.'