Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

‘According to ProFootballReference.com, there have been 489 men in the history of the NFL who have been a head coach for at least one game. Reich becomes just the fifth man in that voluminous group who once played for the Bills. The others were Marty Schottenheimer (1965-68), Tom Flores (1967-69), Kay Stephenson (1968) and Jim Haslett (1979-85).’

‘“As far as the positional drills, not important; absolutely meaningless,” Polian said the other day during a break from his analyst work at ESPN. “What counts here are measurables; height, weight, speed, and the translatable drills, i.e. the triangle drill, short shuttle, vertical jump, broad jump. No one ever sits there on the first of April and says, ‘Let’s go back and look at his film from the combine workout’ to see if they want to pick him. No one does that.”’

‘“We’ve been in communication with him and his agent (David Dunn),” said Beane. “Hopefully we’ll get something done sooner rather than later. But it takes two. He’s got to do his due diligence; we do as well. So yeah, at some point there would be a we-need-to-know. I’m sure they’re feeling the same thing on their end.”’

‘Kelly was originally diagnosed in May 2013 with oral squamous-cell carcinoma in his upper jaw. The illness is known to affect approximately 30,000 Americans each year, or about 5 percent of cancer diagnoses, with a survival rate of just above 50 percent.’

‘Still, as it always is with the Bills, quarterback was a hot topic and both men did their best to answer in non-answers.’

‘Quarterback. Obviously. A couple months ago when Beane was asked whether he’d personally seen the top-rated college quarterbacks play last season, his reply was, “All the ones that matter.” That was an indication that he’s not fooling around and settling for someone who may be available when the Bills are scheduled to pick in the first round in the back-to-back 21st and 22nd spots, or perhaps waiting until the second round.’

‘His signing apparently means the Bills will not try to re-sign free agent cornerback E.J. Gaines, a player who is expected to draw some sizable offers when free agency begins March 14. However, it also means the Bills can probably scratch cornerback off their first-round draft needs list as Davis would be a solid complement to Tre’ Davious White.’

‘Or, they make the play for one of the top kids in the draft. And if that’s what they do, then Taylor is the best option as the bridge quarterback because believe it or not, his $18 million cap figure (after the bonus kicks in) isn’t out of line in this day and age of quarterback salaries for one with seven years in the league, three as a starter.’

‘If I was on the competition committee, there are several ideas I would suggest. Naturally, No. 1 on my list, and I’m sure everyone’s list, is blowing up the catch rule and starting from scratch. Fixing this atrocity must be the most pertinent goal of the owners this year.’

‘There are few professional athletes I’ve encountered as classy, sincere, humble and strong as Reich. A man who leans on his faith. Who knows how to get up when life dishes out a sack.’

‘Prayers and well wishes have been flowing in for Buffalo Bills great Jim Kelly and his wife, Jill, who were hospitalized for separate illnesses this week.’

‘Let me be clear: I pay only scant attention to these 1 through 32 rankings of NFL teams during the season, and generally next to zero percent at this time of the year when, oh, about a thousand things might change around the league between now and Week 1 of the 2018 season. “Power rankings” is essentially code for “click bait.”’

‘This is what happens when you don’t have a quarterback on your favorite team, when you haven’t had a legitimate quarterback for more than two decades — minus a couple of fun seasons from Doug Flutie and one by Drew Bledsoe around the turn of the century. Seemingly every time a quarterback on another team shines, fans want to know if he’s someone the Bills should try to get.’

‘For the champion Philadelphia Eagles there were Nigel Bradham, Corey Graham and Ronald Darby starting on defense, and Jason Peters (injured), along with offensive coordinator Frank Reich and defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz. For the New England Patriots, there was Chris Hogan (a huge game with six catches for 128 yards and a touchdown), Stephon Gilmore, Eric Lee and Mike Gillislee (inactive).’

‘Last year, McDermott and Reid found common ground on two deals. First, there was the draft day trade that enabled the Chiefs to move up to pick the quarterback who will now replace Smith, Patrick Mahomes. The Bills netted two picks, including an extra first-rounder in 2018. Then, during training camp, the Bills dealt linebacker Reggie Ragland to Kansas City in exchange for a fourth-round pick.’