Orchard Park High graduate Jon Corto was among the winners, and some
veteran backups were the losers as the Buffalo Bills picked their
53-man active roster Saturday.
On the day the Seattle Seahawks trimmed their roster from 75 to 53,
they also learned that defensive tackle Rocky Bernard and safety Jordan
Babineaux will miss the Sept. 7 season opener against Buffalo because
of league-imposed suspensions.
There weren't a ton of surprises as the Bills coaching staff reduced their roster to the required 53 on Saturday afternoon, but there were a few veteran free agent pickups that just didn't make the grade.
Free agent signees Courtney Anderson, Will James and Donnie Spragan were all released Saturday after signing with the club this offseason.
Here’s an indication of the optimism surrounding the Buffalo Bills’
season. Despite the competition from NBC’s Olympic coverage from
Beijing for two games, the four preseason games carried on Channel 7
averaged more than a 16 rating.
In a game that meant the most for players fighting for roster spots,
the coaching staffs for both teams made sure they had every opportunity
to make a final impression. The Bills and Lions started the game almost
exclusively with backup players and the reserves played the entire game
in what wound up being a 14-6 victory for Detroit.
Playing under the lights at Ralph Wilson Stadium and starting for his hometown Buffalo Bills. The scenario could have been scripted in football heaven Thursday night
for Jon Corto, an Orchard Park native fighting for a place on the
Bills' roster. Except for one problem: Corto's hard-driving
motor resulted in the linebacker leaving the game with a concussion in
the second quarter.
Who had money on Detroit getting two safeties in one half? In Buffalo
on Thursday, the Lions got 14 points in the oddest way possible, and
one hyper-compulsive gambler is going to be eating lobster-stuffed
steaks three times a day in the Bahamas for the rest of his life with
the proceeds from a bizarre preseason bet, regardless of the fact that
the end zone in-the-grasp sack was a junky call. Aside from the
opponent’s quirky scoring, some nascent Bills wisely used the last
pretend game as a chance to polish skills, a positive development that
also provided enjoyable moments for fans enduring a typically sloppy
preseason closer.
ORCHARD PARK — Every ticket may have been sold for Thursday's preseason finale against Detroit, but every ticket wasn't used. In
fact, Ralph Wilson Stadium was less than half full when the game kicked
off at 6:30 as rain during the day may have deterred fans from coming
to the game.
Playing under the lights at Ralph Wilson Stadium and starting for his hometown Buffalo Bills. The scenario could have been scripted in football heaven Thursday night for Jon Corto, an Orchard Park native fighting for a place on the Bills' roster.
Turned out the Detroit Lions' second- and third-stringers were better than the Buffalo Bills, winning 14-6 on Thursday in a game in which both teams were only interested in resting their starters for the regular season.
No one sells hope like the Buffalo Bills. That fact was hammered home again as the Bills announced Thursday that 56,011 season tickets have been sold for the 2008 campaign.
Nobody knows for sure what's ticking in Jason Peters' head these days, but it's reasonable for him to claim partial victory last week when Steven Jackson signed a six-year contract worth $44 million with the St. Louis Rams, a rarity in which a running back paved the way for an offensive lineman.
Plenty of players probably felt a little overwhelmed at times by the amount of work they had to put in on a daily basis during the Bills' training camp at St. John Fisher College.
Perry Fewell doesn’t want to define the Buffalo Bills’ defense with downfield hits, but a relentless, quarterback-chasing front four. Fewell wants the Bills to become one of the more aggressive units in the NFL, improve on their sack total (which ranked in the bottom of the league) and do it primarily with a four-man pass rush.
There’s not too much that should be read into a stellar performance against a third-string quarterback who could also function as a second-string nose tackle, but the fact is that the Buffalo Bills' defense continues to look as it should. Battling Jared Lorenzen in the preseason isn’t the absolute best way to prepare for real games, but the group can only excel at the task presented, which it did in this case by stopping the man who makes Colts fans long for Jim Sorgi.
The Detroit Lions will have an opportunity to polish off the only
perfect preseason in the NFL on Thursday night, when Rod Marinelli and
his squad travel to Buffalo in the final warm-up for both teams
Hailing from the tiny Western New York market, the Bills are the
closest thing the NFL has to an underdog. Their legacy is that they
once lost four consecutive Super Bowls. Currently, their eight-year
playoff drought is the longest in the AFC. Their last postseason
showing was the '99 Wild Card round, when they were victimized by the
Music City Miracle.
The Buffalo Bills today released cornerback Kennard Cox, punter D.J.
Fitzpatrick, receiver C.J. Hawthorne, defensive end Shaun Nua and
placed quarterback Matt Baker on the waived/injured list
It appears there will be no confidence crisis for the Buffalo Bills if Trent Edwards gets knocked out of action this season.
J.
P. Losman again demonstrated a firm grasp of coordinator Turk
Schonert’s offense in helping the Bills to a 20-7 preseason victory
against Indianapolis on Sunday night.
The Buffalo Bills' Langston Walker hurt his arm while engaged in a block on Sunday, but he may as well have been bitten by a snake. “Bad bruise,” the phrase uttered by head coach Dick Jauron in the news conference after the Indianapolis game to classify the seemingly bad luck moment, constituted the most relieving two words Bills fans could want to hear; that said, one more contusion-type wound would officially make it a disturbing trend for a team that saw its quarterback miss the outing after a similarly nasty knock.
It shouldn’t be that surprising that Buffalo Bills quarterback J.P. Losman looked sharp in Indianapolis on Sunday: He did accumulate over 3,000 passing yards while starting all 16 games for a troubled offense during 2006, which wasn’t even an Olympics ago.
The grand opening of Lucas Oil Stadium turned into a big dud for the Indianapolis Colts Sunday night. At least, they'll have another chance to christen their new stadium properly in two weeks when the games really count.
.P. Losman threw for 108 yards on 13- of-19 passes and Terrence McGee highlighted a terrific defensive effort for Buffalo with a 68-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown, as the Bills downed the injury-plagued Indianapolis Colts, 20-7 in preseason action.
Five years ago this week, James Hardy made every football fan in town
stop and say, “Wow!” His four touchdowns helped Elmhurst break a
state-record 64-game losing streak in a 27-23 victory over Bishop
Dwenger.
The Buffalo Bills’ defense will be the one unit in the house at full
strength and will try to gauge its progress tonight against the
Indianapolis Colts.
Every night, Reggie Corner’s routine was the same.
When the
players’ meeting ended, the Buffalo Bills rookie cornerback returned to
his room at the St. John Fisher training camp and studied his playbook.
Then he thought of questions to ask the veterans, such as Terrance
McGee, Jabari Greer and Will James.
The Buffalo Bills’ offense will be missing some key pieces in Sunday night’s nationally televised game in Indianapolis.
Starting
quarterback Trent Edwards was ruled out Friday due to the deep bruise
in his right thigh. Receiver James Hardy will sit out due to a sore
hamstring that has kept him out of practice all this week. Receiver
Roscoe Parrish will sit out due to a sore knee that also has kept him
sidelined this week.
When the Buffalo Bills lavished Chris Kelsay last year with a
four-year, $23 million contract — which, truth be told, seemed a bit
exorbitant then as it still does now — there was a sudden increase of
burden placed on the defensive end's burly shoulders.
By taking profound risks in the face of resounding defeat, by staying the course despite waves of criticism, Gene Upshaw evolved from a Hall of Fame football player into one of America’s more effective labor leaders.
In their next-to-last game of the preseason, generally held up as the dress rehearsal for the regular season opener, the Indianapolis Colts will be at less than 100 percent. And, though face-of-the-franchise Peyton Manning will be missing when the Buffalo Bills help inaugurate Lucas Oil Stadium on Sunday night, the Colts are undoubtedly getting healthier.
It appears the Bills may have dodged a bullet. Now, it’s decision time. Quarterback Trent Edwards
missed the team’s practice Thursday in at the main homestead of Orchard
Park. But his “thigh contusion” doesn’t appear to be serious.
ORCHARD PARK -- The Buffalo Bills were back home
yesterday after breaking training camp in suburban Rochester, N.Y., but
they're still missing one key component: Pro Bowl left offensive tackle
Jason Peters, whose contract holdout enters its fourth week. Bills chief operating officer Russ Brandon had nothing new to report
after practice as the NFL team prepares for its third exhibition game,
against the Colts in at Indianapolis on Sunday.
PITTSFORD - All that stands in the way of the NFL regular season is a pair of exhibition games.
As the Buffalo Bills broke camp on Wednesday, they head back to the
team’s headquarters in Orchard Park at Ralph Wilson Stadium where they
will continue to prepare for Week 1 and the Seattle Seahawks on Sept. 7.
PITTSFORD - Sometimes it takes a good old fashioned tongue lashing to get going and Leodis McKelvin certainly got that recently. During a practice days before the Buffalo Bills made the trip to
Toronto to play the Pittsburgh Steelers in an exhibition game,
defensive coordinator Perry Fewell ripped into the team’s 2008
first-round pick out of Troy mere feet from the long line of teammates,
as well as cameramen and reporters covering training camp. The rookie cornerback responded with a 95-yard kick return touchdown
during the Toronto game and has improved his defensive work, but still
will likely begin the season as the team’s nickel or dime back.
The Buffalo Bills can use Marshawn Lynch’s collision with Trent Edwards
as an excuse: He should take off Sunday night’s game against
Indianapolis under the guise of a sore knee. He has already gotten the
right amount of work this preseason, which is to say not much at all.
Lynch's five carries against Pittsburgh last week more than doubled his
preseason total to eight; with 34 total rushing yards, fans should be
completely happy that the second-year man is fourth on the team in
preseason carries and has played for a mere handful of breaths during
each game.
The stare down between Jason Peters and the Buffalo Bills looks like it will come to a crossroads within the next 12 days. It
seems likely heading into the Bills’ third preseason game Sunday that
Peters intends to skip the exhibition season. He sat out all of
training camp, and his holdout now is in its 29th day.
ORCHARD PARK — The Buffalo Bills
were back in more familiar surroundings Thursday, back on the field at
their practice facility at Ralph Wilson Stadium where they continued to
prepare for the rapidly approaching start of the 2008 NFL season. Their
three-weeks-plus stay at St. John Fisher College is now a memory, but
their ninth training camp at the Pittsford campus was a rousing success
and, believe it or not, coach Dick Jauron sort of wishes it wasn't over.
Gene Upshaw, the Hall of Fame guard who during a quarter century as
union head helped get NFL players free agency and the riches that came
with it, has died. He was 63.
The Buffalo Bills wrapped up the St. John Fisher College portion of
their training camp Wednesday morning, and they did so with a
significant change at the most significant position.
Three weeks into cornerback Leodis McKelvin's first NFL training camp,
the Buffalo Bills' first-round pick has experienced the familiar waves
of highs and lows that come with competing for a starting job.
Wednesday’s final training camp practice came and went with Buffalo’s
starting quarterback under center. The deep thigh bruise suffered by Trent Edwards in practice Tuesday night had the signal caller stiff and watching practice as he was limping a bit Wednesday.
The Buffalo Bills rescheduled Wednesday's final training camp practice.
It will now take place from 9:30 to 11:10 a.m. The Bills will break
camp following that practice.
Yearly roster turnover is a fact of life in the NFL, and no team is immune to it. Players
come and go via free agency, and due to salary cap restrictions,
general managers are often forced to release players they otherwise
would keep.
Chris Kelsay always has been obsessed with practice and trying to
improve, anything that might help him prepare for an opponent. This
training camp is no different, except perhaps he’s more intense than
usual, especially coming off such a frustrating season.
Maybe the Buffalo Bills-Miami Dolphins regular-season game in Toronto
on Dec. 7 will be a sellout that proves what a strong National Football
League market Toronto is, even for exorbitantly priced tickets.
Cornerback Leodis McKelvin is all of two preseason games into his NFL
career and already the electricity surges. He nearly broke a punt
return for a touchdown in the opener against the Redskins. He bolted 95
yards untouched with a kickoff against the Steelers. The Buffalo Bills
knew they were getting a dangerous return man in the package when they
made McKelvin their first pick in the April draft. However, no one
could have guessed his impact would be this immediate and emphatic.
Tight end Derek Schouman is out indefinitely, wide receiver Josh Reed
returned to practice and rookie defensive back Leodis McKelvin thrilled
the crowd with a nice interception as the Buffalo Bills completed their
second-to-last night practice at St. John Fisher College tonight.
For all of their offseason maneuvers, the Buffalo Bills left their
offense almost entirely intact. That was not necessarily an endorsement
of a unit that finished 30th in total offense but perhaps an
acknowledgment that the system, not the personnel, needed to be adjusted
It’s one of those opinionated Sundays. Not only was Trent Edwards
further certified as the Bills’ starting quarterback by his Thursday
performance against the Pittsburgh Steelers, but the certification of
Turk Schonert as an offensive coordinator officially has begun.
Those were some of the words used
by Buffalo Bills players, and even some Pittsburgh Steelers, to
describe Thursday night’s preseason game at the Rogers Centre.
When Donte Whitner walked onto the field Thursday night at the Rogers
Centre, the Buffalo Bills strong safety was shocked to see more
Pittsburgh Steelers fans clad in black and gold than Bills fans wearing
red, white and blue.
Toronto's foray into NFL football last night was either a touchdown or a fumble.
Or perhaps a little of both. It depends on who is doing the talking.
Either way there were 48,434 screaming fans inside the Rogers Centre
for NFL -- Toronto style!
In May, The Buffalo News pondered the future of the Bills when
89-year-old owner Ralph Wilson passes away. "The likeliest scenario is
that a billionaire from Toronto or Los Angeles will move them out of
Buffalo," the paper wrote. Even if you've never set foot on a mound of
lake-effect snow, that line has to give you the chills.
Why make fans wait? The Bills' offense provoked relief among nervous
observers after a single play in their second preseason game, as
quarterback Trent Edwards not only threw on his first first down but
also connected with the indispensable Lee Evans. It set a fine tone:
The switch powers up this team may have just been rusted over last
week, as the offense’s effort was the equivalent of taking a bath in
WD-40 after the prolonged false start that was the first outing.
The Buffalo Bills for years tapped into Toronto to help build its
ticket base, obvious from the jerseys in the crowd Thursday night in
Rogers Centre. Doug Flutie's No. 7 still has a presence in Canada.
There were a few fans wearing Jim Kelly's old No. 12 and Drew Bledsoe's
No. 11.
TORONTO -- Shaking off a sluggish performance in the Bills' preseason opener last week, Trent Edwards was near-perfect in two series, going 9-for-11 for 104 yards and two touchdowns, in Buffalo's 24-21 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday night.
Buffalo Bills quarterback J. P. Losman wants to do his talking on the field this summer.
For Losman, the NFL offseason was long, frustrating and, from a public perspective, silent. Losman has not spoken publicly about being relegated to backup quarterback status — or anything else — since last December.
TORONTO — As preseason games go, this one is a little different.
The Bills have done this sort of thing before as they once played out-of-country preseason games in London and Germany back in their Super Bowl heyday, as well as two exhibition games right here in Toronto's Rogers Centre.
PITTSFORD – Jason Peters, where are you? The Buffalo Bills' Pro
Bowl left tackle remains absent from St. John Fisher College, and his
leverage on procuring a new contract is starting to increase as the
Bills have been bitten by the injury bug at the tackle position this
week.
Three plus Brad. Right guard Brad Butler is expected to join the tackle rotation for Thursday’s game against Pittsburgh in Toronto. The Bills will have only three healthy tackles for the game -fill-in left tackle Langston Walker, fill-in right tackle Kirk Chambers and seventh- round draft pick DemetriusBell,
who has worked exclusively at left tackle this summer. Butler started
31 straight games at right tackle for the University of Virginia and
worked there with the second unit in Tuesday’s practice.
I've spent a great deal of my life in Canada and whenever I ask
someone why they can't accept the fact that of much the rest of the
world has embraced hockey with a passion that has led to success in
both North America and the hockey-playing regions of the world, I
usually get a puzzled look and a two-word answer: "It's ours." If
you buy into the passion behind that simple statement then surely you
understand why there's such a fear of the future and a sudden loathing
of Toronto by the good people of Buffalo and western New York.
PITTSFORD — The old coach and the rookie slowly walked together off
the practice field at St. John Fisher’s Growney Stadium following a
walk-through Monday morning. Bills head coach Dick Jauron
offered the reassuring voice. Tailback Xavier Omon, still down over his
fumble in Saturday night’s preseason opener in Washington, listened.
PITTSFORD - Nobody needs to tell Trent Edwards how easily he could lose his job.
Despite beginning his second NFL season as the Buffalo Bills’ starting
quarterback, the 2007 third-round pick (92nd overall) out of Stanford
knows there always will be someone ready to step in should he falter or
get hurt.
The Buffalo Bills Wednesday announced an expanded partnership with Labatt Blue, one of the football team's major corporate sponsors. As part of the deal, which commences with the regular-season opening game on Sunday, Sept. 7, versus the Seattle Seahawks, Labatt will have added signage, including a wall mural, and their beer products served inside Ralph Wilson Stadium.
Now that he's become the Buffalo Bills' starting quarterback, former
Stanford star Trent Edwards is enjoying some of the perks that come
with the job. Like accepting an invitation from Wayne Gretzky
to play in a charitable golf tournament in June and getting to rub
shoulders with The Great One and John Elway.
Pittsford, N.Y. - Whenever Buffalo gets a red-zone touchdown this season, you can expect that Darian Barnes will have a hand in it. The fullback, who is entering his first season with the Bills, won’t be
diving over a human pile or catching any play-action passes, though. He
will be leading the likes of Marshawn Lynch or Fred Jackson into the
end zone.
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (WIVB) - The
Buffalo Bills are making a trip north of the border for their
pre-season game in Toronto on Thursday. The team is ready for their big game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
BUFFALO, N.Y. - Buffalo Bills backup offensive tackle Matt Murphy has a
partially torn left rotator cuff, but will wait two weeks before
deciding whether to have what could be season-ending surgery.
Buffalo Bills fans worried about
this year's offence initially looking no better than last year's anemic
attack aren't alone. Receiver Lee Evans shares the concerns after what
he saw in the Bills' pre-season opener.
The Buffalo Bills preseason game against the Pittsburgh Steelers
Thursday in Toronto will be televised live on WHAM (Channel 13), the
team officially announced tonight.
Watching players commit preseason mistakes is like being disappointed
after dining at Red Lobster: While inevitable, each is still unpleasant
to endure. There were expected gaffes from both whom we’d expect and a
few players who should have been better prepared during the Bills’
first preseason outing, and the rocky start almost makes one wish that
training camp could be longer. Almost.
From the time wide receiver Roscoe
Parrish arrived, Buffalo Bills coaches have talked about getting him
more involved on offense. The plan didn’t have a chance to get
implemented during his rookie year because a broken wrist robbed him of
much of the season.
Throughout a prolific college career at Northwest Missouri State,
Xavier Omon honored his two older brothers who had passed away by
sporting the No. 2. When he joined the Buffalo Bills, he was assigned
No. 25, but he quickly found a way to make it his.
Less than 48 hours before their first preseason game Bills quarterback Trent Edwards decided it was time to sit rookie receiver James Hardy down for a little talk. He had seen the second-round pick pressing a
bit in practice, feeling as if he was behind after missing five days of
work in training camp.
The Buffalo Bills recovered a fumble on the first play of their
preseason opener, but were not as sharp the rest of the way as the
Washington Redskins posted a 17-14 victory at FedEx Field.
The Buffalo Bills' first preseason game conjured memories of their 2007 regular season.
The
offense was inconsistent and sloppy at times. The defense was stretched
to its limits, but did enough to keep the Bills in the game. And here's
a news flash: The special teams had a positive impact.
The Buffalo Bills will unveil their new offense, albeit an abbreviated
version, when they open their preseason against the Washington Redskins
tonight at Fed- Ex Field.
Almost one year ago, Trent Edwards was a wide-eyed rookie third-round
draft pick who walked onto the field at the Superdome in New Orleans
not sure what to expect in his NFL preseason debut for the Buffalo
Bills.
PITTSFORD — James Hardy isn’t just a rookie when it comes to learning routes, he’s still learning how to assess injuries. Hardy,
who has missed time at Buffalo Bills training camp with a hamstring
problem, said following Thursday’s night practice at St. John Fisher he
wasn’t sure he’d be in the lineup when the team takes on the Washington
Redskins on Saturday in its first exhibition game. Coach Dick Jauron said otherwise. “He’ll play,” Jauron said of Hardy. “He practiced today and he’ll be out there.”
At least Buffalo Bills fans will get to see Brett Favre play twice
this season — as starting quarterback for the AFC East rival New York Jets. Favre
was traded by Green Bay to the Jets late Wednesday for a conditional
draft pick — reportedly as low as a fourth-round pick and as high as a
first-round pick if the Jets reach Super Bowl XLIII. As far as we know — and the Bills front office wouldn't tell us — Buffalo made no overtures to the Packers regarding a possible trade for Favre.
Some Bills should be treating Saturday's first preseason game like it
counts. Specifically, those involved in the passing offense need to
demonstrate at least a cursory ability to advance the ball, not by
executing installed plays but rather by collectively looking as if they
haven’t just met and started to learn football. Forget that the matchup
against the Redskins is little more than a training camp scrimmage:
Early August isn’t too early for an air game that’s recently been
largely decrepit to begin displaying competency.
Want the football illustration of persistence? Look no further than the Buffalo Bills’ backfield. There you will find Fred Jackson, who has gone from afterthought to a valued backup running back
Buffalo fullback Darian Barnes very likely summed up the feelings of NFL fans everywhere on Thursday when he was asked his opinion regarding the at-long-last resolution to the Brett Favre saga.
During a lull in practice, Marshawn Lynch found himself alone a few yards behind his teammates when, without warning, the Buffalo Bills running back did a standing back-flip that would have made Paul Hamm proud
There is melancholy in free safety Ko Simpson’s voice when he talks
about last season. Season opener. First half. Season- ending injury.
And, for a player still learning the nuances of the NFL game, it was
difficult sitting and watching.
The NFL implemented a new code of fan conduct Tuesday, warning that
spectators who misbehave will be ejected from stadiums and barred from
coming back.
It was a rainy night at St. John Fisher Tuesday as practice was
delayed for 15 minutes, and then after 30 minutes of work a torrential
downpour forced the team to the fieldhouse to wait it out. Fortunately
the rains let up and the Bills could finish their evening of work. Head coach Dick Jauron knows there are some benefits to
practicing in challenging elements, but worries about the health of the
players on a slick surface.
PITTSFORD — The Buffalo Bills
third night practice of the 2008 training camp at St. John Fisher
College was cut short due to heavy thundershowers on Tuesday night. There was uncertainty as to whether or not the players would take the field as the start of practice was delayed until 7:15 p.m.
PITTSFORD — All Xavier Omon has to do is think about his mother,
Delorise Omon-Brown, when his mind starts to wander and the sadness
that no 23-year-old should have already had to endure begins to engulf
him. "I look to her for my strength and I think 'If she can make
it, I can make it,'" said the Buffalo Bills rookie running back who has
seen two older brothers pass away amidst tragic circumstances.
PITTSFORD — The fullback, once a staple of virtually every offense in
the NFL, is about as rare these days as leather helmets. Darian Barnes,
who has spent his entire seven-year career at the position, realizes
he’s part of a vanishing breed.
It’s hard to start doing the exact opposite job in the middle of a
career. Imagine Gordon Ramsay shifting to maitre d’ or Charlie Sheen
suddenly getting asked to become talented and funny, and the
difficulties presented by becoming something you’re currently not are
evident. The Buffalo Bills' George Wilson is the exception: A
thoroughly marginal NFL receiver is now a possible starting safety in
the pros, and his ability to adapt to running in reverse allowed him to
find both his career and team role last year.
Donnie Spragan spent the spring among the ranks of the unemployed, but
the 32-year-old linebacker wasn't the least bit concerned about what
his future held.
Far from the mob scenes that surround NFL training camps in places such
as Green Bay and Dallas, the Buffalo Bills go through their paces
before several hundred fans on a small campus outside Rochester.
Buffalo Bills linebacker Alvin Bowen is scheduled for surgery next week
on a torn right knee ligament, likely ending his rookie season before
it starts.
Forget possibly replacing linebacker Angelo Crowell next year; after
all, the Buffalo Bills need successors for Josh Stamer and Mario Haggan
this year. Rookie Alvin Bowen would have ideally functioned as a good
deep reserve who could have doubled as a coverage man on kicks this
season, but his damaged knee means he’ll have to endure one of life’s
most frustrating circumstances, namely having to wait to prove himself.
In his first two
seasons with the Buffalo Bills, he was the unquestioned starter at
tight end. But the past offseason Royal received a not-so-subtle
message that his hold on the job may be in jeopardy.
The Buffalo Bills have some choices when it comes to resolving the
holdout of Pro Bowl left tackle Jason Peters. They can continue to send
him text messages, maybe try to track him down on MySpace, or they can
get on a plane, have themselves a face-to-face meeting and figure out
what it’s going to take to get one of their most influential players
back in uniform.
PITTSFORD — A long, nasty looking scar on the inside of Paul Posluszny’s left arm is a reminder of what might have been last season.
The fresh scratches on his neck and left side of his jaw are a sign of what could be this season.
No update on Bowen
Bills head coach Dick Jauron had no official word yet on the condition of rookie linebacker Alvin Bowen, who suffered a serious right knee injury Friday. All Jauron could say about it was he’s not optimistic Bowen will play again this season. Bowen was seen on the field at St. John Fisher College on a golf cart with his right leg immobilized.
PITTSFORD — To those of us who don't draw paychecks from National Football League teams, the news emanating from the Carolina Panthers' training camp was a bit shocking on Friday.
But for people in the NFL's inner circle — such as some of the men who play for the Buffalo Bills — hearing that Carolina Pro Bowl wide receiver Steve Smith punched out teammate Ken Lucas, a cornerback, during a sideline fight wasn't shocking.
The Pittsburgh Steelers finished an injury-filled opening week of training camp Saturday with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and outside linebacker LaMarr Woodley both sidelined with sore groins.
Woodley sat out the second of the team's two practices, while Roethlisberger took part in some 7-on-7 passing drills but skipped the rest of the 2-hour workout.
When James Hardy was six months old, his mother took a picture of him the first time they went to Buffalo.
Nearly 21 years later, Hardy was celebrating one of the biggest moments of his life after the Bills drafted him in the second round, 41st overall, in April’s NFL draft when that photo re-appeared. For the former Indiana University standout, it was fun to reminisce on a day meant for looking ahead
Is this the year for Trent Edwards, Marshawn Lynch and the rest of the young Bills? Oddsmakers have released the 2009 Super Bowl odds to win and Buffalo is listed at 50/1.
The Bills didn’t make a huge splash in free agency this offseason, but did add linebacker Kawika Mitchell (Giants), cornerback William James (Eagles) and defensive tackle Spencer Johnson (Vikings).
■ Darrell Green, Art Monk and Joe Gibbs are the links to Washington's championship past.
Jason Taylor and Jim Zorn represent the Redskins' future.
Tonight the two eras will come face-to-face as Monk and Green watch the revamped Redskins play Indianapolis in the Hall of Fame Game.
The game culminates a weekend-long celebration for Redskins fans that includes Monk and Green being inducted together last night.
Gary Zimmerman never wanted to be an offensive lineman.
To hear him tell it, nobody does.
He went to Oregon because it was the only school offering him a chance to play middle linebacker, an opportunity that vanished quickly. When he showed up for the team's first practice, the Ducks gave him No. 75 an unusual number for a linebacker.
Rookie receiver James Hardy's first objective in an effort to make an immediate impact on the Buffalo Bills offense this season is a simple one: Get close with the guy throwing him the ball, quarterback Trent Edwards.
“I'm trying to be Trent's best friend,” Hardy said. “Whatever I have to do, if I have to go to his house, I'll be there.”
PITTSFORD, N.Y. – Rookie receiver James Hardy's first objective in an effort to make an immediate impact on the Buffalo Bills offense this season is a simple one: Get close with the guy throwing him the ball, quarterback Trent Edwards.
“I'm trying to be Trent's best friend,” Hardy said. “Whatever I have to do, if I have to go to his house, I'll be there.”
The look Ashton Youboty gives you when you ask the question is one of
incredulity, and given all that the 24-year-old Buffalo Bills
cornerback has been through in the last 27 months, it is a look that
surprises you.
Buffalo Bills rookie linebacker Alvin Bowen sustained what's initially
been diagnosed as a severe right knee injury in practice Friday, and
coach Dick Jauron expressed fear that the player could miss the rest of
the season.
Bills rookie linebacker Alvin Bowen suffered the first training camp
casualty when he suffered what looks like a very serious right knee
injury. It happened right in front of me and some other reporters. His
knee buckled and bent inward as soon as he planted his foot into the
ground.
The left ankle of free safety Ko Simpson remains a worry
this summer. Simpson, who broke the ankle in the season opener last
September, sat out Thursday’s practice due to discomfort in his ankle
and foot area. He was taken for a magnetic resonance imaging test that coach Dick Jauron said showed no major problem.
