As if Buddy Nix’s offseason menu didn’t already have enough on his plate, you can add re-doing a pair of deals to his entree. While the talk of which free agents to bring back, new ones to target and the upcoming NFL draft will dominate headlines over the next few months, locking up two of his emerging offensive stars heading towards the final year of their deals will be a high priority.
Quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick and wide receiver Stevie Johnson as it stands will enter 2011 with just one year left on their contracts.
Fitzpatrick signed a three-year deal with the Bills in 2009 and is scheduled to profit $2.8 million next season. At his year-end press conference this Monday head coach Chan Gailey said he’s “very committed” to Fitzpatrick. That commitment needs to extend beyond the football field.
Continue reading ‘Johnson, Fitzpatrick Should Be In Line For New Deals’
Mary Kat Cabot, beat writer for the Cleveland Plain Dealer, offers an interesting tidbit about former Buffalo Bills defensive coordinator/interim head coach Perry Fewell. Cabot reports that Fewell is a serious candidate for the Cleveland Browns head coaching vacancy.
Citing a league source, Cabot writes Fewell is a “serious candidate for head coach and not just to satisfy Rooney Rule.”
After failing to get his interim lifted in Buffalo last offseason as Buddy Nix instead hired Chan Gailey, Fewell went to New York to become defensive coordinator for the Giants under head coach Tom Coughlin.
Continue reading ‘Former Bills Coach a Candidate For Browns Job’
The NFL announced Thursday that Buffalo Bills defensive tackle Kyle Williams has been added to the AFC Pro Bowl roster.
Williams will replace Richard Seymour of the Oakland Raiders, who will miss the game with an injury.
This will be the first Pro Bowl appearance for Williams, who many argue deserved to be on the roster to begin with. He was also an alternate last season.
Williams led the Bills with 5.5 sacks this season and had 87 tackles; the second-most by any defensive tackle in the NFL. He also led the Bills with 14 tackles for losses— more than double the amount of the nearest Bills defender. Throw in a pair of fumble recoveries and Williams was by far the most consistent Bills defender on a unit that was lousy overall, surely the reason he was snubbed from the Pro Bowl to begin with.
Williams, who earned $1.75 million in base salary last season and will make the same again in 2001, is signed through 2012.
The University of Stanford has announced that quarterback prospect Ryan Luck will be returning for school for his junior year and not declaring for the 2011 NFL Draft.
Wow… Wow… Wow.
Without question Luck was headed towards being the number one pick by Carolina when the draft got underway in late April. According to reports, Luck’s desire to earn his degree (Spring 2012) in architectural design outweighed his ambition to go to the NFL this year and make millions.
Continue reading ‘Andrew Luck To Stay In School’
The University at Buffalo women’s basketball team won its third consecutive game on Wednesday night, defeating Akron in its MAC opener, 61-45, at Rhodes Arena. The Bulls improve to 8-6 on the season and win their MAC opener for the first time since the 2007-08 season.
The Zips took an early lead in the game scoring seven of the first nine points, taking their largest lead of the game at five just two minutes into the game. The Bulls responded with an 8-0 run to take their first lead of the game on a basket by senior Kourtney Brown. UB led by as many as seven in the opening half as Brown had 17 of her game-high 28 points in the opening 20 minutes. The Bulls took a 26-21 lead into the half.
Continue reading ‘Lady Bulls Open MAC Play With 61-45 Win At Akron’
Demitrius Conger booked a double-double with game highs of 21 points and 10 boards, Ogo Adegboye had 17 to go with nine assists, and St. Bonaventure (8-5) ended its non-conference season with a 68-55 win over Arkansas-Little Rock (8-9) Wednesday night at the Jack Stephens Center.
The Bonnies took control for good behind a 16-2 run that turned a 39-37 advantage into a 16-point cushion at the 7:51 mark of the final period. The run – powered by 3s from Adegboye and Conger – occurred with preseason Atlantic 10 First Team selection Andrew Nicholson on the bench, as the junior was saddled with foul trouble from the start. He finished with 11 points on 5-of-8 from the floor in just 20 minutes of action.
Continue reading ‘Bona Ends Non-Conference Play With Win’
