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for July 2011
 In a move that really can’t be looked at as anything but a positive, the Bills came to terms today with former Packer LB Nick Barnett. Barnett broke the news via his Twitter page. The always-on-the-spot Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that the deal is worth $12 million over three years, with $6 million guaranteed.
Barnett spent the weekend visiting in Buffalo and was apparently impressed. Via his Twitter page: “God has blessed me once again to be part of a great organization.. Great coaches, Great staff, Great players and more importantly great fans.”
The 30-year-old Barnett has spent his entire eight-year career in Green Bay up to this point. He’s been a mainstay in the Packer linebacking corps when healthy, racking up six 100+ tackle seasons to go with 15.5 career sacks and nine career interceptions.
Continue reading ‘Barnett Signs Three Year Deal With Bills’
 With Paul Posluszny fleeing to Jacksonville, the Buffalo Bills have a clear need for help at inside linebacker. On Saturday, they continued to explore his replacement.
Former Green Bay Packers linebacker Nick Barnett met with the organization on Saturday, a meeting that included Buddy Nix and James Overdorf. He later had dinner with a couple of Bills players.
I’m told Barnett has received an offer from the Bills and has offers from at least two other teams. One of them is the Detroit Lions. A decision on who he joins is expected to come as early as Sunday.
Barnett was released from Green Bay this past Tuesday after eight seasons with the club. His season wa cut short last year when he hurt his wrist and was placed on Injured Reserve. His health reportedly became a concern in Green Bay, after finishing on I.R. two of the past three seasons.
Continue reading ‘Nick Barnett Visits With Bills’
Former Buffalo Bills quarterback Trent Edwards has found work, signing a one-year contract with the Oakland Raiders, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports.
Edwards will be the backup to Jason Campbell in Oakland. He played for Jacksonville last year after the Bills released him three weeks into the season.
Originally a third-round pick by Buffalo in 2007 out of Stanford, Edwards played in 34 games for Buffalo, throwing 25 touchdowns and 27 interceptions. Edwards’ conservative approach on the field and generic personality off it never went over well with Bills fans.
 So say you’re in charge a football team. Among your team’s biggest weaknesses is the fact that your defense can not generate a pass rush of any kind. Quarterback after quarterback has all day to stand back in the pocket and pick your secondary apart. This no-pass-rush problem has been a huge issue for several seasons now. You have to solve it if you ever want to contend for a title.
You try lots of things. Free agents, high draft picks, defensive scheme changes…it all fails. The fans, players, coaches, and management are all frustrated beyond belief.
But suddenly…there’s a glimmer of hope. One of your late round draft picks- an outside linebacker - is showing promise. He’s not setting the league on fire, but he’s making plays. He’s getting to the quarterback. He’s a small-school guy who is pretty raw, so there’s lots of room for improvement. Scouts and reporters around the league think that this guy could be BIG…a future star! Possibly a big part of the solution to your pass rush needs!
Continue reading ‘Bills Working Arthur Moats At ILB’
 Last season, wide receiver David Nelson pulled off the near-impossible: as an undrafted rookie free agent he survived training camp to not only make an NFL roster but become an important member of the team. Avoiding the potential pitfalls of camp is difficult for any rookie, even highly-paid first-round picks – let alone for nameless undrafted rookies.
Therefore, Nelson must have done something right in order to get through camp unscathed last season. Fortunately for this year’s rookies, Nelson has decided to share the top 10 lessons he learned in camp last year via his Twitter feed.
We’ll re-print his tips here. While his tips are geared toward surviving NFL training camp: a lot these tips translate to any job:
Continue reading ‘David Nelson’s Guide to Surviving Training Camp for Rookies’
 It took Buffalo Bills fans a little over four months of suffering through the NFL lockout to get to the point of free agency. For the majority of them, it took less than 72 hours to want to jump off a bridge following the first big rash of free agent signings without the Bills making a huge splash.
Heading into the this frenzied shopping period, it was assumed and reported the team’s top priority would be retaining Paul Posluszny and Drayton Florence. They batted .500, re-signing Florence but losing Posluszny after he signed an outrageous, six-year, $42 million deal with Jacksonville. They inked handyman Brad Smith from the Jets and backup quarterback Tyler Thigpen while pursuing…and losing out on the top offensive tackle in the market, Tyson Clabo.
Fearful that seasons like last year’s 4-12 campaign will continue, followers of the team are desperate for Buddy Nix to overhaul the roster within the next week. It’s not going to happen, folks. Nix has made it abundantly clear his philosophy towards building the team centers on quality drafts and retaining their core players. Free agents will be brought in, but not guys that will dramatically alter their fortunes.
Like it or not, it’s going to be a process and unfortunately, likely a long one.
Continue reading ‘Plenty Of Talent Left In FA Pool At Key Positions For Bills’
 Rather than clog up the newsfeed with a post regarding every move that’s made in what’s sure to be a hectic NFL Wednesday, we’ll use this to provide a timeline and updates for you throughout the day. However, unlike the past few days, we’re only able to be with you until about 1pm today. .
So for now let’s sit back, relax and see what, if anything happens with the Bills today. Keep checking back— refresh button is your friend today.
8:30am: It was a crazy Thursday evening in the NFL. Time to play a little catch up and see what’s appened since we ended Thursday’s thread.
The big news for the Buffalo Bills is they lost out on offensive tackle Tyson Cablo, who ended up re-signing with Atlanta for $25 million over five years, including $11.5 million guaranteed. He was regarded as the best free agent right tackle on the market. Buffalo tried but ultimately Clabo decided to stay put. Budd Nix said he wasn’t going to spend a whole lot in free agency on other players. He wasn’t lying.
Continue reading ‘Your Friday Bills/NFL Updates Post’
 According to CBS Sports, the Buffalo Bills have signed New York Jets free agent wide receiver/quarterback Brad Smith.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports the deal is for four years and $15 million.
An all-purpose weapon, Smith should fit in well with Bills head coach Chan Gailey and the variations of the pistol formation offense he’s sure to run. While he’s listed as a wide receiver, he’ll line up in plenty of spots for the Bills, including the backfield and even quarterback on occasion.
In five seasons in the league, Smith has 557 receiving yards on 64 catches with two touchdowns and 767 rushing yards on 98 carries with two touchdowns. He’s also one of the most dangerous kick returners in football (two touchdown returns last season) and can also play quarterback. In fact, he started at quarterback in the Jets season finale against the Bills last year and rushed five times for 60 yards on the game’s first drive.
We’ll have much more on this signing later. It’s not the big free agent splash most fans are hoping for, but I’m confident this is a move that will work out well for the organization and improve the product on the field.
 Rather than clog up the newsfeed with a post regarding every move that’s made in what’s sure to be a hectic NFL Wednesday, we’ll use this to provide a time line and updates for you throughout the day. Of course, if something major regarding the Buffalo Bills goes down, it’ll receive its own post.
So for now let’s sit back, relax and see what, if anything happens with the Bills today. Keep checking back— refresh button is your friend today.
9:00am: Welcome back to what’s sure to be another action-packed day of NFL transactions. The Bills were able to re-sign Drayton Florence yesterday to a three-year, $15 million deal—a contract I consider very friendly to the organization. Florence will play a lot and serve as a mentor to rookie Aaron Williams. I really like the move. Three other players emerged as guys the Bills reportedly have interest in; offensive tackle Tyson Clabo, linebacker Kevin Burnett and defensive end/OLB Jason Babin. As of early this morning all remain free agents and of the three, Clabo would be a great pickup that could really help bolster the offensive line. We’ll see what happens.
Continue reading ‘Your Thursday Buffalo Bills/NFL Updates Post’
 The final remaining member of the Buffalo Bills 2007 draft class has departed for what he considers to be greener pastures. When unrestricted free agency officially opens at 6:00 pm on Friday and players can officially sign contracts with new teams, Paul Posluszny will dawn a brand new turquoise and black, number 51 Jacksonville Jaguars jersey. Posluszny will also have plenty of folding money when he reaches Northern Florida as the Jags rewarded him handsomely for his limited talents to the tune of a six year contract worth $42 million.
You can debate whether or not a player who has proven to be extremely injury-prone and doesn’t have a knack for making big plays is worth $7 million per year but nevertheless, Poz’s departure leaves a major hole in the middle of the Bills defense. If the Bills’ season were to start tomorrow the likeliest starting inside linebacker duo would feature a 32 year-old Andra Davis coming off season-ending shoulder surgery and a 30 year-old Reggie Torbor who has never totaled more than 44 tackles in a single season. The team did draft Kelvin Sheppard in the third round and Chris White in the sixth round of April’s draft, but to assume they would be able to learn the system and significantly contribute in a matter of a month is extremely foolish.
The thought of the Bills standing pat with their current linebacking corps filled with journeyman and inexperience is unacceptable.
Continue reading ‘Plenty Of Talent In FA Pool To Replace Poz’
 Rather than clog up the newsfeed with a post regarding every move that’s made in what’s sure to be a hectic NFL Wednesday, we’ll use this to provide a time line and updates for you throughout the day. Of course, if something major regarding the Buffalo Bills goes down, it’ll receive its own post.
So for now let’s sit back, relax and see what, if anything happens with the Bills today. Keep checking back— refresh button is your friend today.
9:00am: Evan Silva of Rotoworld expects the New York Jets to end up signing Nmadi Asomugha today. That would be good news for Bills fans wanting Drayton Florence back. It was widely reported last night that the Jets along with the Bills are in on Florence. Buddy Nix on WGR this morning said the Bills are being “competitive” to bring Florence back.
Continue reading ‘Your Wednesday Bills/NFL Updates Post’
 Buffalo Bandits Director of Lacrosse Operations Scott Loffler today announced that the team has signed defenseman Scott Self to a three-year contract, pending league approval.
The Peterborough, Ont. native said he is looking forward to continuing his career in Buffalo.
“I wanted to get a deal done,” Self said. “I’m glad to be back in a Bandits uniform this year.”
Self appeared in 15 games for the Bandits last season, compiling 10 points (2+8), 77 loose balls and a career-high 36 penalty minutes. Self scored the game-winning goal in overtime to lift the Bandits to a 15-14 win vs. Toronto in Week 3 of the 2011 NLL season.
Continue reading ‘Bandits Re-Sign Scott Self For Three Years’
 Just like we anticipated in a report on July 6, the Buffalo Bills have moved quickly to address their backup quarterback situation behind Ryan Fitzpatrick, signing Tyler Thigpen to a three-year deal, reuniting him with Chan Gailey.
Omar Kelly of the Miami Sun-Sentinel was the first to report the transaction. Thigpen cannot sign with the Bills until 6pm Friday.
Thigpen started for the Kansas City Chiefs in 2008 while Gailey served as offensive coordinator. There, Thigpen easily had the best season of his career. Thigpen finished 2008 in Gailey’s pistol offense with 18 touchdowns, 12 interceptions and 2,608 yards on 230-of-420 passing. Unfortunately for Thigpen, the Chiefs were a terrible team and went just 1-13 with him as the starter.
Continue reading ‘Bills Sign Tyler Thigpen To Three-Year Deal’
 About 24 hours ago we published an article stating that the Buffalo Bills re-signing Paul Posluszny wouldn’t be the mere formality most though it’d be simply because the two sides have spoken fondly of each other through the press. Less than a full calendar later, Posluszny returning to Buffalo for 2011 appears to suddenly be a long shot.
Multiple reports throughout the day and evening have had the Jacksonville Jaguars strongly linked to Posluszny, and the most telling blow may have come via a tweet from Fox Sports NFL insider Jay Glazer. When asked by a fan if there’s interest out there in Posluszny, Glazer boldly responded by saying “he’ll sign with the Jags.”
He may not be the most accomplished linebacker in the NFL, but losing Posluszny would clearly be a big blow to a Buffalo defense already relatively thin at inside linebacker. A departure by Posluszny would leave the team at the present moment with just Andra Davis, Reggie Torbor and third-round rookie Kelvin Sheppard as depth that could potentially start.
That’s just not good enough.
Continue reading ‘Posluszny To Sign With Jacksonville’
 It looks like the dark skies have finally broke as the longest lockout in NFL league history finally came to an end on its 136th day. With the new CBA all but ratified, it’s time to start looking forward to football.
Before the Buffalo Bills hit camp on Friday in Pittsford, they have to address some significant areas of need. Based on information receive, NFL free agency may start as early today even though players can’t officially sign with teams until Friday.
The Buffalo News reported last week that the Bills will be under the anticipated $120 million salary cap by about $38 million, and it’s expected that teams will need to spend up to about 90% of that figure. Buffalo has made its intentions of resigning Paul Posluszny and Drayton Florence very clear, but by no means should those two contracts take them anywhere near the required cap floor. The Bills will also have to sign their nine draft picks to contracts as well, but with the new rookie wage scale set to take force when the lockout is over, it would be hard to believe the team would be close to reaching that salary floor.
Continue reading ‘Finding Right Type of Free Agents Key for Bills Success’
 Courtesy of Bills.com, here’s a photo of Buffalo Bills quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick getting an upfront, first-hand look at the team’s new helmet.
He seems excited about it and without question, his helmet is shiny and new. Still, you can’t help but wonder in the back of his mind if he’s thinking that helmet is going to be full of grass stains in little time unless his offensive line gets a lot better at protecting him than they were last year.
Anyway, the front office, coaches and players are reporting to Ralph Wilson Stadium today as the facility is open to the players for the first time in 137 days. Training camp begins Friday in Pittsford with actual practices commencing Saturday.
Continue reading ‘Tuesday Buffalo Bills Updates’
 It’s been reported ad nauseum over the past few months that a priority for the Buffalo Bills was re-signing Paul Posluszny. In return, Posluszny has said repeatedly to any media outlet that would listen he’d love to continue playing in Buffalo. On the surface, it appears a long term reunion would be a mere formality once the NFL labor mess was finally settled.
Well, not so fast.
Posluszny has continued to say he’d prefer re-signing with the Bills. However, in an interview with John Wawrow of the Associated Press just hours after the NFL lockout concluded on Monday, Posluszny said he will test the open market. In fact, he told Wawrow that it “would be responsible for him to not listen to what other opportunities are out there.”
Fans who are taken the linebacker’s return to Buffalo for granted shouldn’t. Thirty one other teams besides the Bills have the right to negotiate with Posluszny beginning Tuesday, and he can sign with any team he chooses come Friday.
Continue reading ‘Posluszny’s Return To Buffalo No Formality’
 For the second time in two years, the Buffalo Bills have moved quick (once allowed) to sign a University at Buffalo undrafted free agent. Last year the Bills signed wide receiver Naaman Roosevelt, who made the practice squad, hit the active roster and then made an impact on the field late in the season. Perhaps lightning will strike twice with Buffalo getting Bulls safety Dominic Cook to join the defensive secondary mix.
Cook spent the first three seasons of his UB career at cornerback before converting to safety for his senior season. His play was stellar last year—- earning first-team All-MAC honors, largely on the strength of six interceptions (sixth in the nation) while forcing three fumbles.
Cook is hoping to join his teammate from last year in the NFL as 2011 rookies. Cornerback Josh Thomas probably has a much easier road as he was a fifth-round draft pick by Dallas this past April.
Another teammate in the UB secondary from last season, Davonte Shannon, is likely to get a NFL training camp invite in the next 24 hours.
**UPDATE** Via Twitter, it looks like the Bill have signed two more undrafted free agents. Bills wide receiver David Nelson tweets that the team has signed his former University of Florida teammate, running back Emmanuel Woody while WGR’s Joe Buscaglia is reporting that Texas Tech linebacker Brian Duncan has also signed.
 Tickets for the 2011 Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame dinner are now on sale. Tickets may be purchased at www.gbshof.com by completing the ticket form and sending, with payment, to: Melissa Gearhart – Ticket Chair; c/o The Conference & Event Center Niagara Falls; 101 Old Falls Street; Niagara Falls, NY 14303. Tickets are priced at $85.00 each and $750.00 for a table of 10.
The 2011 induction ceremonies will be held, Wednesday, November 9 at the Hyatt Regency Buffalo. A pre-dinner reception begins at 5 pm with the dinner and ceremonies to start promptly at 7 pm.
This year’s class, the 21st to be inducted, includes NFL Pro Bowlers Ruben Brown and Jim Burt, Detroit Tigers third baseman Phil Mankowski, Olympic Gold medalist Steve Mesler, pro golfer Cindy Miller, University of Pittsburgh basketball star Curtis Aiken, local baseball legend Don Colpoys, Buffalo Sabres player and broadcaster Jim Lorentz, legendary Buffalo Bills fullback Cookie Gilchrist, the inventor of the sport of volleyball William Morgan, one of the “founding fathers” of the West Side Rowing Club, Michael Broderick and 19th century world record breaking runner, Lewis “Deerfoot” Bennett.
For additional information, call 716-888-2977.
 136 days later, the NFL lockout is now officially over. While most people have been brought up to speed on exactly how things will go down throughout this week, there’s some things to come out of this new collective bargaining agreement (which for the record is good for 10 years and contains no “opt out” clause) that fans aren’t aware of.
For that, we turn to Mac’s Football Blog for dialogue to come from this CBA.
Here is the slated schedule for how this week will work, and a short analysis on each point on how we feel it pertains to the Buffalo Bills before they open up training camp on Friday.
“Beginning on Tuesday, July 26, 2011, NFL teams may open their facilities for voluntary training, conditioning, and classroom instruction. The NFL trading period for the 2011 league year will also begin.”
Continue reading ‘Breaking Down How This Week Works For Bills’
 This is the NFL gospel according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Over the past hour, Schefter has tweeted several post-lockout details where the action will actually commence this afternoon. The following is a reprint of his words, so if he turns out to be wrong— don’t kill the messenger.
♦ Teams can sign their free agents this afternoon. Teams can begin talking to UFAs this afternoon. Teams can sign UFAs tomorrow at noon.
♦ Teams can begin talking trades this afternoon. Any trade made would not become official until Saturday.
♦ Teams can begin signing UFAs tomorrow at noon. Those contracts would not take effect until Aug 2.
Continue reading ‘Report: NFL Activities Could Start Today’
 Wide receiver Paul Hubbard likely already had an uphill battle trying to earn a roster spot on the Buffalo Bills this season. After events this weekend, his chances of sticking around may have plummeted further.
YNN reports the Bills pass catcher was arrested early Sunday morning in downtown Buffalo after police claim his vehicle struck an officer. Hubbard was arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated.
A sixth-round pick by the Cleveland Browns in 2008, Hubbard also spent time with the Oakland Raiders before signing with the Bills last year and splitting time between the practice squad and active roster. He had the lone catch of his career in Buffalo’s finale against the New York Jets last December—an eight yard grab.
If the organization plans to discipline him remains to be seen. Team representatives are prohibited with contact with any of the players while the lockout is ongoing.
It’s already expected Hubbard will have a hard time making the opening day roster. The Bills already have Lee Evans, Stevie Johnson, Roscoe Parrish, Marcus Easley, Donald Jones, David Nelson and Naaman Roosevelt under contract and Hubbard would need to have a spectacular abbreviated training camp and preseason to jump over any of the seven. While Hubbard’s arrest may not be the determining factor regarding his future in Buffalo, it certainly doesn’t appear he did himself any favors.
 Adam Schefter from ESPN is reporting via sources that the NFL Players Association and league owners have reached agreement on the remaining points needed in their 10-year labor deal, effectively ending the NFL lockout.
Technically the lockout is not over, but that’s expected to change on Monday when the players vote on the collective bargaining agreement, which Schefter writes at this point is merely considered a formality.
After the players ratify the deal, free agency and training camps are likely to begin the same day, according to Schefter. He also adds that by rule, training camps cannot begin until the new league year does, which reports indicate could be as early as this coming Wednesday.
Just like the other 31 teams in the league, the Buffalo Bills will have plenty of personnel business to attend to with little time to achieve it. They’re expected to make strong pushes to re-sign both Paul Posluszny and Drayton Florence as soon as league rules allow, and will quickly search the open market for a backup quarterback to starter Ryan Fitzpatrick among other positions that need to be filled.
The Bills will need to sign at least a dozen players to deals, which will consist of both free agents and undrafted free agents in order to reach 90 bodies for training camp, which will again be held at St. John’s Fisher college near Rochester.
News and signings will be fast and furious come some point this week, but for now football fans can take relief in the lockout finally being all-but-over.
 The Buffalo Sabres finally have a solid secondary alternative when Ryan Miller needs a break. Jhonas Enroth, who just inked a two-year contract extension on Thursday, went 9-2-2 with a 2.73 GAA and .907 save percentage last season with the club. The 22-year-old Swede was a key contributor in helping the Sabres clinch a playoff berth, going 3-0-1 when Miller suffered a head injury late in the season.
Enroth is a solid, young goaltender that is likely to continue improving and at some point, could also be a valuable asset to trade if Buffalo looks to acquire a key piece for a playoff run before next year’s trade deadline. But more importantly, Enroth gives Lindy Ruff confidence that he can get the job done in crucial games, something no Sabres backup has been able to accomplish since Martin Biron was traded to the Flyers on February 27, 2007.
Look no further than Enroth’s starts against the Montreal Canadians on February 15th and Carolina Hurricanes on April 3rd as evidence he can get the job done with plenty on the line.
Continue reading ‘Enroth Will Be Key To Sabres’ Success’
 Lauren Mariacher of the Buffalo News has a great article on Dale Stewart, who was schedule to attend UB next year but just found out he’s academically ineligible and will now attend Iowa Western Community College in the fall.
ESPN.com is reporting that the NFL lockout should end on Monday.
The countdown of the worst moments in Buffalo Bills history continues at Buffalo Rumblings, where Jim Kelly’s concussion curtain call comes in at number 17.
Bills.com lead journalist Chris Brown takes a look at who may end up starting at tight end for the Bills.
Continue reading ‘The Daily Links – July 24, 2011′
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