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Bills Lose Hall of Fame Game as Reed Goes In
Bills Lose To Giants: Doug Marrone's former quarterback Ryan Nassib hit Corey Washington with a 73 yard bomb for the winning touchdown early in the fourth quarter as the Giants beat the Bills 17-13 in the Hall of Fame game. Kyle Williams had a strip sack that setup an opening field goal. The Giants scored the first touchdown with their starting unit on their third series going against the Bills backup defensive squad. Jeff Tuel led an 80 yard touchdown drive in 15 plays hitting Robert Woods for a two yard scoring pass on a 4th down play to tie the score at 10 at halftime. Doug Carpenter hit a 51 yard field goal to give the Bills a short lived third quarter lead.
Football Is Back!: Now that the emotions of the Hall of Fame ceremony are behind us we can start looking ahead to the first preseason game of the NFL season as the Bills take on the Giants tonight at 8pm in the Hall of Fame game in Canton Ohio. The Bills are fairly healthy heading into the matchup except at tight end where it is highly unlikely Scott Chandler and Tony Moeaki will play. Chandler has been sidelined with a groin injury and Moeaki has a hamstring injury. They may be without Marquise Goodwin who hurt his hamstring during Friday night's practice. Leodis McKelvin likely is out as he has not been taking part in team drills all week as he comes back from offseason hip surgery. Stephon Gilmore may sit as well or play very sparingly as he comes back from offseason surgery and has had some limited reps. Injury Page.
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Saturday August 2, 2014
Reed With An Emotional Speech: It was an emotional and celebratory night for Bills Mafia as Andre Reed went into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. His speech that lasted more than 35 minutes. Reed thanked all the team GMs and coaches along with players such as Jim Kelly, Thurman Thomas, James Lofton, Bruce Smith, John Butler, and Darryl Talley. He called Ralph Wilson the greatest owner in sports history. He noted Mary Wilson's same passion for football and followed that up with saying "the Bills will stay in Buffalo". The crowd mostly filled with Bills fans erupted and Reed paused for a while to let the National television cameras see Bills Mafia. Mary Wilson was in attendance tonight can't see how she could allow the trust to sell this team to the Toronto group after tonight. The exclamation point of the speech came at the end when Kelly threw one more pass to Reed and the two embraced. In the speech Reed called Kelly the toughest person he knows and he is the only reason why he was enshrined. He talked about the respect everyone had for Marv Levy and called him a father figure. Reed said he doesn't know how Levy handled all the big egos. The cameras caught Levy mouthing "I don't know either". After the peformance of the Bills fans in attendance the league has to stand up and say there is no way this team could ever be allowed to leave.
Reed's Open Letter: Andre Reed released an open letter to Bills fans today that stated: "Bills fans, On the doorstep of my induction into the Pro Football hall of Fame, I want to hit the pause button and take a moment to thank Bills fans for all the years of support and friendship thrown my way. It’s never easy to go to a new place and start your life over, but from the moment I met Bruce Smith on the plane ride in, and Darryl Talley shortly after at the Big Tree, I knew I was in for the ride of my life. There will never be another team like ours or one that can compare to the talent and personalities of that Buffalo Bills era. There is no place like Buffalo and no other place for the Bills. We represent the blue-collar personality of the city of Buffalo. We are old school football; we do the work and put in the dirt. Simple as that. We played all those games together, we were all one team, one family out there and when I go into the Hall, I am taking a piece of each and every one of you with me. It was a privilege, an honor, and a dream come true for me to play in Buffalo for the Bills. Thank you from the bottom of my heart and GO BILLS! Andre Reed.
Reed Gets The Jacket: Andre Reed got his hall of fame jacket at a special ceremony last night. It was an emotional night especially an emotional hug between the newest Hall of Famer and Jim Kelly that brought tears to Reed's eyes. Bills Mafia has invaded Canton Ohio and their are plenty of Bills fans there for tonight's ceremony on a rainy day that won't dampen the emotions of the moment. Many feel Reed's speech will be the most emotional given how long he had to wait to get in, Kelly's cancer struggle, and the loss of patriach Ralph Wilson. With the future of the franchise hanging over our head it is a nice night for Bills fans to celebrate everywhere. We will be watching and tweeting throughout the night. While Reed is giving his speech the current Bills will be getting a tour of the Hall of Fame as they are in town for Sunday night's opener to the NFL season against the Giants.
For commentary on Hall of Fame night follow us on twitter!
Friday August 1, 2014
Three Return To Practice: Tonight's practice was delayed thanks to lightning at St. John Fisher College. They started with a walk through in the gym before hitting the turf. They got three players back from injury tonight as they didn't practice in full pads for the first time in almost two weeks. Chris Hairston returned after missing a practice and a half with a back issue. Chris Williams returned after leaving yesterday with a toe injury and Lee Smith back after missing a practice and a half with a lower body injury. Scott Chandler and Tony Moeaki were the only two players sidelined on Friday night. On the field Cyril Richardson got some more first team reps at right guard while Hairston saw time at left tackle with the second team. Injury Page.
Pegula, Trump Advance: Donald Trump and Terry Pegula have advanced to the next phase of the process to buy the Buffalo Bills. John Wawrow of the Associated Press was the first to confirm Trump has advanced. He is reportedly bidding alone and doing it in all cash. Tim Graham of the Buffalo News was the first to confirm Pegula goes on to the next round. The future of the Toronto group is unclear. Reports say they may have advanced as well but that has yet to be confirmed. John Kryk of the Toronto Sun says that with Bon Jovi as the principal member of the group they will have issues matching any offer. Bon Jovi reportedly has no interest not being the primary guy and if he doesn't take a secondary role their bid may be in trouble. WGRZ's Adam Benigni says three sources confirmed to him that the initial July 29th deadline for initial non binding bids has been extended indefinitely as the trust is likely disappointed only to get three bids. That may give an opening for Tom Golisano to get involved. You have to figure this will drag the process out longer than expected. The next step for Pegula and Trump is to meet with Morgan Stanley and Russ Brandon to get more detailed finanacial information about the franchise.
Thursday July 31, 2014
TE Injury Woes Continue: The Bills continue to be shorthanded at tight end. Scott Chandler remains out with a groin injury and Tony Moeaki is still sitting with a hamstring injury. They did get Chris Gragg back yesterday but Lee Smith missed practice today with a lower body injury. Evan Rodriguez is getting some snaps at tight end, it is a position he played in the past. The only healthy tight ends right now are Gragg and recently signed Dominique Jones. In other injury news, Chris Williams left practice early today with a toe injury. 5th round pick Cyril Richardson took the 1st team reps at left guard after Williams left. He also took some 1st team reps at right guard yesterday and today. The team was already a bit thin on the O-Line after Chris Hairston left practice early yesterday with a back injury. He did not practice today either. On the field, EJ Manuel connected with Sammy Watkins on a 98 yard touchdown pass that travelled 40 yards in the air, he blew by Stephon Gilmore and ran the other 60 yards for the score. Injury Page.
Practice Moved To 1PM: The Bills announced they have moved today's practice from an 8:00am morning practice to a 2:00pm workout because of rain and lightning in the area. They then moved it back an hour to 1pm. The first change was announced just over an hour before the practice was originally scheduled to start.
Report Toronto Group Can't Match Pegula: The Toronto Sun reports that the Toronto group is likely tapped out and will not be able to beat Terry Pegula's reported $1.3 Billion bid for the team. The report states that Jon Bon Jovi only wants to be involved as the majority owner and to do that he needs to come up with 30% of the money which would limit the amount the group could bid in their current makeup. There was a report yesterday that the Toronto group bid $1.2 Billion but the article states that would be their max bid and likely the bid was more in the $800 to $900 Million range. The report estimates that Donald Trump's initial bid was likely between $700 Million and $1.1 Billion.
Wednesday July 30, 2014
Rain Delayed Practice: The Bills had to stop practice in the middle of it today because of heavy rain and thunder and lightning. After a lengthy delay they made it back on the field. By all twitter reports EJ Manuel seemed to have a very good practice. Chris Gragg returned to practice after missing a week with heat cramps. He caught a touchdown along with Robert Woods during 7 on 7 red zone drills.
Jackson Gets Extension: The Bills took care of one of their running backs to keep him off the market. The team announced they have given Fred Jackson a contract extension. It is reportedly a one year extension for $2.6 Million with another $1 Million in incentives. Jackson is the oldest running back in the league but he continues to defy father time and is very popular in the locker room and with the fans and the front office. Jackson said he's extremely happy and it gets him one step closer to finishing his career in Buffalo. He is honored he has a chance to start and finish his career with the Bills. He said he'd like to play 3 or 4 more years but his son came up and said he should play five more years.
Bradham Suspended: The NFL has announced that Nigel Bradham has been suspended for one game for violating the leagues substance abuse policy. The suspension is for the August 2013 arrest for possession of marijuana. He already appealed and lost and said after practice today he was shocked by the suspension. He was the likely starter on opening day replacing Kiko Alonso before the suspension. He is allowed to practice with the team and participate in the preseason and then can return to the team on Monday Sept. 8th.
Pegula Bid High; Golisano Still To Bid? Buffalo Business First reports that the initial bid by Terry Pegula is a whopping $1.3 Billion. If this is true that would already bee $200 Million more than any NFL team has sold for in the past. The Miami Dolphins went for $1.1 Billion. All Bills fans are hoping this isn't his cieling but a starting point so he can out bid the Toronto group. The Buffalo News reports that Tom Golisano may still bid even though he did not by last night's deadline. Sources tell the paper that Golisano may call Morgan Stanley to see if they would like another bid. Their source also confirms that Pegula, Donald Trump, and the Bon Jovi group are the only bidders. Even though the deadline has passed it is up to the trust if they want to accept more bids.
Bids Are In: Last night's deadline has past and the bids are in for the Buffalo Bills. The Toronto Sun reports there are only three bids for the team and in a surprise Tom Golisano is not one of them. There are conflicting reports on whether or not he can still bid even though the deadline has passed. He reportedly feels that is possible but some say no. The N.Y. Post reports Terry Pegula's initial bid is over $1 Billion which is a lot for an opening bid and will likely cinch the Bills being sold for more money than any other team in NFL history. The other bidders are the Toronto group led by Bon Jovi and Donald Trump. No word on what those bids were. Trump said on Fox News Monday night he doesn't believe he will win out because he won't do anything too stupid. His spokesman says he was talking about an outrageous bid like the $2 Billion for the LA Clippers and that his bid will be very competitive. The Toronto group reportedly is meeting with Scott Congel about his stadium site in West Seneca but the developer did not bid on the team like had been specualted by some.
Tuesday July 29, 2014
Initial Bids Due Today: Prospective buyers of the Buffalo Bills have until 5pm today to notify Morgan Stanley if they intend to remain in the bidding for the team. Anyone that wants to stay in the process must submit an official notice of intent along with an initial non binding bid. Names of people/groups that are expected to make a bid include the Bon Jovi Toronto group, The Pegulas, Tom Golisano, Donald Trump and perhaps Jeffrey Gundlach and C. Dean Metropoulos. The Buffalo News reports that Scott Congel will not bid but will work on his proposed West Seneca stadium project. The paper also reports at least 15 non disclosure agreements were submitted which is a number that is considered low. Those agreements gave them access to the sales book to decide if they want to submit the initial bid. The goal is to have a new owner in place to be approved by league owners during the October 7th and 8th owners meeting.
Fiesty Camp: The Bills hit the practice field last night instead of the morning and the players seemed to have some pent up energy to get out. There were a few skirmshes including a fight between C Macky MacPherson and DE Bryan Johnson and another one between DE Iggy Igbinosun and Cyrus Kouandjio. Doug Marrone got upset with the chippiness and got OL coach Pat Morris and DL coach Pepper Johnson together to discuss it. Things got heated between Marrone and Johnson before the head coach got both units together to put a stop to it. By the end of the huddle there was laughing in the huddle. After practice all players seemed to shrug it off as just things that happen on the football field. The team was in pads for the sixth straight practice but they did not go live because of the change in the schedule. They waited until the night because the forecast for the morning was for lightning. Among the people taking in practice yesterday were Chris Collinsworth, Buddy Nix, Marty Schottenheimer, and Paul Hackett. The team has Tuesday off.
Chandler Sits: Scott Chandler sat out practice yesterday after leaving Sunday's session with a groin injury. Sammy Watkins didn't see any team reps but was not hurt it just seemed to be a rest day for him as the team held one of their shorter practices. Chris Gragg continues to sit after having a heat issue last week. Tony Moeaki and Kenny Ladler remain sidelined with hamstring injuries. Tim Graham of the Buffalo News reports that Cordy Glenn is due back from his illness before the start of the season. A source told the paper he would be shocked if Glenn wasn't ready to participate in at least one preseason game and be ready for the opener. Doug Marrone said he hasn't heard that Glenn will be ready. Aaron Williams sat out because he was sick and Kevin Elliott returned after leaving Sunday night with concussion like symptoms. Injury Page.
Monday July 28, 2014
Practice Moved: The Bills have moved today's practice. It was originally scheduled for 8am but has been moved to a night practice at 6pm. Unlike other night practices, a ticket is not required to get in. It is being reported that the move was made for weather related reasons.
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