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| Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports |
CLICK HERE: Bills Roundup: Woods Signs, Monday Highlight
Monday, May 20, 2013
Bills Roundup: Woods Signs, Monday Highlights / Buffalobills.com
CLICK HERE: Bills Roundup: Woods Signs, Monday Highlight
OTA Practice Notes - Day 4 / BuffaloBills.com
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| Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports |
Getting back into the swing of things after a long weekend for the Bills didn’t appear to be an issue for the players when they returned for Week 2 of voluntary OTA practices. Head coach Doug Marrone prepared his players telling them to make the necessary progress the motivation had to come from within.
“I think this is a very critical week for us as far as OTAs,” said Marrone. “Obviously the installation is heavier now than it was in the beginning. Less time to prepare and you’re talking about practices number four, five and six. My challenge to the team was I can get up there every day and give them the ‘let’s go get them’ speech. But in the end that’s not going to be good enough for the upcoming season. A lot of this has to come from within and inspired from oneself to do better. That was my challenge to them.”
At this stage of the game the offense, defense and special teams units are still going through the process of installation. In no way are the players at the point where they’re trying to refine components of the scheme on their respective side of the ball.
“Right now we’re just trying to make sure we’re on the same page and once we get to the point where we’ve got a grasp of the whole offense and we see different stuff we’ll talk and I can tell a receiver he should do this,” said Tarvaris Jackson. “If you think you see something on a certain route you’ll point it out or a different coverage. But right now we’re just trying to get everybody on the same page and doing the basics.”
Woods not playing like rookie
For second-round pick WR Robert Woods, Monday was a good day off the field as he signed his rookie contract with the Bills. It was also a good day because despite missing the first week of OTAs due to the league’s college graduation rules he picked up where he left off in rookie minicamp.
Woods however, did admit his first practice with the vets was eye-opening.
“It felt good to be back on the field, but it was a lot more fast-paced on the field with the vets than it was at rookie camp,” Woods told Buffalobills.com. “No huddle, a lot of fast-paced offense, conditioning and everything, get back out there, but it’s fun to be with the guys again.”
For Woods and the rest of the receiving corps they’re still trying to get the timing down with the quarterbacks on the roster, but the rookie receiver believes it’s a matter of when not if everything will be running smooth in short order.
“From a quarterback and a receiver standpoint once we get that extra time on our hands and really get to communicate with the quarterback one-on-one I think we can really develop our relationship like that and he knows where I’m going to be and where the ball is going to be,” Woods said. “As you saw (Monday) it was a little bit off here and there, but after a while we’re going to be on fire.”
Kevin Kolb was particularly taken with one route run by Woods on Monday.
“I was really impressed with was a move that a lot of young guys make a mistake on and he didn’t make it,” Kolb said. “He beat the guy off the line and he continued to run his route and continued to push and was patient with it. He understood the timing of the offense and my footwork and we were able to hit a big play and keep the integrity of the pocket. That was good to see and I complemented him on it. A lot of young guys don’t do that. He’s somewhat complex in his route running ability.”
Alonso up with the ones
Through the first week of OTAs rookie second-round pick Kiko Alonso had been running with the second team defense at ‘mike’ linebacker. However, Alonso was moved up to the first unit on Monday as he was paired with Bryan Scott inside.
Alonso has been given the responsibility of calling the defense from the time he’s been practicing at One Bills Drive. Head coach Doug Marrone feels his rookie linebacker has had no issues handling the added responsibility.
“I have not seen a problem at all with the adjustment with him being able to do that,” said Marrone. “And that started early on when we had the rookie minicamp. He’s handled things quite well.”
With Alonso up with the first unit, Arthur Moats and Nigel Bradham worked with the second unit.
Rookies hook up again
EJ Manuel and undrafted rookie WR Da’Rick Rogers hooked up for a long touchdown last week in OTAs. This week they connected for an 80-yard scoring play on a very similar looking play.
“The biggest thing I was happy about, was Coach (Hackett) has really been harping about moving up in the pocket, and I think that was something that I tried to keep in the back of my mind,” said Manuel. “Da’Rick ran a great route. The DB was kind of mugging him a little bit, but he got over the top of the guy and made a great catch.”
O-line shuffle
When Chris Hairston pulled out of practice with an apparent injury right before team work in Monday’s practice session it set in motion a lineup shuffle up front. Hairston has been the team’s first team right tackle with Erik Pears still rehabbing. With Hairston out it moved Sam Young to the starting right tackle spot in practice Monday.
Young had been playing mostly guard through the spring as part of the left guard competition, but with Young on the edge, Colin Brown was again the primary left guard. In at left guard with the second unit was undrafted rookie Zach Chibane, while Chris Scott manned right guard with the second group.
That made Hutch Eckerson the team’s second team right tackle, with Thomas Welch the only man is his normal role as second team left tackle.
Schedule
The Bills have a morning practice scheduled for Tuesday at 10:30 am.
Bills Focus: Robert Woods Signs / Buffalobills.com
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| Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports |
Doug Marrone Press Conference / Buffalobills.com
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| AP Photo/David Duprey |
CLICK HERE:Doug Marrone Press Conference
Mario Williams Press Conference / Buffalobills.com
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| Photo by: Paul Connors |
CLICK HERE: Mario Williams Press Conference
Transcript: Bills' Mario Williams responds to published texts / wgr550.com
Posted: Monday, 20May 2013 2:25PM Transcript: Bills' Mario Williams responds to published texts
By Joe Buscaglia
JoeB@wgr550.com
Orchard Park, NY (WGR 550) -- It surely has been an interesting past two weeks for Buffalo Bills defensive end Mario Williams and his personal life. Going through a vicious lawsuit and countersuit with his ex-fianceé, details of their text messaging conversations from November of 2012 were revealed to the public.
On Monday, Williams spoke to reporters for the first time since the text messages that talked about the use of pain killers and the act of disappearing were released. Because of the nature of the subject, it's important that context of the conversation is not misused.
Because of that, here is the transcript from the eight-plus minute conversation between Williams and the media in full:
What do you make of these allegations coming out of the lawsuit and how you're being portrayed?
You know, I think it's just… it's obvious it's just a tactic to cover up the point of the whole thing. It is what it is. I could really care less. I mean, all it is is allegations, text messages or what not, whatever information blown out of proportion. I mean it's completely out of context.
The suggestions were that you talked about committing suicide. Doug Marrone is being asked questions treating it like it's some kind of mental health issue. Can you put that to rest?
(Laughs) I mean, have you seen any notion of me needing any type of help? Well, I am kind of off the wall sometimes. Other than that, no.
People often don't know. People have had their children kill themselves and will tell you that they had no idea. I'm just saying, it's something that people would take seriously.
Yeah, but in my situation, I'm completely fine. I've never had any inclination of anything that even myself would notice. Anything I take is 100-percent subscribed, given from [the Bills]. And in case you didn't know, I'm a big person. So whenever the whole situation happened with my wrist last year, you know obviously I was under a lot of pain. I couldn't even do a pushup or anything like that, so, imagine going against someone my size every play and battle with your hand. Yeah I mean, the pain pills were directed from here.
Never, even in a moment of anger as those texts suggest talked about, 'Oh I'll kill myself' just to make her feel --
In a moment of anger I'll talk about anything, I'll tell you that. (Laughs) And I don't know too many people who would say they don't. Um, so, that answers your question?
Yeah.
Could any of this that was going on last year have impacted your play in any way you think?
If anything my play I think definitely went up. If you look at it from what happened. But like I said, this is simply just, like I said, texts being taken out of context. And the whole situation of it is just kind of… you know, as of now I look at it like -- I'm not going to say I'm excited -- but I'm actually, I feel a lot better that this is coming out. Not that, but somebody's true character. You sit there and text somebody that's supposed to mean this and that to you and then that happens. No, it's better off. So I'm glad this has actually come out.
Is it frustrating for you to talk about this as opposed to straight football?
Yeah, because I told you to ask me questions about football. But, I will say the whole stuff given from the team is obviously football. And injuries are football, so that's the reason I answered that. Because everything that you get, I mean I get it through here, and it's all, you know, you take it as you're supposed to take it. I think if you were to ask any football player or anybody who goes through things with injuries and stuff like that, sometimes you know… one, two, three -- it all depends on the person. I remember when I had my pec surgery, I think they had to bring in a whole nother morphine machine for me. Because stuff like that doesn't hit me, it doesn't affect me as far as helping out. It just always varies. It varies on what it is and how it is.
You did seem despondent in those texts. "I want to disappear."
Did I? Me texting somebody something that's personal, somebody that who's a situation that it was then, I think that's just a way of venting out. But obviously that's the wrong person to vent to.
Have you ever had suicidal thoughts?
No. Not… no. No. No. Like I said, in the heat of battle and the heat of ups and downs and things like that, you're just coming to somebody who you think you can just vent to and whatever comes out, comes out. That's how you're comfortable with somebody at the time. You can say anything. My best friend, she's said 'You can say anything to me, I'm not going to take it personal. I'm not going to take it seriously.' Obviously, if you're close with somebody you can kind of hopefully pick up on things, even though you say you can't, but hopefully pick up on things and go from there. Like I said, this is something that I wouldn't tell anybody else… any type of vent, as far as venting to the person you love or what not at the time.
Your thoughts on this in light of what happened with Junior Seau, what happened with Jovan Belcher last year?
Dude, I'm nowhere near that position.
I just mean, this is a hot button issue in the NFL right now. Both pain killers and talk of suicide, that if somebody outside, no matter how they received that information, would take it seriously. Or you're supposed to take that information seriously.
You can take it however you want to take it. I mean like I said, this is something that was last year, whenever it was. And it was something told between somebody that you're with now. If it was that severe then why wouldn't it have been brought up then? Why are you bringing it on now? You see what I'm saying, this is obviously like I said, just blowing smoke over the whole thing. If it was that serious, and actually cared about me or whoever, it would have been brought up. Would it not? Would you?
Well the texts at the time do show that she's talking about an intervention, talking about you discontinuing your therapy.
Was it brought up? Was it brought up? I've never had therapy.
I don't know. I don't know. It could have been brought up behind the scenes.
It obviously would have been out because everything else I do in my life is out. And you guys take it however you want to take it.
Any regrets that this lawsuit has brought all this stuff out that you didn't really out?
I never wanted it in the first place. This is all the request of the other party that initiated all this. I made it known that this is just going to get bad and neither of us want that. But, you get what you ask for. But in my situation, my skin is unbreakable. It can be something next week, I really don't care. This (points around the field house) is all that matters to me, and that logo. Anything else about the old stuff and this and that, it sounds good. But it's the last of my worries.
So the hydrocodone came from the team?
I couldn't tell you the exact name of it. You can ask one of [the trainers], there's so many names of different stuff depending on how it affects you and so forth. But everything came from them. I mean I had my, when I got hurt in the first preseason game I think it was. Then I had surgery in the middle of the sixth game, eighth game… whenever it was. So it's not like it's something that was not issued or not allowed. It's not like I failed a test ever in my life. (Knocks on wood)
How angry are you at her lawyer?
At the end of the day I look at it like this. Like I mentioned, the whole thing about why wasn't it out then if it was that big of a deal. If I really cared about somebody and it happened then, and I thought it was serious, I would have brought attention to it. Like, it would have blown up. And this situation, that's me, and if all this other stuff is coming out now, it definitely would have blown up. Nobody would have hidden that at the time, especially after all the other episodes like you said or past situations. Your lawyer is just an extension of you. She agrees for everything that happens. So, that's why I said, honestly I've had a lot of… well this past weekend has been phenomenal for me personally, just accomplishing some things in myself and spending time with my family this weekend, football is here. And it's funny because a couple of weeks ago I was told this is a season for revealing. Like I said, the lawyer is a direct extension of her. So I'm glad it happened it now than if things would have went further because that would be really bed.
Congrats on being deputized?
Yeah, you know, just a little something I did. (Laughs) Thank you, I appreciate it. But like I said, I'm glad -- I'm not talking about the words or the things taken out of context -- but I'm glad to see somebody's true color and their character now than later.
The lawyer said you kicked the anthill, almost like saying 'Oh you're going to fight the ring, we'll get you.'
I'm fighting words. If you wanted to fight and get in the ring we can do that. But, I'm fighting words and words are just whatever.
Buffalo Bills courting Montell Owens, two-time Pro Bowl specialist
The Buffalo Bills are hosting running back Montell Owens on a free agent visit today, the team has announced.
Owens, 29, is an eighth-year pro that spent his first seven years with the Jacksonville Jaguars
Mario Williams: Texts out of context / espn.com
Associated Press | May 20, 2013
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- Buffalo Bills defensive end Mario Williams denies ever contemplating suicide and says private comments he made in text messages are being taken out of context by his ex-fiancée in a lawsuit over the possession of a $785,000 diamond engagement ring.
Calling himself "completely fine," Williams says he was "venting" his feelings to someone he thought he trusted.
Williams spoke after practice Monday in his first chance to respond since Erin Marzouki's attorney released a series of texts the two exchanged in November. The texts portray Williams as being despondent over their breakup.
In one text, Williams writes: "No money in the world should leave me with suicidal thoughts."
Williams says he wrote that out of anger. He adds the decision to release the texts reveal Marzouki's true character
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