Press Coverage

By Tim Graham

I know I'm a little late here. I meant to post an item about this Tuesday but got sidetracked by Josh Gordon's pro day workout, the Toronto ticket-price slashtacular and what I thought was an interesting initial volley from the Indianapolis Colts on the blackout issue.

CBS Sports reporter Jason La Canfora wrote a lengthy overview of the NFL's future in Los Angeles and provided some interesting lines about the Buffalo Bills.

La Canfora sounded definitive in declaring the Bills will not move to Los Angeles, but added they someday could relocate to Canada.

From the story:

And the Bills are a regional franchise, drawing from a wide geographical swath, much like the Vikings. They aren't going anywhere, except, say, maybe at worst a few hours away. There will be sufficient local ownership options when Ralph Wilson passes, and the NFL believes among Western and Central New York, Southern Ontario and Toronto, there is sufficient support to make it work with a new facility. Rogers Communications in Toronto would surely be interested, and building a world-class facility in Canada would make things interesting. Regardless, the Bills aren't going to California.

La Canfora didn't elaborate on whether he knows the Bills aren't in the Los Angeles derby or he's speculating.

But what he wrote is in line with a growing confidence among insiders around these parts that one of our moneyed, sports-minded locals -- Terry Pegula, Tom Golisano, Bob Rich, whoever Jim Kelly's money men are, some combination of the above or whatever -- will emerge to purchase the Bills and make sure they don't leave Western New York.

By Tim Graham

The Buffalo Bills were one of 21 teams to check out Baylor receiver Josh Gordon's pro day in Houston. Gordon will be available in Thursday's supplemental draft, and the Bills wouldn't mind upgrading their receiving corps.

The Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots and New York Jets were there, too. So if the Bills don't take Gordon, perhaps they'll have to defend him twice a year.

Gordon is an outside receiving threat -- an all-around specimen with speed, size and hands. The Bills, who unsuccessfully courted Robert Meachem in free agency, drafted T.J. Graham in the third round as an outside option.

But in a league with no guarantees, they might take a shot at Gordon, too.

Adam Caplan of Sirius XM Radio was all over it today, tweeting details of Gordon's workout in the Houston Texans' practice facility.

Gordon -- measured a tad over 6-foot-3, 228 pounds and with a remarkable 82-inch wingspan -- ran the 40-yard dash in a slightly disappointing 4.52 seconds, but several reports proffered favorable reviews.

Some analysts think Gordon could be drafted as high as the second round, but most predictions have him being taken in the third round.

Gordon strained his left quadriceps during the workout and skipped some of the drills prospects normally would do at the NFL scouting combine in February. But he did run routes and didn't drop a single pass thrown by former Mississippi quarterback Jevan Snead.

Gordon posted a 36-inch vertical jump and a 10-foot-1 broad jump.

Compared to NFL.com's data on prospects at this year's scouting combine, Gordon's 40 time, vertical jump and broad jump would have ranked just outside the top 15 receivers.

Caplan reported scouts from every AFC East team were in attendance.

Also there with the Bills: the Arizona Cardinals, Chicago Bears, Cleveland Browns, Dallas Cowboys, Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, Kansas City Chiefs, Minnesota Vikings, New Orleans Saints, New York Giants, Philadelphia Eagles, St. Louis Rams, San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks and Washington Redskins.

After his workout, Gordon told Houston Chronicle reporter John McClain the reason Baylor booted him off the team last year was because of marijuana. Gordon transferred to Utah but had to sit out last season because of NCAA rules. He was allowed to enter the supplemental draft as a financial-hardship case.

His last year was as a sophomore in 2010, when he caught 42 passes for 714 yards and seven touchdowns.

By Tim Graham

A countdown of my top 25 AFC East players continues, one weekday at a time ...

The choice

I have a feeling a lot of readers will scoff at this selection because they've never heard of New York Jets defensive tackle Sione Pouha, let alone can they recall anything he's ever done on the field.

Pouha is relatively unknown to the casual football fan because he has an unglamorous responsibility: stuffing the run. But Pouha does it extraordinarily well.

ProFootballFocus.com rated Pouha the NFL's best defensive tackle last season. Nose tackles don't amass the types of stats that make a player's impact obvious. They don't get many sacks. They don't even make many tackles. What they do is absorb double-team blocks and clog holes, allowing linebackers to clean up.

Jets head coach Rex Ryan made Pouha a captain on a defense that prides itself on stopping the run. With Pouha in the middle, the Jets' defense ranked sixth in average per carry last year, tied for third in 2010 and fourth in 2009.

Over the three years since Pouha became the starter, the Jets have held opponents to the NFL's lowest third-down conversion rate, second-fewest yards a game, fourth-lowest per-carry average and fifth-lowest points a game.

Pouha led the Jets' defensive line with 55 tackles last year. He had one sack, a tackle for a safety, a forced fumble, two fumble recoveries and three passes batted down.

Fast fact

A day before the free-agency period began, the Jets signed Pouha to a three-year, $15 million contract extension.

How acquired

Selected in the third round (88th overall) in the 2005 draft.

Hint about No. 13

It either will be another underrated defensive tackle or Tim Tebow.

Picks to date

14. Sione Pouha, Jets defensive tackle
15. Jairus Byrd, Bills safety
16. Brandon Lloyd, Patriots receiver
17. Stevie Johnson, Bills receiver
18. Reggie Bush, Dolphins running back
19. Jerod Mayo, Patriots inside linebacker
20. Randy Starks, Dolphins defensive lineman
21. Sebastian Vollmer, Patriots right tackle
22. Aaron Hernandez, Patriots tight end
23. Marcell Dareus, Bills defensive tackle
24. Antonio Cromartie, Jets cornerback
25. Eric Wood, Bills center

By Tim Graham

Wide receiver T.J. Graham was the final Buffalo Bills draft choice to sign a contract.

He also was the last out of 20 clients from the Sportstars agency to sign.

Why did it take so long to get Graham locked down?

The problem is where Graham was drafted. The Bills traded a seventh-round draft choice to the Washington Redskins so they could move up two slots and land Graham with the 69th overall pick.

That neighborhood -- the first 12 parcels of the third round -- is a trouble area for contracts this year.

Graham, the sixth pick of the third round, is the only one of that group under contract. The first five third-round picks and the next six after him remain unsigned despite a collective bargaining agreement that should make rookie contracts a snap.

First-round deals have been a breeze. Sportstars represents Bills first-round pick Stephon Gilmore, who signed in May. Sportstars also has the 14th pick of the third round, New York Jets outside linebacker Demario Davis, who came to terms in May.

But those first 12 slots in the third round are a muddy curiosity.

A market correction is the issue. Last year, the first under the new CBA, set a precedent for deals in subsequent seasons. Those contracts are viewed as the standard. But a few of them were out of whack with others in the vicinity.

Some agents, in a rush to get deals done, undervalued their players.

Carolina Panthers defensive lineman Terrell McClain (first pick of the third round) and Denver Broncos linebacker Nate Irving (third pick of the third round) signed deals that will cost them six figures over the lengths of their deals compared to their draft peers.

Their base salaries for this year will be $465,000. Seven players drafted after them in the third round will make more than they do. New England Patriots running back Stevan Ridley, Patriots quarterback Ryan Mallett, Seattle Seahawks guard John Moffitt and Jacksonville Jaguars guard William Rackley (the ninth, 10th, 11th, 12th picks from the third round) each will make at least $505,000 in base salary this season.

Rackley will make $507,467. But Tennessee Titans defensive lineman Jurrell Casey (14th selection of the third round) drops back down to a $490,000 base salary.

Buffalo linebacker Kelvin Sheppard (fourth pick of the third round) will make $480,000 in base salary this year.

The money wasn't aligned, and agents have been dancing with front offices.

Teams, of course, want to use favorable contracts as their model, while agents want to get those first 12 picks of the third round back in line with those around them.

Agents have resisted, trying to get their clients closer to Mallett and Ridley money than Irving and Sheppard money.

Graham and his co-agents, Jared Fox and Alan Herman, held for as long as they could, but Graham told the Bills' official website he signed because he wanted to report for rookie workouts today at One Bills Drive.

By Tim Graham

You have to assume the Buffalo Bills are conducting far more definitive market research than what was done here on the Press Coverage blog over the weekend.

The Bills don't need to look at our rinky-dink polls, but they might be pleasantly surprised to see how readers responded to questions about the NFL's new optional blackout policy.

Readers cast about 2,000 votes by this morning and, much to my surprise, didn't make much of a demand for the Bills to adopt the new policy, which would allow teams to locally televise a game with as little as 85 percent of the non-premium tickets sold. The rule that had been in place for decades was that 100 percent must be sold.

The tradeoff, however, would be a financial hit. Clubs that adopt the new system reportedly must pay into a league-wide revenue pool for the privilege. There's also concern it could lead to reduced season-ticket sales because fans might not feel compelled to step up if there's a greater likelihood the games will be on TV.

Any loss in revenues -- from NFL-imposed fees or a box-office drop-off -- would either be eaten by the Bills or passed along through higher ticket prices.

So what are the Bills to do?

The first question asked readers if they would prefer the old policy with no price change or the new policy with an increase. There was no overwhelming demand. The old policy was winning by 3 percent as of this posting.

The second question asked "How reasonable is it to expect the Bills to forfeit revenue by adopting the NFL's new blackout policy?" The options were: Highly reasonable (they owe it to the fans); somewhat reasonable (a welcome gesture, but not necessary); somewhat unreasonable (they shouldn't, but the PR might help); highly unreasonable (they must protect the box office).

Only 20 percent of the response said the Bills owed it to their fans to adopt the new policy, the most interesting result to me. A combined 47 percent of the vote took the heat off the Bills by saying it was somewhat unreasonable (32 percent) or highly unreasonable (15 percent) to expect them to lose money under the new blackout system.

The most emphatic statement came on the third question. I asked readers how likely they would be to buy tickets -- compared to the old 100 percent policy -- if a game wouldn't sell out, but there was a chance it could hit the 85 percent threshold and still be on TV.

More than two-thirds said they would be "just as likely" to buy tickets either way, with only 26 percent saying they would be "less likely" to buy tickets.

Results mentioned are a snapshot of when this article was posted. The polls remain open, and the numbers could fluctuate.

But it certainly doesn't look like fans who visit this blog would revolt if the Bills remained with the status quo.

(Photo: John Hickey/Buffalo News)

By Tim Graham

Drops are an unofficial stat. So when a group puts in the time and effort to track them, I devour the data with great interest.

ProFootballFocus.com analyst Khaled Elsayed shared his site's drop research this week. PFF, which charts every NFL play, broke down drops by position over the past three years.

Stevie Johnson is the player Buffalo Bills fans probably are most curious about. Johnson has garnered a reputation as a receiver with a bad case of the dropsies. He's had a few high-profile mishaps.

But is Johnson's reputation warranted?

Johnson didn't make it onto the three-year-review chart for wide receivers because he has been a regular for only two seasons. PFF's tally for 2010 put him in a tie for the NFL lead with 13 drops, including five in his infamous game against the Pittsburgh Steelers -- after which he made his infamous God tweet.

But Johnson, No. 17 on my AFC East player rankings, reduced his drops considerably last season. He had only five drops and just one game with two drops (Week 2 against the Oakland Raiders). Forty-one receivers had more drops than Johnson did.

Brandon Marshall's 35 drops led all receivers over the past three seasons, while Wes Welker's 32 were second in PFF's research. Those mostly were based on volume, however. Welker didn't rate among the 15 worst in PFF's drop rate (percentage of catchable balls dropped), while Marshall was 10th at 10.5 percent.

Elsayed explained that PFF defines a drop as an incompletion on "a pass a receiver gets his hands to and would reasonably be expected to bring it in for a completed pass." Yes, that's subjective. But as long as PFF's definition is applied to every incompletion, then the data is useful.

The most sure-handed receivers were Earl Bennett (3.15 percent drop rate), Larry Fitzgerald (3.27 percent), Kevin Walter (3.38 percent) and Lance Moore (3.68 percent).

Fans won't be surprised that a Bill didn't make the tight ends list. The Bills simply hadn't used tight ends before Scott Chandler made an impact last season. Vernon Davis and Brandon Pettigrew led with 24 drops over the past three seasons.

For the record, Chandler had zero drops last year on 43 targets. PFF calculated his percentage caught (of all targets, not just catchable balls) at 88.4, tops in the NFL for tight ends with at least 10 receptions. Dennis Pitta from the Baltimore Ravens was the only tight end with more targets and no drops.

Among running backs the past three years, Fred Jackson tied for seventh with 12 drops, but his drop percentage of 9.4 percent wasn't in the bottom 10.

Tim Hightower had an NFL-high 16 drops on just 109 catchable balls, a whopping 14.7 percent drop rate. Pierre Thomas was the best with three drops on 120 catchable balls.

(Photo: Mark Mulville/Buffalo News)

(NOTE: By request, this is a reposted blog item from 2012.)

By Tim Graham

When the Buffalo Sabres traded center Derek Roy on Monday, it reminded me of the time goaltender Martin Biron and I convinced Roy that I was on the verge of getting traded to Newsday.

I referenced the story in a tweet that generated a healthy response. People wanted to know the details. So, inspired by similar anecdotes I've been reading the past few days in Frank Deford's excellent autobiography "Over Time," here's just one of a thousand behind-the-scene stories I can tell from two decades hanging out in locker rooms.

A day or two before the NHL trade deadline in February 2007, I leaned against the wall in a nearly empty Sabres dressing room, waiting to interview a particular player. I don't recall who.

Biron and I were about five feet apart on opposite sides of the entryway. He was inspecting his leg pads at his locker stall. Roy sat at his locker way down the row to Biron's left. Jason Pominville was down the row of stalls to my right.

On the large, flat-screen television was a TSN show dissecting trade-deadline rumors.

Ever since Ryan Miller emerged as the franchise goalie, Biron's name frequently got bandied about as trade bait. He was anxious about getting dealt, and this time he would be -- to the Philadelphia Flyers. By this time, Biron and I had known each other for seven years and enjoyed many conversations.

With my notepad in my back pocket and no recorder, I asked Biron -- just two guys talking -- how he was holding up. He said something diplomatic, but he silently telegraphed, with a theatrical roll of the eyes, that he was stressing out. Then, in typical Biron fashion, he quickly tried to turn the situation into a joke.

"How are you hanging in there, Tim?" Biron asked. "Do you think you'll get traded this year?"

Those who know me are aware my sense of humor can be drier than powdered gin. So I deadpanned that my agent was hearing Newsday and the Boston Globe had called The Buffalo News about me and wanted to know what it would take to close a deal.

Biron, equally as sarcastic, started to express sympathy for my predicament. Roy hollered "Bulls---! Reporters don't get traded."

I gently informed Roy newspapers make trades all the time. "Yeah, that's true!" Biron chirped. I explained to Roy that when NHL teams are about to make the playoffs, their local newspapers sometimes need to bolster coverage for the stretch run. Sometimes they have too many editors and need to acquire reporters. Or vice versa.

The New York Islanders, under Ted Nolan, had been one of hockey's most exciting stories that season and were gunning for a playoff berth. Newsday wanted to go all-in with its coverage, I said. As for the Globe, I wasn't sure what its motive was because the Boston Bruins didn't look like a playoff team. Maybe the Globe needed to unload a contract or wanted me for depth.

Roy, about to turn 24 and in his fourth NHL season (counting the lockout), stared off in the distance and nodded his head, satisfied with this new bit of insight.

Unfortunately, the ruse wouldn't last long -- not nearly as long as the time I used a tape-delayed boxing match to persuade defenseman Alexei Zhitnik into thinking I was a legitimate psychic by predicting the exact round and method that massive underdog Corrie Sanders would whip Zhitnik's countryman and friend Wladimir Klitschko.

I shifted a glance to Pominville. I could tell he wasn't buying it, and he was about to say something.

Biron and I cracked. We told Roy we were just screwing with him.

Roy didn't think it was as funny as we did.