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Do³±czy³: 10 Lip 2018 Posty: 450
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Wys³any: 16-Sie-2018 08:54:18 Temat postu: and understanding of the |
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Offensive lineman Wyatt Teller doesn’t need a scouting report to see what’s happening with the Buffalo Bills.
He knows his newest team made a splash to open the draft Youth Bradley Chubb Jersey , with a potential franchise quarterback and defensive game-changer arriving in the top half of the first round.
Wyatt got a first-hand look at former Wyoming quarterback Josh Allen, whom the Bills selected seventh overall, while blocking for him on the North team at the Senior Bowl. Tremaine Edmunds, taken 16th overall by Buffalo, was Wyatt’s teammate in college at Virginia Tech.
”Tremaine, in my opinion, is an absolute stud. He’s one of the best players I’ve ever played against,” Teller said. ”(Allen’s) deep ball is unlike anything I’ve ever seen. He can chuck a ball and he’s a smart kid. I see an identity coming. You’re getting both sides of the ball and this is a place I wanted to go.”
Teller joined that duo on Saturday as part of Buffalo’s youth movement.
Selected 166th overall, the fifth-round pick may help to fill an unexpected hole along the offensive line. Center Eric Wood abruptly retired at the end of last season after doctors uncovered a career-ending neck injury at his exit physical.
Veteran guard Richie Incognito stunned the team by announcing his retirement earlier this month.
At 6-foot-4, 314 pounds, Teller has the size and power to make an impact in the NFL. He bench presses 420 pounds, squats 600 pounds and is known for his ability to handle defenders in the run game. He has already made one successful transition, moving from the defensive line in high school to the offensive line at Virginia Tech.
Some projections had Teller going as high as the third round, and he’ll likely compete for a starting job at guard as a rookie.
”Everything comes down to competition,” Teller said. ”Everything comes down to working as hard as you can. If I want to make that transition from college to the NFL, it’s basically like switching a position. It’s going to be difficult and it’s all about competing.”
Here are some observations about the Bills’ draft.
KEEPING THEIR EDGE: One key for the Bills was landing two top-end prospects at premium positions without mortgaging the future or giving away their surplus of picks.
The Bills entered the week with a bounty of draft capital and were able to trade up twice in the first round without surrendering their second first-round pick or any 2019 selections.
”I have got to be honest, I did not expect to be able to get a quarterback and Tremaine,” Bills general manager Brandon Beane said.
”I thought we were going to have to give up the 22nd pick. Tremaine would have been in our conversation at 12 if we did not move up and we did not have a quarterback we liked. When he was there and he fell a little bit Cheap Christian Kirk Jersey , we just felt it was such a good fit that we had to go up and get him.”
LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON? : Buffalo’s final pick of the draft was North Carolina wide receiver Austin Proehl, son of former NFL wideout Ricky Proehl. Buffalo chose Austin Proehl with the second-to-last pick of the draft at 255th overall. Ricky Proehl played in the league for 17 seasons, making 669 receptions for 8,878 yards and 54 touchdowns while winning a Super Bowl with the St. Louis Rams. Austin Proehl had 91 receptions for 1,265 yards and five touchdowns in four years with the Tar Heels.
Beane has known Austin Proehl longer than any other prospect given his relationship with Ricky Proehl. Beane was with the Panthers when Ricky played for Carolina from 2004-06, and Ricky was a member of the Panthers’ coaching staff from 2011-17.
”I’ve known him since he was eight, so I’ve known him for a long time,” Beane said of Austin. ”We were still looking for competition at the slot position and he was on the board. He’s a great young man obviously. We know what kind of person (he is). He’s a really polished route runner, refined. He was schooled up by a guy who played 17 years in the league.”
MORE DB DEPTH: Buffalo’s best position group got even deeper on Day 3 with the selections of cornerback Taron Johnson (121st overall) and safety Siran Neal (154th overall). Johnson is the early favorite to land Buffalo’s nickel cornerback role. Neal will have a hard time earning playing time to open his career with standouts Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer ahead of him on the depth chart.
STILL NEED: The Bills chose two receivers late in the draft with Ray-Ray McCloud (sixth round) and Austin Proehl (seven round), but they still desperately need help after fielding one of the worst receiving groups in the league in 2017.
Buffalo does have Kelvin Benjamin returning after playing through much of last season with a knee injury. More speed and experience would be a plus, especially with unproven talent at quarterback in Josh Allen and AJ McCarron.
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While other players were prepping for this season at spring training, Jose Bautista was on his own.
A six-time All-Star without a big league job, Bautista remained eager to catch on somewhere and knew he needed to be resourceful. So to stay in game shape, the 37-year-old slugger spent his days back home in Florida hopping from gym workouts to local ballfields.
Sometimes he ended up at the University of Tampa, or Tampa Catholic High School. Wherever he could find an empty diamond to hit and do defensive drills.
”I was trying to mimic somewhat the same program,” said Bautista, who has quickly become a rare bright spot for the New York Mets this year. ”I mean Youth Kentavius Street Jersey , it wasn’t the easiest thing.”
His agent helped him scrounge up batting-practice pitchers to simulate game situations as best they could. High school kids, college players, other free agents looking for work.
Bautista figures he got about 30 ”at-bats” or so in April, when the regular season was already underway for everyone else. All the while, the former Toronto Blue Jays star waited for a new opportunity.
”Yeah, different fields. Whatever was available and whatever people could get to,” he said.
Not exactly an ideal way to sharpen up for Max Scherzer and Clayton Kershaw. But after struggling through a 12-game stint with the Atlanta Braves in May, mostly at third base, Joey Bats has hardly missed a beat since arriving in New York. He had a .944 OPS over 35 games going into Sunday and had already batted in every spot for the Mets besides ninth.
”He never backed off,” teammate and close friend Jose Reyes said last week. ”He always was working.”
Next up, a nice reward.
On deck this week is the first trip for Bautista back to Toronto, where he blossomed into one of baseball’s best power hitters with the Blue Jays from 2008-17. The struggling Mets play interleague games at Rogers Centre on Tuesday and Wednesday night. Needless to say, he’s excited.
”I’m trying not to think about it,” Bautista said last week. ”I’m trying not to dwell on it too much.”
”Obviously, I played there for 10 years. I consider it one of my homes away from home,” he added. ”I’m just going to let it come and enjoy it when it gets here.”
Reyes, also Bautista’s teammate in Toronto from 2013-15, said last week the outfielder had been staying at his house in New York for the past few days and the two talked about the upcoming games in Toronto.
Reyes figures the Blue Jays might have a video tribute planned Cheap Danny Shelton Jersey , but he’s sure Bautista will receive a standing ovation after helping the team end a 22-year playoff drought and reach consecutive AL Championship Series in 2015 and 2016.
Bautista, still sporting a neatly trimmed beard, acknowledged he anticipates a warm reception.
”I don’t expect anything else from Canadian fans. They’re top-notch, a class act,” he said. ”We had a pretty good run there and I had a successful career in my years there. … I did enjoy my time in Toronto greatly and it’s going to be great to be back.”
Bautista hit 54 home runs for the Blue Jays in 2010 and led the majors again with 43 the following season. He finished in the top four in AL MVP voting both years.
And of course, who could ever forget his gigantic bat flip after connecting for a decisive homer in the 2015 playoffs against Texas?
As he approached free agency, Bautista’s numbers dropped off in 2016. Toronto brought him back on a one-year contract for $18 million last season, but he slumped to a .203 batting average with 23 homers, 65 RBIs and 170 strikeouts, and the Blue Jays moved on.
”As a player, we understand that this is a business,” Reyes said. ”He wanted to stay there, but I don’t know. When you build that fan base and the people love you and stuff and you (are) successful in one place, you don’t want to go someplace else. But it comes a time in baseball. It just happens. Yeah, he understands that.”
Two days after he was released by Atlanta, the Mets signed Bautista on May 22 for the $545,000 major league minimum to provide a right-handed bat in the outfield following injuries to Yoenis Cespedes and Juan Lagares.
Bautista stepped off a plane and right into the starting lineup, hitting a double in his first at-bat Authentic Frank Ragnow Jersey , just as he did with the Braves. This time, though, he hasn’t stopped producing even though everything around him keeps falling apart.
With the help of 24 walks in 105 plate appearances, Bautista began Sunday with a .438 on-base percentage for the last-place Mets. He’d reached base safely in 15 straight games and even played some solid defense.
”It’s definitely impressive and we are in awe of him,” 25-year-old outfielder Brandon Nimmo said. ”He’s a great veteran presence. He’s got a lot of wisdom, knowledge and understanding of the game. … I think just that preparation, that work ethic and that eagle eye he’s got, it’s been a great combination.”
Now playing every day in a familiar corner outfield spot after right fielder Jay Bruce went on the disabled list, too, Bautista began Sunday hitting .266 for the Mets with three homers, 10 doubles and 13 RBIs.
”A dangerous wild card,” Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said before a game against New York last week. ”A man that wanted to play, felt he could play and was going to do what it took necessary to put himself in a position to play. He stayed active, he stayed ready, his agent reached out to every club. I mean, we got a call. That hey, . _________________ huangjian123 |
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