New Bills Center Geoff Hangartner

The Bills signing of free agent Geoff Hangartner is hopefully a major upgrade at major postition of need.  Some teams downgrade the center position.  But when you play in the AFC East, against 3-4 teams like the Patriots, Jets and Dolphins, you better have a good center.  I don’t know how good Hangartner is .  He was a part-time starter on a good offensive line in Carolina.  He’s got the required size at 6-5, 315 pounds.  After interviewing him, his physical size did not jump out at you.  But he’s very smart, and a good athlete.  Division nose tackles Kris Jenkins and Vince Wilfork ate up Duke Preston and Melvin Fowler.  So he has to be an upgrade.

That leaves the team looking to fill the spot on the line at left guard.  Derrick Dockery is gone, and there is no one currently on the roster.  I’d like to see them draft a big body in the 3rd or 4th round, plug him in, an let him grow.  No more retread free agents.  Build a line from the draft like most good teams do.

Canadian High pressure will settle into the eastern Great Lakes, ushering in a cold, but mainly dry wintry pattern for the beginning of the new month.  Temperatures over the next 5 days will average some 5-10 degrees below normal with day time highs generally in the 20s, and lows in the teens and single digits.  A coastal storm Sunday will not have an impact on WNY, however, there may be some light snow showers developing toward evening.  Otherwise, expect a good amount of sunshine but don’t forget the heavier jacket….and throw some extra logs on the fireplace.  Finally, a Pacific flow of air will offer a warming trend toward the end of the upcoming week, and along  with that comes a chance of a wintry mix and rain Thursday into Friday.

It’s just over two days away now, the start of free agency in the NFL. And I’m very eager to see what the Buffalo Bills plan is, as they re-tool for another season.

After spending last week at the NFL Draft combine in Indianapolis, I think I have a feeling where the Bills personnel priorities lie.  They’re on the lookout for interior offensive linemen (guards and centers), tight ends, defensive end help, and maybe a wide receiver.  What I’m not sure about, is whether they’ll get that help from the draft, or from free agency.

Don’t be surprised if Buffalo tries to sign an offensive linemen early on in free agency.  I think they’d prefer to use their early draft pick on one of the many quality defensive ends available in April. 

Dick Jauron told us over and over last week he’s looking for improvement on the offensive side of the ball.  I expect that the Bills will be trolling for interior offensive line help early Friday, and expect them to push to sign Jason Peters to a new deal in the next few months.

What do you think?  Any players or position groups you’d like the Bills to address in free agency?  Let us know.

Free agent RB Fred Taylor

Nichols

21 years after Christian Laettner left Nichols headed for Duke and the NBA, the school’s next star big man is getting closer to picking his college.  Wednesday on News 4 Sports at 5:30, we’ll talk to Will Regan about the colleges recruiting him and how he’ll make the decision.  He’s narrowed the list down to six schools, with a decisison due after the Vikings season ends in the next month or so.  I’ll hold off on listing the schools.  You’ll have to watch the story.  But its an impressive list of big-time, NCAA tournament caliber teams. 

Regan is six-foot, eight inches tall and a great shooter.  He is very similar in style to Laettner, and he has talked to the fellow Nichols product.

In case you’re wondering, or in case you’ve noticed, his last name can be pronounced “ree-gin” or “ray-gin” like the former president.  Will told me both are fine, but he actually prefers the non-presidential pronunciation.  He joked that his grandfather changed the family pronunciation when Reagan entered the White House in 1980.  I guess he’s a Democrat.

Marijuana, no license plates, and a loaded and unregistered 9 mm pistol all led to the arrest of Marshawn Lynch last week in California.  Lynch was charged yesterday with 3 misdemeanors all stemming from a weapons possession.  My first thought was why did he have the gun in the first place?

Former Bill and current NFL analyst, Marcellus Willey spoke to us at News 4 Sports about the topic.  He said sometimes it’s hard for players if they grow up watching crime, not to think that they still need to protect themselves.  But, even he went onto say it’s something those players need to get past.  Maybe the thought is there to protect themselves and their new found fame and fortune.  If that’s the case, apply for a pistol permit.  A judge will let you know if you are fit to carry a weapon and need protection.

What Lynch seems to be forgetting is that he is an NFL player.  Yes, he will be held to a higher standard and every arrest he’s involved in will be put in the spotlight.

Let me take you back, less than 10 months ago when he was involved in a hit and run downtown.  He hit a woman with his SUV and left the scene.  He turned himself into the victim on that one, refusing to talk to the media most of the season.

The problem I have is that Lynch continues to find trouble.  He’s not bright enough to realize he shouldn’t be smoking pot with a loaded pistol in his possession?  At what point will he realize that? Nothing good can come from smoking marijuana and carrying a loaded gun!

I think the NFL should suspend him!  I think it’s the only way he’s going to realize that he needs to make smarter decisions and stay out of trouble.  His character was questioned with the decision to leave the scene of an accident last summer.  Now his intelligence and character come into question for his latest run in with the law.

It should make you think twice about putting a Lynch jersey on your back this fall when you head out to the stadium on game days.

TE Dan Gronkowski

I had a great conversation today with Williamsville North product Dan Gronkowski, a tight end from Maryland who’s here at the NFL Draft combine.  Gronkowski arrived at Maryland five years ago as a quarterback, was quickly converted to tight end, and hasn’t looked back yet.

Gronkowski backed up some NFL quality tight ends with the Terps, Vernon Davis and Joey Haynos in his first few years.  He came into his own last year, with 29 catches, three of them for touchdowns.  He’s a high achiever in the classroom as well, a finalist for National Academic All American Honors.  Gronkowski already has his undergraduate degree, and he’s been working on his MBA at Maryland for the last few years.

He told us today he had a great meeting last night with the Bills scouts and coaches here in Indy.  And he’d love to play for his hometown team, telling us today his vivid memories of the Bills glorious Super Bowl run in the early ’90s. 

He also acknowledges that this combine is critical to his NFL chances.  Gronkowski thinks he could be anywhere from a 3rd round pick to a free agent this year, so he needs to test well today in timing and strength sessions.  But he appears ready, and eager to show well.

It’s a good story, especially since Gronkowski is number two in a line of 5 Gronkowski brothers from Williamsville. His oldest brother plays professional baseball, and his younger brothers, Chris and Rob, play football at the University of Arizona.

His football achievement and academic success are a credit to his parents, Godry and Diane Gronkowski.

The snow showers and blowing snow will slowly subside Friday night, with the worst conditions in the afternoon north of Buffalo, especially closer to L Ontario.  Saturday will be more tranquil and somewhat milder in advance of a low pressure system which will track to ern lower Michigan and into Ontario to our north.  A trajectory such as that one typically brings enough warm air to change snow to mixed precip or rain, but this time all models keep us just cold enough to keep the precip Saturday evening as all snow.  It still looks like a 2-4″ snowfall, mainly Saturday evening (beginning as light snow late in the afternoon).  Snow showers will accompany a fresh batch of arctic air Sunday, with a strengthening cold wind–into Monday.  The warmup looks to get going in earnest on Wednesday.  As I posted earlier, even this zonal flow can be interrupted by vigorous short waves at mid levels, and that looks possible for next Friday.

We finally got a chance to talk with Bills Coach Dick Jauron today, the first time he’s made himself available since last season ended.  He’s here at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis, the un-official start of the NFL offseason.

We were able to pick the Coach’s brain about a couple of players who missed significant time last year because of injuries, including LB Angelo Crowell.

He underwent knee surgery a few days before the season opener and missed the entire season.  And based on what I heard today, I wouldn’t expect him to be in a Bills uniform this year.

“Angelo is a free agent,” Jauron tokd us, “and he’ll be on the free agent market next week.  We’ll see where it goes.  We’ll see how much interest there is, the price, and take if from there.”

The coaching staff was known to be upset with Crowell’s decision to undergo surgery days before the opener last year.  I take Jauron’s comments about Crowell hitting the open market as an indication that the Bills are ready to move on without him.

As to 2nd year WR James Hardy, the Coach sounded eager to get him back on the field.  Hardy suffered a season ending knee surgery in mid-December.

“James is doing well in rehab,” Jauron told us, “and we’re hoping to have him back sometime early in training camp.”  That obviously means Hardy will miss the OTAs, and that could mean the Bills will take a long look at the WRs here at the combine this week, or maybe even look at the crop of FA Wideouts next week.

We’ll have more on the Bills and Jauron on News 4 live from the combine.  And you can watch the entire one-on-one on WIVB.com.