start, it kind of builds on
Posted: Wed Jan 30, 2019 5:23 am
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. - Receiver Mike Williams acknowledged he has some growing up to do while addressing questions about his troubled past Monday. For Williams, theres no place better to start fresh than in his hometown of Buffalo. "Its like being drafted all over, especially to my hometown, and get to come back and play in front of the people that know me, where I came from," Williams said during a news conference three days after the Bills acquired him in a trade with Tampa Bay. "The people know what type of guy I am." Calling the homecoming "a dream come true," Williams returns to the place he was a high school star. He went on to a successful yet troubled career at Syracuse, where Williams abruptly quit the team in November 2009 during his junior season. This is the second — and potentially final — chance for Williams to put behind off-field distractions, which led to the Buccaneers parting ways with their starter in exchange for a sixth-round draft pick. The deal was made a year after Williams signed a six-year, $40 million contract. The breaking point came two weeks ago, when Williams was allegedly stabbed in the leg by his brother, Eric Baylor, who has since turned himself in to police. Williams passed his physical in Buffalo and said the injury from the stabbing wont prevent him from reporting for voluntary team workouts, which begin April 22. Williams acknowledged making mistakes and vows to do better, saying there are people depending upon him, including his infant son. "When you get a lot of bad attention or bad this, or bad that, its about: Are you going to let the bad attack you? Are you going to fall?" Williams said. "Or are you going to get up and try again? Thats why I think a fresh start is needed." On the field, Williams has displayed the potential as a No. 1 receiver. A fourth-round draft pick in 2010, Williams led NFL rookies with 65 catches for 964 yards and 11 touchdowns. Though a hamstring injury limited Williams to just six games last year, he has 215 catches for 2,947 yards and 25 touchdowns in 54 career games. The Bills are in need of an experienced player to complement returning starter Stevie Johnson, who led an otherwise young group of receivers. Its off the field where questions have arisen. The Tampa Bay Times has reported that Williams neighbours in Tampa were unhappy with noise issues and damage to the players rented home. Without providing specifics, Williams said two of the numerous accusations were made up. When pressed on which two, Williams said the Bills requested that he not discuss it. In trading Williams, Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht referred to the deal as something the team "felt was best for both sides." In Buffalo, coach Doug Marrone is willing to provide Williams the benefit of the doubt. Marrone was in his first season at Syracuse when Williams left the team. Marrone signed off on the trade by saying what happened at Syracuse "is in the past for both of us." Marrone went further by picking up Williams at the airport upon the players arrival in Buffalo. Williams said he and Marrone cleared the air by speaking on the phone before the trade was completed. "He made mistakes. I made mistakes," Williams said. "The situation wasnt handled how it was supposed to be handled. But the past is the past. So were kind of looking forward." Williams acknowledged that one of Marrones concerns at Syracuse was the player skipping classes. That wont be an issue now. "He didnt think I went to class. But since its the pros, he knows Im going to go out there and do my job on the field," Williams said. "Youre always going to get the great Mike on the field." Jonathan Allen Redskins Jersey . A groundswell for raising the number of playoff qualifiers to seven in each conference figures to get plenty of support from the 32 owners. 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The four-time MVP was in good spirits when he made his first public appearance on the field since having neck surgery Sept. Washington Redskins Jerseys . - A lot of scenarios ran through Terrell Suggs head when the Baltimore linebacker prepared to face the Pittsburgh Steelers.KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The moment Alex Gordon knew the Kansas City Royals were serious about winning can be traced to a cold December day when his wife heard they had traded for James Shields.The franchise had long suffered through a forgettable cast of starting pitchers, from Jay Witasick to Darrell May to Runelvys Hernandez. Hot prospects flamed out. Free agents fizzled. And every year, the Royals languished near the AL Central cellar.But things changed in December 2012. General manager Dayton Moore thought enough pieces had been assembled and all that was missing was the right starting pitcher — someone who could be the staff ace and change a clubhouse culture accustomed to losing.Moore called up the Rays and made the deal.Thats when I knew, Gordon said, that we were going for it.Two years later, a trade that was panned by many has helped the Royals reach the World Series for the first time since 1985. Shields, who will start Game 1 at home Tuesday night against San Francisco, has been everything Moore had hoped he would be.Those opportunities to acquire a top rotation starter and an impact pitcher like Wade Davis, theyre not presented year-in and year-out, Moore said. We were fortunate the timing of it was such that it was staring us in the face and put us in a position to compete in 2014.It was a gamble. The Royals sent baseballs top minor league talent, Wil Myers, and a bevy of other promising prospects to the Rays.Shields went 13-9 with a 3.15 ERA last year, helping the Royals to their best record in more than 20 years. And over the course of the season, Davis established himself as one of the most dominant late-inning relievers in the game.This year, Shields finished the regular season 14-8 with a 3.21 ERA, helping the Royals return to the post-season for the first time since their only World Series title.He started their wild-card win over Oakland. He allowed two runs over six innings in earning the victory in a Division Series game against the Angels. And he was good enough to help the Royals beat Baltimore in the ALCS, running their poost-season winning streak to 11 games.ddddddddddddHes earned the nickname Big Game James for a reason, Royals manager Ned Yost said.On a team with few veterans, Shields has proved invaluable in October. And when he takes the mound against the Giants, hell be drawing on the experience he gained in 2008, when he tossed 5 2-3 innings for the Rays against the Phillies in the only other World Series start of his nine-year big league career.Hes been tremendous, said Greg Holland, the Royals All-Star closer. He takes that starting five as kind of collectively, Hey, we want to be the backbone of this team. We want to throw 200 innings apiece. We want to push each other, learn from each other.I think he also leads by example, taking the ball every five days and giving his heart and soul, Holland said. I think once you start rattling off good start after good start, it kind of builds on itself. You want to do just as good as the guy in front of you did.Shields also keeps the clubhouse jovial between games and ratchets up the intensity when its time to compete. Once hes on the mound, he stalks around like a lion, often roaring as he heads back to the dugout after a big strikeout.His teammates took notice, adopting many of his mannerisms.I just try to be myself and hopefully its contagious, Shields said. Thats about it. I mean, I have fun with this game. I feel like Im a grinder. I feel like I have a winning attitude, so hopefully it feeds off these guys, and we have fun with it. Were all little kids at heart.Shields can become a free agent after the World Series, and few expect him to re-sign with the small-market Royals. Clubs with far bigger budgets figure to drive up the bidding to the point that Moore is forced to bow out of the negotiations.All of that is for later, though. Shields is too busy with the present, trying to win a World Series ring, to worry about any of it.Obviously we understand the magnitude of whats going on in Kansas City, he said. Were going to go out there and play our game and trust our ability to win ballgames. 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