Our daily show, 'One Bills Live,' came back with a vengeance this week, after a week off for the holiday. There was discussion about the approaching training camp, new NFL rules changes, a look back in Bills history, and even talk about the CFL.
'One Bills Live' with John Murphy and Steve Tasker airs weekdays 12 noon – 3 pm on WGR Radio and MSG.
Here's a list of six things you may have missed on the show this week:
1. FRED JACKSON JUGGLES FOOTBALL AND FAMILY TIME IN RETIREMENT
Yes, he's playing in the new flag football league. And former Bills RB Fred Jackson scored two touchdowns last weekend for his flag football team.
On Saturday, Jackson's Team Ocho will play Godspeed in the American Flag Football League playoffs in Indianapolis. Coverage for Saturday's game will begin at 4 pm on NFL Network.
But when he's not competing in flag football, the Bills third all-time rusher says his focus is primarily on his family, and his four children, as he navigates through retirement.
"I help coach my son in football, I'm coaching my girls in basketball. I'm taking my son to soccer and track practice all the time," Jackson said Tuesday on 'One Bills Live.'
"So, it's busy. I'm enjoying every minute of it. It's great to make it all about them now. They used to have to not do things on the weekend because their dad was traveling here and they wanted to come and watch the games. So, it's fun now to make it about them and see how much fun they're having in participating in all these sports."
For fans looking to catch up with Jackson in Buffalo, the former Bill standout is planning to host a camp on August 11 at Bishop Timon field starting at 10 am. See below for more information.
2. A LITTLE-KNOWN MILESTONE FOR ANOTHER RETIRED BILL
Fred Jackson officially retired as a Buffalo Bill back in April. For punter Paul Maguire, his last game with the team was in 1970, 48 years ago.
Maguire still splits his time between Buffalo and Charleston, South Carolina. And he still hears from longtime American Football League fans about his playing days.
Before arriving in Buffalo in 1964, Maguire played for the San Diego Chargers 1963 AFL Championship team. Then he came to the Bills and won back-to-back titles in Buffalo.
"I didn't realize it until about two months ago," Maguire told the show. "A guy from San Diego called me and said, 'Do you know you're the only player that's ever played in three winning championship games in a row?'"
"Because in '63 I was with the Chargers and I got cut. And I came here in '64 and '65. I never thought about it. He said, 'You're the only guy that's ever done that.'"
3. HOW LORENZO ALEXANDER IS STARTING TO GET READY FOR CAMP
As he gears up for his 13th NFL training camp, you would expect LB Lorenzo Alexander would know how to get ready for camp. He does. And for Alexander, the last few weeks before camp are the time when he adapts to his seasonal nutrition regime to get ready.
"I think the biggest thing is I've tightened up on my diet," Alexander told "One Bills Live. "It was something I wanted to play with this year. I found after the last couple of years - especially when you get in those months of November/December and you may be a little banged up and the weather's cold, you got wings in front of you, I was more ready to eat those things. But I said let me change it up, be a little more loose, not go crazy in the off season but around spring time and OTA time, eat well."
"So that's one of those small tweaks that I kind of put into my regimen this year that I think is going to pay off big dividends for me as the season carries on."
4. NEW HELMET HIT RULE HAS SOME 'WIGGLE ROOM'
When the NFL's new rule prohibiting helmet hits and instituting a possible game ejection for guilty parties was unveiled in late March, there was confusion and criticism from various sources. Four months later, the league has clarified the rule and the criteria for ejection. And Jenny Vrentas, Senior NFL writer for Sports Illustrated and the MMQB, told the show players and coaches now have a better sense of what's prohibited.
"I think a big emphasis was, the coaches were worried but I think they came out of the meeting feeling like, 'We're going to ramp into this,'" Vrentas told the show. "I think the number one thing they want to take out of the game this year is that posture where the players are pitched over like a battering ram, their head in line with their spine, and that has the greatest risk of impact. And so, I think we're going to see the emphasis on plays where there's time and space to make a decision."
5. GOOD REPORTS ON MANZIEL IN HAMILTON
'One Bills Live´co-host Steve Tasker keeps one football eye on the Hamilton Tiger Cats of the Canadian Football League this time of year. His son, Luke, an East Aurora native and Cornell product, is in his sixth season as a wide receiver for the Ticats.
One of Luke Tasker's teammates this year is former Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel of Texas A&M. And even though Manziel hasn't seen the field in Hamilton's first four games, Luke Tasker is impressed with his approach to CFL football.
"I gotta tell you, he's been an excellent teammate and an excellent football player thus far." Luke Tasker told "One Bills Live." "It was clear very early on that he has football intelligence. He has a very natural and authentic football intelligence in terms of the way he dissects defenses and the way he's picking up concepts. Like I said, from a teammate perspective, he's been a standup guy and it's been good having him in the meetings and on the field."
6. FOOTBALL RESEARCHERS CONVERGE ON BUFFALO
Pro football historians are making their way to Buffalo this weekend, for the biennial convention of the Pro Football Researchers Association. Their focus will be Buffalo's role in pro football history, and they'll hold meetings and talks at the Buffalo History Museum Friday and Saturday. On Sunday, some of the group will get an all access tour of New Era Field in Orchard Park.
PFRA executive vice president George Bozecka joined the show this past Tuesday and talked about what the researchers do.
"Basically we preserve and re-construct pro football history," he said. "A number of our members are historians, researchers, and have published a number of books. If a book has been published on pro football history it's probably from one of our members. We have 371 members nationwide and in seven countries."
More information on the Pro Football researchers and the convention in Buffalo is available here.
