Community » confidence on the practice field in recent days

PITTSFORD, N.Y. - After a shaky start to training camp, Buffalo Bills quarterback EJ Manuel has had a renewed confidence on the practice field in recent days. Buffalo is looking to keep that momentum on its side in its first real test of the preseason when the Bills play the New York Giants in the Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio, on Sunday. "Obviously we want to go out there and put out a great product," Manuel said. "Its national TV. Its the kickoff of the NFL season so obviously we want to start off with a bang." Most of the attention has been on Manuel at Buffalos training camp in suburban Rochester. The Bills have surrounded the second-year quarterback with an assortment of playmaking options, including newcomers Sammy Watkins and Mike Williams at wide receiver and incumbents C.J. Spiller and Fred Jackson at running back. With an assortment of talent at the skill positions, the pressure is on the former first-round pick to step up and lead the Bills into the post-season for the first time since 1999. As expected, the results have been mixed two weeks into training camp. Watkins, the dynamic rookie chosen fourth overall after Buffalo traded up in the draft, has been electric. After injury-filled seasons one year ago, Spiller and Jackson are healthy and running well. But Manuels first week on the practice field was littered with incompletions, slow reads in the pocket and questionable decision-making. Manuel has made progress throughout Buffalos second week of camp. On Wednesday, he appeared to have more command in the pocket and connected with second-year receiver Robert Woods for a pair of impressive touchdowns in the red zone. He also connected with receiver Chris Hogan on a decisive throw in a tight window down the middle of the field. On Thursday, he was aggressive early in the practice session and found Watkins for a 99-yard touchdown down the left sideline. "We have been making strides," Manuel said. "Even in the dog days of last week, I felt like we were still making strides to get to this point. Its not always going to be perfect. The O-line has been doing a great job. Our communication has really picked up. I think thats just allowing us quarterbacks to have time to throw the ball downfield to our receivers." After displaying a conservative nature on the field as a rookie, Manuels aggressiveness in recent days has been encouraging. The quarterback said that he has watched film of top quarterbacks around the league — including Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees, Russell Wilson and Cam Newton — and gained more of an appreciation for taking chances down the field. "I think a lot of the throws that Ive started to make this year, at least attempted to make, I wasnt doing it last year," Manuel said. "I think instead of being more cautious ... our receivers, they want to make plays. They want the opportunity to make a big catch. I think watching a guy like Aaron Rodgers or Drew Brees, they cut it loose. They allow their receivers to go out and make a play and earn their money. I think thats what Ive started to do." Manuel and the Bills still have a long way to go, but the quarterback feels that their progress is heading in the right direction. On Sunday, they get their first chance to prove it. "I think were progressing along the timeline that we want to be progressing," Manuel said. "Were still four weeks away from the opener in the regular season, so as long as we continue to put a brick in each day and get better and better, I think well be more than ready to go." Martin St. Louis Lightning Jersey . The struggling New Orleans Pelicans were simply overmatched. Crawford hit seven 3s on his way to 24 points, and the Clippers beat the Pelicans 123-110 on Monday night. 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He scored the game-winner with 4:45 remaining in the third period, stopping on the right hashmarks, carrying the puck up through the top of the Kings zone, then firing a wrist shot from the top of the circles past Jonathan Quick, who had his view obstructed by Andrew Shaw. Ryan McDonagh Lightning Jersey . The defeat leaves the 41-year-old Nestor to concentrate on the mixed-doubles event after winning 12 straight matches and winning Australian titles in Brisbane and Sydney with two different partners. "This was a little bit of a let down, but all credit to them," said Nestor.LENZERHEIDE, Switzerland - About four weeks after winning Olympic gold in the super-G, Anna Fenninger completed her run to the overall World Cup title Thursday by taking second in the same event. The 24-year-old Austrian finished behind Lara Gut at the World Cup Finals but built an unassailable 215-point lead over her Swiss friend with two races remaining this weekend. "Its just, Wow," said Fenninger, the first Austrian woman to win the overall title since Nicole Hosp in 2007. "It means that you are the best skier in the world over the whole season." Fenningers path to Alpine skiings most prestigious honour was made easier when her closest challenger, Maria Hoefl-Riesch of Germany, sustained season-ending injuries after crashing in the downhill on Wednesday. Still, her consistency over a tiring five-month season earned her the honour of becoming the 27th different womens champion since the World Cup launched in 1967. "You cant win the overall because you are lucky," Gut said. "You win the overall because you are the best." Fenninger carried the momentum of her Olympic exploits, including silver in giant slalom, into a surge of points in recent weeks. Her only slip since Sochi was a sixth-place finish in the final downhill on Wednesday, racing minutes before Hoefl-Riesch crashed. "I was so nervous yesterday it was not normal," Fenninger said. "But I learned from yesterday for today and Im stoked that I can show my good skiing again." Tina Weirather of Liechtenstein, who was second in the overall standings heading to Sochi, also wass lost for the season when she crashed in training on the Olympic downhill course.dddddddddddd Starting just before Gut on Thursday, Fenninger punched the air with her right fist after crossing the line, then blew a kiss to the television camera while waiting for her rival in the finish area. Gut then finished in 1 minute, 17.14 seconds on the sunbathed course, 0.61 seconds faster than Fenninger. Tina Maze of Slovenia, the defending overall champion, trailed Gut by 0.95 in third. Marie-Michele Gagnon of Lac-Etchemin, Que., did not finish. Guts victory, her second straight after her downhill success, clinched the season-long super-G title, a first career World Cup trophy for the 22-year-old Swiss racer. Gut looked up at the giant screens, pumped both fists and basked in a loud ovation from a 5,000-strong home crowd. "Its cool," the 22-year-old Gut said. "Winning it at home and finally bringing a (crystal) globe back to Switzerland, its amazing." Guts seventh World Cup race win this season is the most on the womens circuit, and leaves her third overall. Fenninger, however, won three giant slaloms — including back-to-back races last week in Are, Sweden — and racked up podium finishes. She finished second in the downhill standings, behind Hoefl-Riesch, and in super-G. She also stands second in the giant slalom race behind Jessica Lindell-Vikarby of Sweden. The final GS race closes the season on Sunday. By then, Austria hopes Marcel Hirscher will have clinched the mens overall title to give the Alpine nation its first double success since 2002. ' ' '