Archives for August 5, 2008

‘Tickets are available only for the August 19 night practice by visiting the customer service desk at one of the five participating Tops Friendly Markets locations or the ticket office at Ralph Wilson Stadium beginning Friday, August 8. Participating Tops Friendly Markets locations are…’.

‘Earlier in practice with Will James sidelined with an injury I had the opportunity to run with the first team nickel in the slot and it’s definitely a good thing to go against the players that are considered the best wideouts that we have. So it was a good chance to step up my game and show the coaches that I can do this.’

‘Thursday morning was a treat. The day I had to wake up early and do my steroid test. It’s not the waking up early part that gets me. I get up that early anyway. It’s the having to take my shirt off, pull my pants to my knees, and pee in front of some guy all before I’ve had my coffee. (Because coffee would make that a lot less awkward.)’

‘”We definitely have it (talent), so it’s just a matter of us going out there and executing,” Stroud said. “We have about another month to lock everything down and get it together.”‘

‘”So far, it’s fine,” Stroud said about his experience with the Bills after Monday’s practice at St. John Fisher. “We have a long way to go. Right now we are just preparing to have success this season, and I think that is what we will do. It’s definitely fun playing with those guys.”‘

‘With Parrish, it’s not a matter of sending him long; rather, it’s sending him short and then letting him sprint away after the reception. A style of offense utilizing rapid connections will allow Parrish to do his best work, specifically by schooling secondary members the same way he’s already embarrassed so many special teams foes.’

‘”That’s football,” said Spragan, who practiced for the first time on Monday after signing with the Buffalo Bills last week. “The majority of the NFL players go through something similar to that so it wasn’t that surprising. It was unfortunate because I wanted to get in, learn the defense and play football but that’s how it happens sometimes so it’s no big deal.”‘

‘Reed, who also missed Monday morning’s walkthrough, missed practice with a sore lower back while Whitner sat out because of an ankle injury. Reed is coming off offseason back surgery and was examined after practice Monday, said Bills coach Dick Jauron.’

‘”They’ve had to deal with a real difficult situation, but difficult in some pretty interesting and good ways,” Jauron said after the Bills wrapped up their afternoon practice under picture-perfect sunny skies.’

‘”I’m old enough now, so I don’t get too worried about those things,” the seven-year NFL veteran said Monday morning following his first practice as a member of the Buffalo Bills.’

‘Donte Whitner, one of the team’s most consistent defenders since being picked from Oho State three years ago, missed practice with what coach Dick Jauron called “a little ankle injury.” There was no word on whether he’d participate in Tuesday’s session.’

‘"I don’t have shoulders pads and helmets back at home," said Spragan. "It’s a lot different. I don’t have three hundred pound guys as neighbors trying to hit me so when you add that to it, it’s a little bit different. Football is a real game. You can’t really prepare for it. You can kind of get ready to get ready but there’s nothing like playing real football."’

‘The Bills of today are a team loaded with youth, optimism and the sense it is headed in the right direction. But roughly a decade after the last of the players from their glory years had left, this is still a team very much in search of an identity.’