Archives for August 1, 2012

‘When the team is in full pads, Gailey is making sure his offense gets quality work in the running game. That’s a part of the game that has suffered in recent years with the elimination of two-a-day practices and an emphasis on passing. In order to run the ball well, teams need to develop a "mentality." For the Bills, it means making sure Fred Jackson and C.J. Spiller get to feel the pop of the pads and the linemen drive bodies backwards.’

‘With the loss of Demetress Bell to Philadelphia, the Bills have a huge hole to fill protecting Ryan Fitzpatrick’s blind side. The good news is that they have two excellent prospects in Cordy Glenn, their second-round draft pick from Georgia and Chris Hairston, who logged seven starts as a rookie when Bell was injured. They are sharing time with the first unit early in camp. Coach Chan Gailey was most eager to see them perform in full pads. "We will find out a lot more in the next week," he said. "We are going to keep alternating that until we find out which direction we want to go."’

‘Despite losing the barrel toss to Young, Fitzpatrick has looked very sharp early in camp. One pass during a 7-on-7 drill was deep down the right sideline to rookie speedster T.J. Graham that drew loud cheers from fans in attendance. "The only reason I threw it to him today is because it’s his birthday," Fitzpatrick said. "He didn’t tell any of us that. Somebody told me walking out to practice. So I figured I’d give him one little softball that he could catch out there today, get the fans cheering. He’s obviously a speedster. He’s really improved from the first day he stepped on the field in OTAs."’

‘"[GM] Buddy [Nix] and I both believe the game, a major part but not the whole part, is won in the trenches," Buffalo coach Chan Gailey said. "It is won on both sides of the line and who can control that part of the game. It’s hard to find those guys. So when you get the opportunity to get them, you take that opportunity."’

‘”It’s good for both of those guys to fight each other every day like that. It’s good for Stevie and it’s good for Stephon,” said Gailey. “If he can cover Stevie, he’ll be a great player for us. So, it’s a good battle.”‘

‘”I think the biggest thing is being on the same page with the receivers doing what I expect them to do and me making sure that they know what my expectations are,” said Fitzpatrick. “We get very specific on routes and there’s just so much that goes into it against every different coverage.”‘

‘"They both have not done anything to distance themselves from the other," Gailey said after Tuesday’s training camp practice. "Both – some things are good one day and some things are bad one day. We just have to keep letting them play. They’ve got to get a feel of the speed of the game with pads, feeling the pass rush around them, doing the little things they do best."’

‘”We have a great communication system with some area people about their lightning horns going off, and so we try to monitor that closely,” Gailey said. “Bud Carpenter, our trainer, keeps in close contact with me on that and we have to get off that field before the lightning gets close.”‘

‘”I feel like God has had his hand on me throughout my whole life, from when I was little with racing, surviving that car wreck, then being blessed to play football in college and then get to the NFL, the good Lord has kept me here,” Carder said during a break from Buffalo Bills training camp at St. John Fisher College.’

‘Glenn and second-year player Chris Hairston are battling for the starting spot during training camp. Each player has spent time working with the first team in the battle for the blind side.’

”’We wouldn’t trade him for anybody,” center Eric Wood said Tuesday. ”He’s our guy.”’

‘Key to Bills’ success is play of QB Ryan Fitzpatrick. Is he guy who cashed in after strong first half of 2011 or guy who struggled mightily in second half?’

‘”I know there’s so much improvement still to be made for us. We’re by no means where we want to be. I think that’s why having this experience right now in training camp is great for us, because we’re able to go out there and get the work on the field. We’ll have a couple of pre-season games to iron out some kinks and look at some stuff,” said Fitzpatrick. “But we have so much potential on this team, especially offensively; we’re not even close right now. We’ve got a lot of work to do.”‘