Archives for September 4, 2012

‘"He didn’t play as well in the first three preseason games as he did in the last one. I thought he really played a lot more aggressively in the last one and that was good to see because that’s what you see on the practice field," Gailey said. "I want him to carry what he’s doing on the practice field into the games."’

‘”Most guys can’t sleep the night after a game, whether you won or lost. You want to go back and see what you did, what plays you left out there on the field. You always want to try to fine-tune your mistakes and correct them as quickly as you can. … By the time they’re on the airplane, our teams have uploaded the (NFL-shot game video), so if we have an hour flight, most guys have an opportunity to already see the game footage before we actually walk off the airplane.”‘

‘And that applies to McGee this offseason. Overcoming season-ending knee surgery and several setbacks that limited his practice time, McGee declared himself ready to open his 10th season in Buffalo on Sunday, when the Bills travel to face the New York Jets.’

‘Thigpen is now set to make a base salary of $1.5 million this season in the second year of a three-year contract he signed last summer.’

‘”We have a lot of confidence,” said Fitzpatrick, who completed 26 of 48 passes (54.2 percent) for 247 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. “I think on offense we feel we are light years ahead of where we were in the past. We are looking forward to getting off to a fast start to the season.”‘

‘The Bills have to prove that they can stretch the field or they run the risk of having opposing defenses squat on their short passing game. The addition of rookie speedster T.J. Graham should help the Bills get vertical, but this group of receivers has a lot to prove, and that includes the No. 1 target, Stevie Johnson.’

‘Quarterback Tyler Thigpen reportedly took a $1 million pay cut to remain with the team, and that drops his salary down to $1.5 million for this season, or about half what newly-acquired Tarvaris Jackson is scheduled to make. Throughout training camp, coach Chan Gailey said Ryan Fitzpatrick was No. 1, Brad Smith was No. 3, and the No. 2 job was up for grabs between Thigpen and Vince Young. Young busted and was cut, but then the Bills made an interesting move in trading for Jackson. With just two days of practice to look at Jackson, Gailey decided to keep both Jackson and Thigpen so that he can make a more sound decision. It seems unlikely that both will remain on the roster very long, and apparently, Thigpen is only still with the Bills because he was willing to take the pay cut.’

‘”It was crazy, no one actually called and told me I was on, someone called me and told me they saw a line on the Bills site and I said, ‘Oh shoot, OK’ , but I wasn’t expecting a call. If you’re cut you get a call, if you’re on the team you don’t get a call.”‘

‘To start off the practice week, the Bills saw starters Erik Pears and Mark Anderson, as well as cornerback Terrence McGee, return to work on Monday. Pears and Anderson had been limited and held out for precautionary reasons because of a groin injury, while McGee has been attempting a comeback from patellar tendon surgery this off-season.’

‘2 On Your Side checked with the Bills on Monday and a spokesman told us there would be no update on Wilson’s condition.’

‘Prediction: 9-7.’

‘Peering into my crystal football, I see a 10-6 record, good for a second-place finish and a Wild Card spot.’

‘”He’s such an impressive athlete, but he has not played over there at all,” said Gailey. “We’ve thrown him over there for some snaps a little bit during OTAs and training camp, but we stuck him over there to see how he could do.”‘

‘”They both played and it looked like they did well,” said head coach Chan Gailey of Pears and McGee. “We’ll have to see, but Mark Anderson was back, he did well. We had most of our guys back. Brad was really the only one that missed practice.”‘

‘The Buffalo Bills today announced that the team has signed CB T.J. Heath and TE LaMark Brown to the Practice Squad.’