Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

‘“I got a call about 5 or 6 in the morning,” the Buffalo Bills rookie running back recalled the other day following a training camp practice at St. John Fisher College. “I just thought this can’t be real, this can’t be true. But it was.”’

‘Coach Sean McDermott, who mentioned again that he likes being in Rochester for part of training camp, said getting back to Orchard Park helped the young players get a feel for the pregame routine prior to Thursday night’s preseason opener against the Indianapolis Colts.’

‘“It seems like a different guy makes a play from kind of that group of guys you are referring to and I think Ray-Ray McCloud has had a real nice training camp to this point,” said coach Sean McDermott. “Just with effort and doing the things we expect our wide receivers to do. At the end of the day, you have to get open and you have to get separation and catch the football.”’

‘“We have to be better defensively,’’ McDermott said during spring drills, sending a message to his players before their arrival for training camp at St. John Fisher College. “It’s a mindset and I’m looking for a more physical, nasty defense than we were a year ago.’’’

‘“He’s got the physicality and nastiness. That’s the way he plays the game,” said Schoen. “To him it was like, ‘Why did you ask that? That’s my job.’”’

‘Given the investment the Bills made in Morse, and the important role he will be playing anchoring the middle of Buffalo’s refurbished offensive line, news of his latest concussion is certainly worrisome for McDermott and the team.’

‘“It seems like a different guy makes a play from kind of that group of guys you are referring to and I think Ray-Ray McCloud has had a real nice training camp to this point,” said coach Sean McDermott. “Just with effort and doing the things we expect our wide receivers to do. At the end of the day, you have to get open and you have to get separation and catch the football.”’

‘“Football’s not football without pads on,” the defensive tackle said after the session which was conducted in intermittent rain. “So putting the pads on, you can play physical and play football. It was harder for me without pads on, but you put the pads on, my leverage and power and speed come into play and that works into my advantage because guys have to actually block me.”’

‘“We have to be able to practice at that level to get guys ready,” said linebacker Lorenzo Alexander. “It’ll ramp up when we get into games.”’

‘”It’s teaching me patience, man. I’m trying to be the best father figure I can be. It’s turning and molding me into a better person each and every day watching my son grow,” White said. “Watching him pick up on things and get bigger and bigger, that’s something I’m looking forward to for sure.”‘

‘“You have to rotate the fields or you’ll destroy them and then they’re not as safe and you can’t get what you need done,” Beane said. “When we go to the other field that’s not the main one, it’s not conducive for the fans. We wouldn’t want someone to drive multiple hours and you bring kids and there’s not seating to help them see. We felt like there was some people disappointed (in the past), showing up, (saying), ‘Well, if we knew you were practicing here we would have come a different day.’”’

‘Was Wallace really the fifth-best corner in the NFL? Highly unlikely, but based on how he played, it looks as if the 6-foot, 179-pounder has plenty of upside and may once again be the starter in 2019, even after the Bills signed veteran free agents Kevin Johnson and E.J. Gaines to compete with him.’

‘“For me it’s easy,” Johnson said after practice at St. John Fisher College the other day. “All I have to do is watch and they’re going to tell me who should win the jobs and who shouldn’t. It’s not going to be me; they’re going to do it. No coach ever cuts a player, a player cuts a player. No coach ever wins a job, the player wins the job. I’m teaching them the tools they need to be successful and watching who responds and who doesn’t.”’

‘After two days of helmets and shells, the Bills got after it in their full gear and there was even a brief skirmish when rookie tight end Dawson Knox was handled rather roughly as he was heading out of bounds after making a catch.’

‘“This is how I support my family; this is the way I take care of her and my kids,” he said. “But to be honest, she’s the one that told me to get back out here, she told me not to miss. As a husband and a man, it’s my obligation to be there for my family so it is crazy that I’m here, but it’s her, she wouldn’t want it any other way.”’