Bills’ camp is still good for the soul

[Tux of Borg]

http://www.zwire.com/

 

POLLOCK: Bills’ camp is still good for the soul

 

PITTSFORD — Each year the numbers change a bit more.

And, come next summer, the pendulum will have swung for good.

There was a time when every National Football League team dutifully took its players to some out-of-the-way site to sweat them into shape after an off-season of relative inactivity.

Training camps lasted over a month and were a spartan tribute to male bonding galvanized by endless two-a-day practices.

But gradually it changed.

Playing in the National Football League became a full-time job compensated by multi-million dollar contracts.

Camp was no longer for conditioning players who worked out year-round ... especially with mini-camps and off-season activities that are voluntary in name only.

Thus, more and more teams are abandoning traditional training camps and conducting pre-season workouts at their own practice facilities.

This year, 15 teams went that route: Cleveland, Denver, Houston, Jacksonville, Miami, New England, the Jets, San Diego and Tennessee in the AFC and Atlanta, Detroit, New Orleans, St. Louis, San Francisco and Washington in the NFC.

 

THE BILLS are one of 17 teams still holding off-site training camps.

Part of the reason is that their head coaches, historically, favor that setup.

As Buffalo concluded its 25-day camp following Tuesday afternoon’s practice at St. John Fisher College, coach Mike Mularkey noted, “(Camp is) all football from morning until night ... you find out about players, their character, their mentality.

“Rookies get homesick ... there’s a lot of things that go on, especially with the younger players. It’s grueling ... it’s supposed to be. (But) it’s not as long as it used to be.”

Mularkey added, “You find out a lot about players. Can they keep up? Are they competitive? Can they stay at a consistent basis over a time span in a hard environment ... not just on the practice field but in meetings and the constant time schedule they’re asked to do. I like it.”

 

THE PLAYERS, however don’t.

Free safety Troy Vincent, 34, has been to 14 training camps with the Dolphins, Eagles and Bills.

He’s also president of the NFL Player’s Association and is one of the league’s most respected voices.

“I can’t wait to get out of here,” he said after Tuesday’s final workout at St. John Fisher. “Training camp is training camp ... they’re all the same. Sometimes you get so caught up in it, the little things start irritating you and you have to realize the big picture is it’s training camp.”

He added, “Now that you have off-season all year long, guys are generally in shape when they report in July. (But) that’s a coach’s decision ... how he feels about his club. (Still) I think next year we’ll see more teams move away from (off-site training camp to practice facilities).

“I know from a player’s standpoint we’re having conversations about getting away from two-a-days as a whole. You can get what you need to get done in one-a-days ... you have enough time during mini-camp, the OTA (Organized Team Activity) days, the off-season workouts then training camp to get done what you need to get done and prepare for pre-season.”

Nonetheless, Vincent sees value in off-site training camps.

“There’s a lot of soul-searching because every day you look at the weary, you’re tired,” he said. “Who won’t quit? Who wants to give up? Who’s going to give in? Who’s going to let the coach see them bend?

“Everyone’s tired ... everyone’s hot ... everyone’s hungry ... everyone wants to go home ... everyone’s legs are heavy. But you just pull together ... sleep together ... you’re with each other all day long, all night long. So you’re going to learn about personalities ... the good and the bad.”

He also understands that part of the reason the Bills train in a Rochester suburb is that as a regional franchise, it exposes the team to part of the fan base outside of Buffalo and vicinity.

“These fans that are here today drive the sport,” Vincent admitted. “They fill the seats at Ralph Wilson Stadium and across the National Football League. Those fans who come out for teams that have camps away from their facilities ... they can see us, touch us and connect with us and a lot of them aren’t even season ticket holders.”

And he hasn’t lost his humor about training camp.

“You start looking at the head coach and you say, why is he doing this ... he used to be a player,” he said with a laugh about Mularkey, who played nine NFL seasons as a tight end with Minnesota and Pittsburgh. “But at the end of the day, coach is doing what it takes to prepare this team to win on Sunday and I can appreciate that.”

(Chuck Pollock is sports editor of The Times Herald)

[buckeyemike]

Good article, well-written and relevant.

 

I was at Browns camp at the end of July...it's a nice facility, but it's kind of cramped for the fans. About 3,500 were there the day I went.

 

They did have merchandise trailers and things to do for the kids. It seems that SJFC has more for the fans and is more spread out, from what I've heard.

 

Mike