Two Bills Drive

‘Daryl Porter might roll out of bed this morning and find himself playing catcher. The Buffalo Bills defensive back has been all over the field at the team’s training camp at St. John Fisher College. On Tuesday he played free safety, strong safety, cornerback and was on every special teams unit. "It’s a positive for me and makes me a valuable player on this team," Porter said. "It’s just a matter of not making too many mental mistakes because at one position you use one technique and at another you use another technique. "You just gotta be on your toes."’

‘After spending most of the ’99 season on the practice squad, McDaniel has blossomed in this year’s camp. He has caught everything thrown his way and made several dazzling catches for long gains. If he keeps it up, he will be a lock for a starting job as the third wideout in the Bills’ three-receiver sets. He also should figure prominently on special teams as a coverage man. "Well, anything can happen," McDaniel said. "I don’t think I’m a lock. We’ve got a lot of young guys who have to show their stuff. I’m just going to practice hard every day, eliminate my mistakes and hopefully have a good season. I always had a talent for catching the ball. The Lord blessed me and I thank him every day for that."’

‘Fans heading out to St. John Fisher in hopes of seeing defensive end Phil Hansen blindside quarterback Rob Johnson, or linebackers John Holecek and Sam Cowart sandwich Antowain Smith before throwing him to the ground will be disappointed. While some teams, most notably the Dallas Cowboys and Miami Dolphins under Jimmy Johnson and Tom Coughlin’s Jacksonville Jaguars, strap on full pads and have at it, the Bills don’t conduct live scrimmages in camp. The reason? This is training camp, not boot camp.’

‘It was a little like old times yesterday for Buffalo Bills coach Wade Phillips and his son, Wesley. As the morning practice session came to a close at St. John Fisher College, Wade picked up a football and tossed it to his son, who caught the ball, then threw it back to his dad. "Yeah, it was good to have him around before he leaves to go down there," Wade said of Wesley. Wesley visited Bills’ training camp yesterday before departing for the University of Texas-El Paso today for the start of football practice. The redshirt junior will compete for the Miners’ starting quarterback job. Father and son won’t be seeing much — if any — of each other over the next four or five months as they will be separated by about 2,000 miles and two very busy football schedules. But this is something the Phillips’ have grown accustomed to.’

‘Linebacker Sam Rogers sprained his neck during a pass-rushing drill yesterday morning and sat out the afternoon practice. He hopes to return today and plans to play Saturday at Detroit. Rogers said he actually injured his neck in last Friday’s preseason opener against Cincinnati. "In the pass rush drill, I got pushed into a lineman and it bent more than I wanted," he said. "But I should be back (Wednesday)."’

‘It’s hit or miss for Buffalo Bills fans seeking autographs. Many find that the players are harder to grab than they were in a more spartan setting at Fredonia State for 19 years, and some fans long for the good old days. "Fredonia was really good for the kids," says 38-year-old Ken Carosa, a mortgage loan originator from Henrietta. Joe Fan sees signing autographs as part of the Bills’ job. "When fans pay your salary, it’s a little different" than having a normal job, he says. Some Bills also see it that way, but the structure of the camp at St. John Fisher doesn’t encourage their cooperation. At Fredonia, players had to stroll along a path between two rows of roped-off fans after practice to get back to their dorms and the dining hall. "That made a big difference," Carosa says. "They had to walk right by you." But at St. John Fisher, players must literally go out of their way to get to the fans. "It’s just too bad if they aren’t willing to come over to you, because you can’t get to them," Joe Fan says.’

‘With thousands of visitors attending Buffalo Bills training camp over the last two weeks, the Bills organization will likely get what it wants — a shot at a larger, more lucrative fan base. But what economic benefit — if any — the Rochester area will gain from hosting the three-week camp is largely unknown. That’s because no one is tracking where camp visitors are from; therefore, no one knows how much money out-of-towners are spending. And the camp’s setup discourages visitors from stopping by local businesses.’

‘A year after making the Bills’ as an undrafted free agent, Carpenter has emerged as the leading candidate — ahead of four-year veteran Daryl Porter and second-round draft pick Travares Tillman — to replace starting free safety Kurt Schulz, who’s now with the Detroit Lions. And in anti-Deion fashion, Carpenter is keeping his cool. "I’m not a flashy guy," explained Carpenter following the Bills’ Tuesday morning session at St. John Fisher College. "I could pull it off back then in high school. Even in college I was a little flashy. But now, it’s just getting down to business."’

‘"It felt good," Wiley said. "The back is fine. Now I just gotta turn it on upstairs and get all that right. I’ve been sitting on the sidelines too long. I gotta get it all in tune – the mind and the body." Wiley thinks he’ll be at full strength by the Sept. 3 opener against the Tennessee Titans. He said there is a 50-50 chance he could play in the Aug. 24 preseason finale against Philadelphia.’

‘Part of the problem is that Buffalo’s cornerbacks, while admirable, are all relatively small. Antoine Winfield, who begins his first full year as a starter, is only 5-foot-9. Reggie Durden, the good-looking rookie from Florida State, borders on tiny at 5-8. The "giant" among the group is starter Ken Irvin, at 5-11. It’s not a rare deficiency. Most NFL teams suffer from it. Top-rank cornerbacks with size are rare and hard to acquire. Two of the best in the last 10 years, Champ Bailey and Chris McAlister, came into the 1999 draft. Bailey was picked by Washington with the seventh selection and McAlister by Baltimore with the 10th. The other part of the problem is that Buffalo’s regular-season schedule is alive with high-quality receivers who virtually have "mismatch" written all over them. Most of the mismatch problems are likely to come against out-of-division and out-of-conference foes. That wasn’t such a problem last year, especially since there were four games against the NFC East, which wasn’t overloaded with big receivers. This season their out-of-conference opponents are from the tough NFC Central, all of whom have good big men. The Bills caught something of a break when 6-4 Keyshawn Johnson forced a trade away from the Jets, eliminating two fearsome meetings, but they’ll still see him on Nov. 26 in Tampa since he’s now a Buc.’

‘The Bills told him to retire and informed him that for his own good they were not going to let him play for the team. Burroughs sought work elsewhere, but no other team would take a chance, either, and he had no option but to hang up his cleats. "I was bitter," he said. "I stayed away from football a long time. I didn’t even watch the Bills for a couple years. It was mentally more than I could bear, watching my teammates doing it without me. "But I don’t have any regrets. I know that God is a good God, he’s the same God that gave me the opportunity to be drafted in the first round. In the beginning I questioned it, but not anymore, because I know I can walk and that’s bigger than football."’

‘While the Buffalo Bills of the present sweated through drills on the practice fields yesterday, just a few yards away some former Bills reminisced. Only it wasn’t that easy to distinguish the alumni from the current players. "A lot of us look like we can still play," said Tom Day, a defensive end from the AFL championship teams of 1964 and ’65. Day is one of those who remains in marvelous shape. His New York driver’s license says he’ll turn 65 on Aug. 20, and it’s the only way he’ll ever convince someone he’s eligible for a senior citizen’s discount.’

‘"It was just basically to make sure my stability was there," he said. "They say my muscles and structure are fine, now it’s getting hit and getting shock treatment, plus getting my mind back into it." Wiley underwent lower back surgery in mid-July and at the time, his timetable for a return to action was 4-6 weeks. It has been about 3 1/2 weeks, so he still has a ways to go. "I’m trying to do some conditioning because I’m not going to be running around doing all the team work so I have to do my conditioning as well as my drill work," he said.’

‘"He wanted to play for an AFC team, which is why he turned down the Giants and New Orleans," Agnone said. "Second, he wanted a team that was going to win. And third, he wanted a chance to play and make another Pro Bowl."’

‘Reed said he was given a bad rap by the media in Buffalo, a bad rap he hopes to shake. "It’s been on my back for three or four years," he said. "I’m just trying to get that monkey off my back. It’s a new beginning for me. "It’s just something. I say that I have nothing against (the media). I’ve always had something against the media in Buffalo, and that’s where the hostility is coming from. If I’m going to be (in Denver), I want to have a better relationship. "The minute I spoke up for myself and told people how I felt about certain situations, I was in the wrong. But I’m not going to hold back any more. Whether or not that’s the reason they didn’t want me there — I didn’t want to be there anyway. So that’s just that."’