Archives for August 10, 2010

‘”He’s a very intelligent football player,” head coach Chan Gailey said last week. “He’s a tough guy, almost a coach on the field.”‘

‘”I am hoping to be more well-rounded in my game,” Byrd said. “Last year my production was masked over by my statistics. I’m just trying to learn as much as I can every day from my coaches and all the veterans.”‘

‘There’s another reason that Gailey is running such a tough camp, the Bills have a brutal schedule to start the season. Home to the Dolphins, at Green Bay, at New England and then back home to the Jets. With his southern drawl and years of experience, Gailey is one of those guys you would love to grab some beers with and sit around and talk football all night. The man has seen and done it all.’

‘"When you lose a guy like Aaron Schobel that definitely means that the rest of the guys in the position room have to definitely step it up another level," Maybin said. "You lose a guy with that kind of productivity, it’s definitely going to be something that has to be made up for. That just means that within the linebacker (group) we all have to step it up. Guys really have to take it upon themselves to put themselves in a position to make plays."’

‘NT Torell Troup is having a very strong camp, particularly in goal-line drills. At this pace, he will earn plenty of playing time backing up veteran Kyle Williams.’

‘To his credit, Edwards turned in a strong offseason and separated himself, if ever so slightly, entering camp. "He just made a lot more plays that we thought were positive plays during the course of the minicamps and OTAs," Gailey explained. "He did a good job of handling the team. He did a good job when he had the threes, as well as when he had the ones. And that was impressive to me, to be able to go out there and work with whoever he was throwing with."’

‘”I know what he expects. I know, usually, how he wants things done. I know how he likes to coach, and what he expects out of his players. He expects us to work hard, come out here and do our best, be focused, and be a team, be together,” Matthews said. “That’s what it’s about. The Bills, we’re grasping on to that, we’re becoming one unit, but it takes time.”‘

‘"What I thought of a 3-4, I thought of the offensive guards being uncovered all the time and linebackers having to take on blocks all the time," he explained. "So far it hasn’t been that way. We are a 3-4 team, but we’re going to do a lot of things with our fronts to switch things up. The coverage schemes and where we fit in the run, it’s very different than a 4-3, but I think we’re picking it up. We have a long way to go, but it has been a solid transition."’

‘Torbor, at 6-foot-2 and 250 pounds, has a bigger, stouter frame than Maybin (even though Maybin is listed at 6-4, 250). Torbor also has a firm grasp of the Bills’ defense because he played the past two years for Bills defensive coordinator George Edwards, who was inside linebackers coach in Miami.’

‘Inside linebackers Paul Posluszny and Keith Ellison got back in pads Monday. They participated in individual drills but not team drills. Posluszny has been out due to pre-camp groin surgery. Ellison has battled an injury suffered in the spring. Right tackle Cornell Green still was out with a minor leg injury. Felton Huggins hurt his shoulder in the morning session, and it was termed "pretty bad" by Gailey. Corey McIntyre went down with a minor leg injury. Gailey said receiver Marcus Easley was getting a second opinion on an injury that has kept him out the past week.’

‘”It felt good just to be out there running around with the guys,” Posluszny said. “I didn’t do much … but it felt good just to see some routes develop, react a little bit and see the world through the face mask again.”‘

‘The reason for that is a very simple one as far as he’s concerned. It’s as easy as going from the Tampa 2-style coverage-oriented defense the Bills previously used, to the 3-4 system, which is very similar to the one Whitner spent three years playing in at Ohio State.’