Two Bills Drive

‘The Browns’ first-team defense had a positive time on the field against the Bills’ top offense and quarterback Drew Bledsoe. Cornerback Anthony Henry nearly had an interception, and defensive tackle Gerard Warren was credited with a sack. The only unsettling sign for the defense was McGahee had 34 yards on seven carries. The top priority on defense this season is to do a better job of controlling the ground game.’

‘”A rusher (Jeff Posey) gets his hand up, the ball bounces up in the air, and it’s a free ball,” Garcia said. “That’s not how I wanted to have my first pass as a Cleveland Brown. Good thing it’s just a scrimmage.”‘

‘Jim Kelly remembers looking around the NFL and seeing a great quarterback on almost every team. “At any given point of my career, there were 10, 12, 15 top quarterbacks in the league'”

‘On whether he gave the players ‘the riot act’ after the penalty miscues on offense…’.

“Browns defenders and coaches I talked to said McGahee still lacks the burst that he was known for in college, and seemed to be dealing with a slightly lingering limp. But they noted that while he ran tentatively early on in the scrimmage, he became more confident and aggressive the more he touched the ball.”

‘"We have to be smart how we use them," Mularkey said. "We have two guys who don’t just have speed but are big, physical backs. People don’t realize they’re 240 pounds, well-built and can get to the edge. It’s hard to say how the whole thing will play out. Willis has great ability, but he has to prove himself."’

‘Bills quarterback Drew Bledsoe was unhappy with the team’s mistakes. "We came out and ran the ball extremely well the first couple of plays. We showed that we are capable of against a good defense, coming out and running the ball the way we did. We also showed that if we can’t build a little bit more mental toughnesss to fight through then adversity of one mistake and not allow that to snowball into two and three mistakes, then we’re not going to be successful."’

‘But Mularkey never has been in charge of a whole team. He never has set the agenda for both sides of the ball, never been a policy maker, never been the primary link between the team and the keepers of the team’s finances. Mularkey never has been as accountable as he is now.’

‘First and foremost, Willis McGahee is no longer a guy who’s rehabbing his knee, but rather a running back on the Bills roster, who looks good enough to challenge for a starting spot in the NFL. Travis Henry started the day with the first team offense, and ran the ball effectively, before penalties thwarted the drive. Henry was very productive, but I got the impression that the Bills coaching staff was at Fisher today for the same reason most of the fans were – find out what Willis McGahee can do.’

‘Q. How did Willis McGahee look to you?

A. Ask Buffalo how he looked. I don’t know.’

‘All told when the regular units were on the field, the Bills offense and defense each scored once. The Browns did not score.’

‘On his way back to the sideline, McGahee was greeted by a standing ovation from the crowd behind the Buffalo bench at the Bills training camp site in suburban Rochester. ”It’s good to know that they’re behind me and they want to see how I do,” McGahee said. ”And I’m just glad to score and let them know that I can still do certain things.”’

‘He was the key force in the Browns offense even though he was limited to playing only the first of four offensive series. Suggs carried five times for 82 yards, including a nifty cutback run of 50 yards on Cleveland’s second offensive play of the scrimmage held at the Bills training camp site in suburban Rochester.’

‘On recovering from some early mistakes and Drew Bledsoe speaking to his teammates on the sidelines:

I was extremely please by what he did on the sideline. That’s what we need. Don’t wait until Mondays after games to address the problem. They’re recognizing at least that they have an issue and they’re trying to address it and take care of it so when they go back on the field it’s been talked about. They know that probably their biggest opponent that they’ll face can be themselves. It’s just too hard to make mistakes against good football teams and every team is good to overcome. It was a good example. I’m glad it was a scrimmage it took place in.’

‘On if he thought about all of his hard work and rehab after his first touchdown:

Not yet. It doesn’t start until preseason. It was a good day today to go against the Cleveland Browns in a scrimmage, but it will really pay off during preseason and during the regular season.’