Two Bills Drive

‘Donahoe chose to gamble on youth and medical science. He’s betting that the improvements both in surgical procedures and rehabilitation techniques are such that McGahee can come back to nearly full strength after tearing two ligaments in one knee. McGahee has shown thus far that he heals quickly and is willing to do all he can to speed up the process. Now the Bills are in a position to slow it back down and wait for him to catch up. That is why it was a bet worth making.’

”I’d say you’ve got your story skewed,” Reed said Saturday, after the Bills completed their second day of a three-day weekend minicamp. ”Peerless was here, and that was the position he played. And there’s no replacing him. It’s just playing the position.”’

In instant demand following his release by the Buffalo Bills earlier this week, free agent cornerback Chris Watson has quickly found a new address, with ESPN.com learning that he reached a contract agreement with the Detroit Lions on Saturday evening.

"I think for the most part a lot of the stuff is the same as Cincinnati. I think more so that anything, just veteran leadership and trying to show the young guys how to do it. I'm hungry man. I just want to win. I want to get to the playoffs, I want to get to the Super Bowl and win it all."

Rookies and veterans had a chance to meet for the first time when organized team activity got underway at the team's training facility in Orchard Park on Friday.

‘It looks like new players may win at least a third of the starting positions – eight out of 24 spots counting the kicking positions. The Bills have added 11 veterans from other teams in the free-agency signing period. Then they drafted eight new players. So it’s possible that 20 new players will make the 53-man roster – or about a 40 percent turnover from last year’s 8-8 squad.’

‘"Buffalo fans are awesome, a lot like Nebraskans," the defensive end said. "Where I come from, that’s all there is to do in Nebraska, play Cornhusker football. Buffalo Bills fans are the same – it’s 12 months out of the year."’

‘The ability of the Bills’ brass to keep their plans a secret was evidenced by how long it took ESPN’s Chris Berman to speculate that the Bills were going to gamble on McGahee. Berman, who always gets the Bills’ pick accurately from "a cab driver," didn’t actually say it was McGahee until a second before the pick was announced.’

‘”The only thing different about where you’re picked — first, second, third round, whatever — is the money aspect and I’m not in this for the money,” Kelsay said. “Anybody I’ve ever been around or played with will tell you that. Sure, some people said I’d go higher but I’m thankful to go as high as I did. And I was grateful when that phone rang and the Buffalo Bills were on the other line.”‘

”’It ought to be fun this year,” Schobel said with a wide grin.’

"There were a lot of new faces out there today. We made a lot of moves last year bringing Drew (Bledsoe) and Kevin (Gilbride's) offense with Eric (Moulds) and company- we had the weapons to get it done on the offensive side of the ball. Now we have our defensive side of the ball all ready. I'm excited where we are headed."

Buffalo’s crowded backfield: The club recently signed him to a one-year extension, through the 2005 season, basically because Henry didn’t have enough money to make it through the offseason. So he pocketed a $300,000 signing bonus, which ought to get him through training camp, and added a year to his original deal, at a team-friendly base salary of $1.25 million.

For nearly two months, four times a day, Kelsay would run in the morning, lift weights after lunch and do position drills later in the afternoon. During the evenings, he’d meet with a sports psychologist to work on various intelligence tests. All of this in preparation for the Senior Bowl and the league’s scouting combine in Indianapolis.

DE Bruce Smith will be at minicamp and says he intends to stick around for his 19th NFL season in the fall. Smith, 39, is only three sacks shy of Reggie White’s NFL record of 198. He didn’t commit to returning even when members of the organization and his agent said they expected him to play.

‘"I’ve been working hard. I’ve been going at it every day, six days a week, nonstop. That’s my main concern six days a week."’