Two Bills Drive

‘These are quotes from off-season conversations with free safety Daryl Porter. They don’t include Mike Doser’s questions, rather, it is just pure, uninterrupted comment from Porter about his off-season and preparing for his second year with the team.’

‘The Buffalo Bills made two signings official Monday, announcing contract agreements with third-round draft choice Corey Moore and seventh-round pick Drew Haddad.’

‘The team transferred its operations to Fredonia State in 1981, but it wasn’t until 1987 that the Bills created a personality for the training base. What did it was the coming of Marv Levy as head coach. There would be no more serious contact, much less scrimmaging. There would be an abundance of light sessions. Voices rarely were raised. Observers named the camp "Club Marv," a take-off on "Club Med," the famous string of resorts. Football watchers shook their heads in disapproval. What good could possibly come from such an easy training camp? Try eight winning seasons in the next 10 years, seven division champions and four Super Bowl teams. Rochester should be so kind.’

‘…the Bills think they have a tight end who can do a good impersonation of a fullback in Sheldon Jackson. Jackson is no Gash as a blocker – who is? – but the Bills believe he’s capable. And what they might lose in knock-your-heels-over-your-head blocks they might gain in the element of surprise.’

‘All the activity was proof positive that this will be a different kind of training camp, a mix of marketing, merchandising and star-watching. "Years ago, you wouldn’t see anything like this," Woody Ribbeck, the assistant equipment manager, said of the off-field activities at Fisher. "Everything has changed in football."’

The article outlines a few of the QB battles in training camps around the NFL. They apparently concur with most fans that the situation in Buffalo doesn’t really count as a battle because it’s "… Johnson’s job to lose. Flutie was clearly not the same quarterback he was in 1998."

‘The 12th castaway has been voted off Buffalo Bills Island. This former WR was known as "Golden Wheels", due to his blazing speed. Although he retired 32 years ago, this player remains 4th on the Bills all-time receiving list.’

‘Nine of the 16 players who left due to free agency or the salary cap were on defense, including four starters. Gone are the team’s all-time sacks leader (Bruce Smith), its best cornerback (Thomas Smith) and its defensive quarterback (free safety Kurt Schulz). The Bills have several veterans back, but most of the defensive depth will consist of players who have little or no NFL experience. Getting those newcomers ready for the season will be vital when the team opens training camp at St. John Fisher College in Pittsford.’

‘The Bills have garnered 15 major corporate sponsors for training camp, putting them near the top of the league in the marketing and promotion of their summer site. They will train in the posh new facilities of St. John Fisher College, which are an upgrade over the accommodations they used at Fredonia State College the past 19 years. And they have assured themselves of reaching an audience that dwarfs anything they could get in Chautauqua County.’

‘Here are 25 people to watch this season:…7. Wade Phillips: The Bills coach’s decision to bench Doug Flutie before a playoff game, then losing to the Titans, and his subsequent decision to start Rob Johnson, will have its ramifications. Phillips is second-guessed more in the rest of the country than he is in Buffalo, and he must hope the Bills’ performance this season validates his judgments.

”’Think of the camp as a thank you to the Rochester fan base,” says Charles Goodwin of the Greater Rochester Metro Chamber of Commerce. ”Those fans have turned out to buy a hell of a lot of tickets and a lot of corporate suites.” Rochester has paid its football dues: the Bills say at least 25 percent of their ticket sales each year are made to residents of this area. In addition, local businesses helped greatly in the Bills’ successful drive two years ago to sell luxury suites at the renovated stadium in Orchard Park, Erie County. Bills officials are hoping the Rochester connection will be strengthened by the training camp. In addition, they hope to draw fans from central New York and larger Southern Tier cities such as Elmira and Binghamton.’

‘And this training camp — the first for the Bills in the Rochester area — will offer even more. The Bills and Wegmans Food Markets Inc., the camp’s primary sponsor, are transforming the camp from a sleepy summer rite to a football happening. If all goes well, this training camp could double as a theme park. ”They’ll be more off-field elements than there’s ever been,” says Russ Brandon, the Bills’ vice president of marketing. ”It will be a much different experience from the time fans arrive at camp.” If enough fans come to the camp, the Bills, Wegmans and Fisher will all benefit. The team would expand its regional market. The small college would increase its visibility. The supermarket would underscore its identity with a popular team.’

Beef on wick?

‘Players were housed in the old Roycroft Inn. In many cases three and four guys were sardined into small rooms without any air conditioning during the dog days of summer. The locker rooms were about a quarter mile away at East Aurora High School. With more than 100 players in camp, there weren’t enough lockers to accommodate everyone, so trainer Eddie Abramoski put up clothing hooks in the gym for the spillover. The practice field was the polo grounds of the Knox Estate, roughly three miles from the high school. Players either walked or rode school buses to and from the two-a-day workouts. ”We joked that Buster kept a couple of the guys on the roster until the end of camp just because they were good bus drivers,” Abramoski recalled. ”It’s not like today where everything is in one setting and every player zips around in a golf cart.”’

”’Be patient,” Bills fullback Jonathan Linton said. ”We’d like to get to everybody, but sometimes we can’t. It gets even worse when somebody is willing to trample someone else for a signature. Especially when it’s an adult. The kids are the most important people to autograph for.” Linton admits that players are more likely to sign for a child than an adult, but doesn’t advise people to ”borrow” children to get an autograph. There are more prudent ways for older fans to ask players for a signature. The best time to ask a player for an autograph is after the second or afternoon practice, not earlier in the day. It is also wise to know where to ask for a signature. Although many Rochester residents may see Bills players at local hangouts or eating at area restaurants, these are not the best places to ask.’