It was back to the grind of training camp for the Bills Monday night, and there was an added weather element the Bills had to endure during practice. About 45 minutes into practice the rains came with a good 15-minute deluge at one point. Head coach Chan Gailey welcomed the inclement weather.
"It wasn't bad for us," he said. "It's wasn't fun, but it wasn't bad for us. We needed the rain. We needed the work in it. You don't know when you're going to get a game like that. You need to handle the ball, and one of the good things was the ball didn't go on the ground out there and that was a positive. It was good to get one of those. You don't really look forward to them, but it's good to have them."
The offensive unit is the side of the ball that has more to deal with in terms of handling wet footballs. That's why Marcell Dareus was all smiles after practice.
"It plays into our favor," said Dareus of the rain. "The ball takes funny bounces and it bounces our way a lot on defense especially when it's raining. Outside it's hard for them to catch the ball well, the quarterback can't control the ball so it falls a lot faster most of the time."
1st team 'D' wins two minuteBuffalo's first team defense was ready for the two-minute drill near the end of practice Monday night. After a decent debut performance Saturday the defensive starters halted the starting offense's two-minute drive in a matter of five plays.
After Ryan Fitzpatrick hit Stevie Johnson for a first down along the left sideline, the Buffalo defense stiffened. Kyle Williams and Marcell Dareus combined to tag out Fitzpatrick for a sack.
Following a minimal gain on a short pass to David Nelson in the flat, Shawne Merriman and Nick Barnett teamed up for another sack.
And on fourth down, Dareus got his hands up to bat down Fitzpatricks' fourth down attempt.
"We've been working on covering and recovering and getting to the quarterback and getting your hands up, and I tried to emphasize that in two minute and really tried to get after it," he said. "When I saw somebody cross the front of my face one of my teammates on defense I recover and take their place so I can get over and it kind of worked in my favor."
With all the success that Buffalo's defensive front has had in the practice setting this camp Gailey was asked if he'd consider any change to his offensive line.
"We're going to look at all scenarios. We do that," Gailey said. "We talk about that every day. We're going to do what we believe is best for our football team to get our best players on the field. That's our responsibility. Probably everybody won't agree, but that's a decision we have to make for our football team. I think we're very straightforward with our players with exactly what we expect from them and what we are looking for and the direction we're going to go."
Corner has good nightThe rain didn't seem to bother Reggie Corner as he registered three pass breakups in the span of seven plays. The first came on a pass intended for Felton Huggins on the right side from Tyler Thigpen that he knocked away.
The second one came three plays later as he raked the ball out of Donald Jones' hands to prevent him from completing the catch. And the last one was a Ryan Fitzpatrick pass intended for Stevie Johnson.
Corner is currently working as the team's fourth corner behind Drayton Florence, Terrence McGee and Leodis McKelvin, and is part of the first team dime package.
WR Davis shelvedCraig Davis left practice early Monday night with an undisclosed injury. Gailey said he won't be back on the practice field for a bit.
"He strained something," Gailey said. "I can't remember what it was. We've got so many of those little nicks out there I don't remember what it was. It's going to be a while. It's going to be a few days on him."
Davis had an injury history at San Diego, which included a pair of groin surgeries.
Non-participantsNot participating in practice Monday were draft choices LB Kelvin Sheppard, OT Chris Hairston, LB Chris White and CB Justin Rogers.
Sheppard, Hairston and Rogers did not play in the preseason opener Saturday night. White sustained an undisclosed injury in the game.
Rookies Kamar Aiken and Zack Pianalto were also sidelined along with Roscoe Parrish and Shawn Nelson.
HighlightsBryan Scott got things started when he jumped in front of a slant pattern for an interception returning it more than 50 yards for a touchdown in 7-on-7 work.
Brad Smith hit Paul Hubbard in stride as he got behind his defender down the right sideline for a 45-yard scoring play.
In 7-on-7 red zone work Scott Chandler showed good hands in wet conditions pulling in a sharply thrown ball by Fitzpatrick for a touchdown over the middle.
Hubbard ran a nice out pattern to move the chains for a first down in the two minute segment on a throw from Tyler Thigpen.
Leodis McKelvin had a pass breakup on a Ryan Fitzpatrick pass headed toward Fred Jackson.
Next practiceThe Bills are back out on the field at 3:30 pm on Tuesday.
