Buffalo had a new linebacker and a new receiver on the field Monday afternoon, but the competition got a boost from more than just the new additions. Adding some intensity to the practice early was Angelo Crowell who re-entered the lineup after missing a few days with some inflammation around his knee.
Crowell had some good reads in the run game early as he stepped into the hole to meet Fred Jackson at the line of scrimmage on one play during 11-on-11. The veteran linebacker raised the ire of left guard Derrick Dockery when he knifed into the offensive backfield to blow up another run play. Dockery gave Crowell a shove and the two were nose to nose for a second.
The linebacker also cracked rookie tight end Derek Fine during red zone work after he made a short reception over the middle.
Head coach Dick Jauron is hopeful that Crowell's left knee responds well to the activity.
"We'll wait for tomorrow and hopefully he has a real good week of practice," said Jauron. "You've got to be able to stay on the field and get ready to play and play consistently in this league. It was great to have him back out there and we're anxious to see how he tolerates it."
Speaking of tolerance, Roscoe Parrish wasn't going to take any talk or hits from the defense without dishing it back.
After taking a hard hit from Jabari Greer on a short out route to the sideline that left him on the ground for a minute, Parrish came back with some of his own hitting as he cracked Ashton Youboty on a run play.
Donte Whitner shouted from the sidelines, "I see that Roscoe. You want to hit like that?"
To which Parrish responded, "I'll hit like that all day!"
Later in practice Parrish had Youboty beat for what could have been a touchdown, but Youboty grabbed his arm twisting the receiver's body away from the ball. Parrish was signaling for a flag on the play, which drew some more comments from the defensive sideline, but it was probably pass interference.
By the end of practice though Parrish made sure everyone knew it was just the competitive juices flowing.
"It's football," he said. "You've got to love it and it's what we do. You're going to get hit and when you get hit, they've got to wait and look around because I'm coming back for them (to beat them on offense)."
Greer was glad to see Parrish able to finish practice.
"He's a tough guy," said Greer. "I think that he showed his toughness being that he's one of top punt returners in the game. He's taken some good hits. I really hope that I didn't do anything too rough because he is a guy on the squad, he's a guy on our team and he's a guy that we count on. When he got up and made a couple of more plays, I was relieved."
Injury update
Not participating at all Monday were Donte Whitner (ankle), Josh Reed (back), Copeland Bryan (hamstring) and Will James (groin).
The most serious injury appears to be Bryan's.
"Copeland had a hamstring, and we're just kind of moving along day-to-day," said Jauron of his defensive end. "Unfortunately, it's not one of those that (head athletic trainer) Bud (Carpenter) has said, 'He should be back relatively soon.' I'm not as optimistic about that one as I am the others."
Participating on a limited basis Monday was James Hardy who caught passes during individual position drills, but did not do any team work. Hardy could be back to full participation as early as Tuesday night based on his progress.
Getting reps
In the absence of Bryan at defensive end, Chris Ellis got all of the second team reps at the right end position opposite Ryan Denney.
With Donte Whitner sitting Bryan Scott moved up with the first unit and John Wendling took Scott's second team reps.
Roscoe Parrish and Justin Jenkins appeared to get most of Josh Reed's reps with the first unit.
Working alongside Marcus Stroud on the defensive interior was Spencer Johnson, while John McCargo and Kyle Williams made up the interior tandem for the second unit.
Reggie Corner continued to take first team nickel reps in the slot with James out, while Ashton Youboty took second team reps outside at corner with James watching.
Even though Aaron Schobel returned from an excused absence for family reasons, they were still short a defensive end so Jason Jefferson got some snaps on the edge with the third unit.
Highlights
Among the other highlights during team work were some good signs by the offensive line in the run game as they opened a pair of nice holes in the run game first for Fred Jackson and later rookie free agent Bruce Hall.
Jon Corto made an alert play when he intercepted a Matt Baker pass that was first tipped by linebacker Jon Banks.
Rookie free agent Jason Jones made a quality reception over the middle on a throw from Gibran Hamdan.
Leodis McKelvin had a pass breakup on an end zone fade attempt from J.P. Losman to Parrish.
Spencer Johnson had a forced fumble as he popped the ball loose from behind on Parrish, but Parrish recovered.
Chris Ellis had a 'would be' sack on J.P. Losman during 11-on-11 work.
George Wilson had a tackle for loss in the run game on Hall. He also had a sack on Losman.
Linebacker Marcus Buggs had a tackle for loss on Dwayne Wright.
Marshawn Lynch ran under a reception deep down the far sideline for a big gain.
Ashton Youboty had a quality pass breakup on a throw from Losman.
And on special teams Jabari Greer had a blocked field goal on Rian Lindell as he came flying off the edge of the formation.
The Bills are back on the field Tuesday night for a 7pm practice session.
