HEAD COACH CHAN GAILEY
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
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On what some of the guys who did not participate in OTAs and minicamp are doing and in today's workout:
(Torell) Troup, (Eric) Wood and Terrence McGee all went through it, played it through and did pretty well. I think we will be smart with all three of them. Troup is probably the furthest along at this point of all three. But I thought all three of those guys looked good out here to start with.
On DE Shawne Merriman and DT Kyle Williams' health:
I expect them to be full go. They both did things in OTAs and minicamp so I do not see any reason why they should not be full go.
On having the team fully healthy:
It is great to have everybody here. And that is one of the keys for us: to have everyone with all hands on deck. It is nice to have it and it is imperative to have it.
On TE Mike Caussin being placed on Active/PUP:
(Mike) Caussin is (physically unable to perform) and he is the only one that will not be practicing.
On if everyone else has reported to camp:
Yes.
On the expectations of having a winning season:
I think our mindset is where it needs to be. But you have mindsets and you can have attitude changes. You can have culture changes. But until you do it on the field on Sundays it does not count. We have to go with the mindset and the attitude that we are going with to produce victories on Sundays.
On what he wants to see from the team during training camp:
First of all, defensively we have to all be on the same page. We have to get the new calls, the new process and get a feel for each other a lot better. Offensively we have to build on what we did in the first seven games last year. If we do those two things, and our kicking game continues to progress which we have made good progress (with), I think we will be where we want to be when the season starts.
On the difference between this year and last season:
It was a lot harder last year. Of course you were dealing with a totally different thought process about how to get your team ready. We could not go out and practice six snaps in a row with anybody the first week or so. We kind of worked everybody in and took three snaps. The next four practices everybody took four snaps and went a couple more practices then went to five snaps until we could build up their endurance and their football playing. They had not done anything football wise in the offseason. It was a totally different situation than we are in this year. This is a much better way to do it.
On the rookies being able to work with the team in the offseason:
That was invaluable for our rookies to be able to do that. I know last year we had a couple of rookies who came in and they were a little heavy and pulled a muscle early. (Kelvin Sheppard) was one of them that could not practice. All of a sudden you lose all that time with a guy like that.
I think these rookies were able to realize what is going to be expected of them and able to work to be in better shape so they can come out and be people that not only participate but contribute early.
On the number two wide receiver slot and the depth chart's importance this early on in the season:
Donald (Jones) will start there. But still we are looking at everybody. We have not ruled anybody out at this point at that spot. You have to have somebody that walks out there the first day and you will all write about it and talk about it. We are going to move people around at different times during camp. We'll try to get people equal reps at left tackle, try to get equal reps at quarterback. Just because a guy starts the first day does not mean anything. There are some spots that we understand there is competition and we are going to try and make sure we make it as equal as possible going into the season.
On the defensive end rotation:
I am not ready to go there yet. I think different guys will fit different situations. I do not know, I will say we have two guys who are going to start and they start every snap of every game. There will be a rotation. How it goes? I do not know yet. I know who the left end will be but whoever right is, I do not know right now.
On the backup quarterback:
Yes, we will have one. (Laughs)
On not overanalyzing the backup QB battle:
Right, we are going to have one of them take the two's reps the first day and the next one take the two's reps the next day. So we'll just have to figure that out. The objective is to get the ones ready. We are trying to find out who can help us best if something were to happen.
On the left tackle battle:
Same thing. Do not read too much into who goes out there first, the first day.
On if he has a preference of who starts at left tackle:
No, my mind is open. I do not have a preference. Whoever is best.
On Troup, Carrington and the defensive tackle position:
Anybody that is going into their third year, it is time for them to step up. I think they will. I think they will give their very best effort. As you said, there is a lot of great competition. That is going to be a very difficult decision when it comes down to it. I think we have some good players in that area. Whoever produces and plays the best are the guys we are going to keep.
On when he will start installing the offense for Week One of the regular season:
A week and a half or two weeks before. Something like that. We walk-through things from time to time that our first two or three opponents might be giving us. That will be done more in walk-throughs than it will in the other times. We are trying to create competition and get ourselves better. I am much more worried about ourselves than I am about other teams at this point.
On starting the defense with the basics:
And with offense and special teams. You go back to square one and start with the basics.
On what he enjoys about camp off the football field:
I think in years past that (the off the field activities) were very important. I do not think that getting away and getting everybody together in an enclosed area is that big of a deal anymore because our guys spend three months with each other in the offseason. I think the relationships and the respect and the things you used to build in training camp have been built throughout the course of the year. It is not as vital. It is good. It is important but I do not think it carries the same importance that it did 15 years ago.
On if he would consider scrimmaging another team:
We sure would. Not this year. I mentioned it to a couple of coaches at the owners meeting this year just to get some feedback on who might like to do it and who might not like to do it. We will see if time goes forward how we want to handle that.
On if the team gets off to a slow start what will happen:
The majority of our team has been off to a fast start and a slow start. I think we are mentally capable, for the majority of our team, of handling whichever thing happens. You try to be able to handle the good things when they happen. And I think we will be better at handling that his year. I think we have proven that we can handle the tough times and try to bounce back a little bit. I do not want to try and prove that anymore.
RB FRED JACKSON
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
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On his feelings about training camp:
This year might be the most excited I have been about it in a long time. Because of my season being cut short last year, I have been looking forward to getting back out here. I am excited about it, especially with all of the buzz we have going on. Everybody is behind us. The fan base is excited and we want to go out and make some plays for them so I am looking forward to getting back out here.
On the importance of training camp this year:
It is huge. This is where we come together as a team and figure out what players are going to be able to do for us and get new guys in here to gel together with the guys that have been here. Without a doubt this is probably the most important piece to what we have done so far this offseason in terms of getting back out here, getting on the football field and gelling together.
On the seriousness of the injury he suffered last year:
I do not really consider my injury last year as serious as a lot of people say. It was just dumb bone that I fractured, but I was walking around on it two weeks later without a problem. It is a non weight-bearing bone so I am fine and 100 percent ready to go. And I am excited about being back out here. Yea it took me off the field last year, but it is not a catastrophic injury that I suffered last year.
On the possibility of RB C.J. Spiller getting more reps this year:
I do not know what is going to happen. All I can do is go out and do everything I have done in my career so far and take care of the opportunities that I get. And when I get on the field make the most of them. C.J. (Spiller) is a talented player and he is going to get an opportunity just as well. When I get out there all I can take care of is when I am out there and try to make some plays for my team.
On whether the Bills have established their own way of doing things:
I think our way of doing things is just leaning on each other. We had a lot of injuries last year where we had a lot of guys that had to step in. I think that gave us a lot of experience. We have a lot of guys that are willing to step up and make some plays. I think our way of doing things is just whenever you get the opportunity to go out there and make a play for your team, do it.
DE CHRIS KELSAY Wednesday, July 25, 2012
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On how it feels to be back:It is always good to get back. As training camp goes on it kind of gets long and you are ready to be back home. But when everybody shows up we are all here for the season and we know that it starts with this. We have work to do and we are all optimistic and excited to be here.
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On how much more challenging it is for the defense with the current system, than compared to last year:Compared to last year and the year before, it is about getting back to basics and getting back to playing football. I know for myself, I put my hand back down on the ground and that is where I feel most comfortable from previously playing in college and high school. So I am excited for it.
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On if learning calls and terminology has been any tougher than last year:No, it is just about refocusing on a different position. I think it is easier to go back to something that you have done for the majority of your career after learning a system that we ran the last two years than it is to run a whole new system all together, as we did when we had George Edwards and the 3-4 count.
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On having potentially one of the top five defenses in the league:I think we have the potential to be. We look good on paper. I think you go around every training camp right now and everybody is optimistic and excited and thinks they are going to have a good season. Everybody wants to go to the Super Bowl and everyone is working hard to get there. But I think with the potential we have and the guys that we have, we all hold each other accountable, work hard and listen to the coaches.
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On setting a different tone in training camp after a 6-10 season:Every team, every year faces some sort of adversity whether it is injuries. We got struck with some key guys going down in key positions with losing Kyle (Williams) and Freddy (Jackson), losing all these guys. It really hurt us and we finished the season 6-10 after starting as strong as we did. It was really disheartening but you have to have a little luck in this game. Injuries occur but it seems like it occurs more frequently on some teams. If we can stay healthy with the guys that we have, we will be making a push and we will be contending. I have the utmost belief and faith in that and I think everybody from the top-down believes the same thing.
