Training Camp: Day One Reaction
By: John Kucko
Updated: July 26, 2012
The Bills held their first practice at Training Camp today. Below is a transcript of comments beginning with Head Coach Chan Gailey:
On his expectations for
WR Stevie Johnson this season:
Well I think we all expect
him to have a better year this year than he had last year. We have the offense
intact. He knows it. He and (QB Ryan Fitzpatrick) have a rapport with each
other. I think that he will have another strong season. I do not see any reason
he would not.
On if he had any doubt
Johnson would return to the Bills after being benched in New England at the end
of last season:
I think everybody had some
doubt. You never know until it happens. I certainly wanted him back and I hoped
it worked out. I have said it a hundred times if I have said it once: Stevie is
a good guy. He really is. Did he make a decision that was not good for him and
the team and for me? Yea. But he is a good guy and he is a great receiver. He
really is. And I think he is going to be a big boost to our football team having
him back.
On Johnson's ability to
emerge as a leader for the receiving corps:
He is not a rah-rah kind of
guy. He is much more of a "go make plays" kind of guy. That is the kind of
leadership he provides.
On if this was just a
typical first day of training camp:
Yea, it was. It was typical,
other than not having pads on. In years past we have put pads on, on the first
day. But it is almost more like OTAs and mini-camp than it is real training
camp. But when we get the pads on that is when the real football will start.
On if he is concerned
with the health of CB Terrence McGee:
No I am not. The trainers
tell me he is good. He tells me he is good. I do not think he is one hundred
percent. But he is recovering and we are going to take our time with him. As I
told him: our objective with him is September 9th. Not now.
Not today or tomorrow.
On how DT Torell Troup
looked physically on the first day:
He struggled through today.
He looked good yesterday in the conditioning part of it. He struggled today. He
is probably going to be one of those we have to watch as time goes on.
On players needing to get
over mental hurdles:
You know guys have not been
playing football. They have not been in a football stance. They have not been in
a three-point stance. They have not been coming off the ball against other big
bodies. Terrence (McGee) has not been out there covering anybody. That takes
time. Everybody thinks it is just like riding a bike and you get back on. It is
not as easy as you think.
On QB Ryan Fitzpatrick
taking responsibility in the media for the fate of this
team:
That does not surprise me a
lick that he said that. That is why we think he has a chance to be a great
leader and a great quarterback for us because he does have that kind of
attitude. If he had a different attitude then we would be worried.
On when C Eric Wood may
begin taking team reps in practice:
I would say probably after
our first off day. That would be when we would shoot for that. We are trying to
be extremely smart. I think it was in the Dallas game last year so we are eight
months removed from that. You want to be smart with that.
On how WR Stevie Johnson
looked today in practice:
I do not think the groin is
an issue. Probably conditioning is his biggest issue right now. He is going to
have to work. He is doing some extra work out there right now trying to upgrade
his conditioning level. But I thought he looked quick and caught the football
and made some good plays.
On the reasoning behind
the high number of passes Fitzpatrick threw to Johnson during today's team
session:
It is more circumstance. We
feel like if we get a one-on-one that is where we like to throw the football. So
if he gets one-on-ones he is going to try to get the football to him.
DE MARIO
WILLIAMS
PM Practice - Thursday, July 26, 2012
PM Practice - Thursday, July 26, 2012
On how it feels to start
training camp
It is about the opportunity
to get out here to show what you can do and to get better with your teammates
and just how to make the team better.
On his health after being
injured last season
I just stay on top of it. I
try to make sure that I still get treatment and do techniques that keep it
loose. I still do the rehab but it is kind of a precaution I guess. My biggest
thing is to focus on football and just play and not to worry about all the other
stuff like my body and just play.
On the new set-up of the
camp and facilities
This is my first time being
away from home because typically we would have camp in town (Houston). So it
would be like having camp in Buffalo. This is a little different. When I got
here guys were like did you call 'rent-a-center?' and I said 'no I didn't call
rent-a-center'. Nobody even told me about it until I got here. I am sleeping
on twin-size beds and no TV. It is not a big deal but I just did not know (the
set-up) so it was a shock. This is my first time ever being away from home for a
camp so it is definitely different, but it is cool. We are here to take care of
business. It is not like we will be messing around in the rooms.
On the first day of camp
with the fans
I was really excited. It is
one of those things that you have to keep yourself under wraps about and make
sure that you are out here taking care of business. It is about not letting the
first day get over your head and not doing the things that you are supposed to
be doing on the field. So it is good to come out here and get back out with the
guys once again and sort through these pieces of the puzzle. That is pretty much
how I see it.
On the loud
ovation
It felt great to finally see
the fans besides seeing them in Buffalo everywhere I go. It is good to come out
and have people chant your name and things like that. I just want to go out
here and give something back to them. That is going out and performing on the
field and making it happen.
On the Bills fan
base
Like I said, everywhere I
go, especially in Buffalo, you know it is 'hey how are you?', and it is
something I am not really accustomed to. Fans are fans in general but when you
go everywhere (even) just getting gas, it does not matter, somebody is going to
come over to you and someone is going to
say something to you. So it is definitely
a big difference because this is it and this is Bills
territory.
On the attention he
received in his first season after being drafted and how it compares to the
attention he's receiving now
I cannot really say it does
feel like that because I am not really focused on that. If you look at it too
much it is going to become too big and get overwhelming. The biggest thing is
just going out here and doing what I have to do to just win. That is all I want
to focus on. I do not want to focus on being this person or that person. I know
it is there; it is what it is, but if I sit here and work like that and listen
to all the good and the bad then I will not be taking care of business on the
field. That is the most important thing. It is focusing on my teammates and the
team and performing on the field.
