Bills Interview Transcripts - August 12, 2012
By: Wendy Halik
Updated: August 12, 2012
Head Coach Chan Gailey
PM Session - Saturday, August 11, 2012
On the offense's performance during tonight's practice after a lackluster performance vs. Washington:
I
thought we came out and practiced well. It wasn't lights out, but you
hope it is not lights
out against your defense. I thought we practiced well. We had three more
pre-snap penalties and we are going to alleviate those.
On focusing on the run game during practice:
Yeah, we have not run the ball as much as we wanted to in the preseason. We made this week the
week we are going to come back and work on the run game quite a bit.
On LB Kelvin Sheppard's health:
He has that same issue that is bothering him. He is in and out. I think long term he will be fine.
On DE Spencer Johnson's health:
Spencer (Johnson) has a banged up shoulder that is just bothering him. I do not think it is anything
major. They said he will be back soon. I do not know if it will be tomorrow, but it will be soon.
On if DT Torell Troup is making progress:
Slowly. Not as fast as any of us would like, including him. It is real slow. It is two steps forward
and one step back on him. And that is frustrating for everybody.
On WR David Nelson's status:
Yeah, he is out there. He is not 100 percent but he is working.
On RT Erik Pears being back:
Yes, I do not know how many reps we were able to get him tonight but I know we got him some.
On WR T.J. Graham's performance against Washington:
He
has done some really good things. He has come a long way, in my
opinion, since the first week
of OTA's. Is he there yet? I do not think he is there yet. We do not
have very many players that are there yet. They all can improve. I think
he is getting a lot better and I like his progress so far. He has too
many mental errors right now and we have to alleviate
those.
On DE Kyle Moore having an impact:
He has done a good job. He has to learn to play every aspect of the game. That is his thing right
now. Kyle (Moore) can rush the passer. We have to make sure everything else is in sync with our football team.
On C Eric Wood's progress:
I cannot give you a percentage, but we are increasing his reps every week. Probably will not play
this week but we are targeting the third game for him to play.
On CB Ron Brooks' performance:
He
has done a very good job. He is kind of an underrated guy. He has a lot
of ability. He just
could not get on the field at LSU so people did not know a lot about
him. He has some talent and I am anxious to see how he can progress. He
could help us out a lot this year.
On WR Stevie Johnson feeling the Bills' performance versus Washington was not good enough:
Good,
I am glad he feels that way. If everybody does not feel that way, we
are in trouble. I want
everybody to understand--we had an offensive meeting today about that
very thing. We made progress last year, but it is not just going to
happen. You have to go make it happen this year, so I am glad he feels
that way.
On LB Scott McKillop being the Bills' leading tackler against the Redskins:
He
made a lot of tackles. He was in on a lot of plays the other night.
Scott (McKillop) has done
a good job. He is a good special team's player. He is making a real run
at this football team. He has a lot of natural instincts. That is the
great thing about him, he understands the game. He has to continue to
work on pass coverage but we have a couple of
linebackers in that spot.
On where OG Michael Jasper stands:
He
is struggling. Michael (Jasper) has to learn his assignments. Has to
learn to play physical
every snap. Big strong guy that has a lot of talent, as we all know. But
he has to be more physical and he has to continue to push through on
assignments.
On if Jasper will develop those skills:
That is what you hope. At some point you have to say 'when is it a project and when is it not?'
On K John Potter having to be able to kick touchbacks to make the team:
Yeah, that is right. He is off to a good start. That is great when we can put a team on the 20-yard
line every time we kickoff. That was a great start for him and for us.
On if he has ever had a second kicker just for kickoffs:
Never have had one of those guys. I am working on (trying to grasp having one).
On if Potter has performed up to his expectations:
Yes, he has. Very, definitely. Camp is not nearly as important as the games though.
WR Stevie Johnson
PM Session - Saturday, August 11, 2012
On what needs to be done to get this team going:
Mentally we have to prepare like champions really. We got to get past the whole "let's win this
many games in a row." We have to be thinking like champions right now. Aggressive and dominant, that's it.
On if he missed WR David Nelson's presence in the slot on Thursday night:
Yes
and no. If it was like a game then of course we would miss him. He is
an asset to our team
and to our offense. But our other guys got good looks. (WR) Donald
(Jones) spent a lot of time in the slot and he looked good, so it is
work for the team overall with David missing. Not that we want him to be
injured but it gives other guys the opportunity.
On Thursday night's game being a good wake-up call for the team:
Yea
it definitely was because it is only so long where you can be the old
Bills, just getting
beat around and lose confidence. It is time to turn it around and take
over. And I think we have the team that can do it this year. So why not
go out there and go hard and try to take this division?
RB Fred Jackson
PM Session - Saturday, August 11, 2012
On if something is missing in the offense or if they are clicking now:
A
lot of people do not know we were very vanilla in the game. We did not
bring a lot so we did
not do a lot. We came out here today and emphasized a lot of stuff like
running the ball. But I think we are alright. We are progressing. We
have to keep moving, keep putting together good practices. Once we get
the groundwork laid out I think we will be ok.
On if the run-heavy focus tonight was due to the lack of running plays in Thursday's game:
I
think so. He (HC Chan Gailey) wanted to see us be more physical and I
think part of that was
coming out here and practicing the run game. That is something we are
going to have to be able to do. Playing the way we play we are going to
have to be able to run the ball and it was something he wanted to
emphasize today.
On the importance of not overreacting after the first preseason game:
We
still want to go out and we want to look sharp. We want to eliminate
the penalties. I think
that is the number one thing we can take from that game is we have to be
sharper than we were Thursday. We are going to lose a lot of football
games if we play like that. But at the same time, it is our first
exhibition game. We cannot overreact but we do need
to learn from it.
On if he is frustrated about not getting a touch in the first preseason game:
Not at all. I mean you want to touch the ball, but it is just preseason. We did not have a lot
going in for us to get a lot of touches anyway, so it was kind of what we expected to happen. We will roll with it.
WR David Nelson
PM Practice - Saturday, August 11, 2012
PM Practice - Saturday, August 11, 2012
On how he feels to be back at practice:
It felt great. It is an empty feeling when you are sitting on the sidelines watching your team go especially when we are working on things that we want to get accomplished for the season. It is always hard sitting on the sidelines watching it. I felt a little rusty out there today. I am still not 100 percent but then again I guess you are never 100 percent in the season. I just have to push through it and continue to move on. And it will get better as we go and I just felt good to be out there with the guys.
It felt great. It is an empty feeling when you are sitting on the sidelines watching your team go especially when we are working on things that we want to get accomplished for the season. It is always hard sitting on the sidelines watching it. I felt a little rusty out there today. I am still not 100 percent but then again I guess you are never 100 percent in the season. I just have to push through it and continue to move on. And it will get better as we go and I just felt good to be out there with the guys.
On how he felt physically making a touchdown catch in practice:
Right now it is hard to play into it a little bit. Like I said it is the first time I have done any kind of movement on it, maybe extenuating cuts. So it is the first day. It was just one of those things where it was not giving me the complete focus I needed, I guess. It is just one of those things where I made a catch and I had to give him something so I tried to push through it. It was a long day but it was worth it.
Right now it is hard to play into it a little bit. Like I said it is the first time I have done any kind of movement on it, maybe extenuating cuts. So it is the first day. It was just one of those things where it was not giving me the complete focus I needed, I guess. It is just one of those things where I made a catch and I had to give him something so I tried to push through it. It was a long day but it was worth it.
On if trainers are telling him to push through it, but also take it easy:
Yes. It was the trainers, it was Buddy, it was Chan; all of the above are telling me to be smart just because the competitiveness comes out of you. You come out on this field and guys and bodies are flying around. You get the defense on the field and you want to go 100 percent, so it is always kind of hard to turn it down and play with control. But at the same time you want to compete. So, this being the first day back, I have the anxiety because I have only practiced two days in camp. I still have those camp jitters going through my stomach. It was hard. It was definitely good to get out here today and be able to have three more days to really go out with pads on. We have to be smart with this. The advice I got was it could not get any worse. It is not going to get any worse by pushing through it so that was all the green light I needed. When they told me that, I came out and did all I could.
Yes. It was the trainers, it was Buddy, it was Chan; all of the above are telling me to be smart just because the competitiveness comes out of you. You come out on this field and guys and bodies are flying around. You get the defense on the field and you want to go 100 percent, so it is always kind of hard to turn it down and play with control. But at the same time you want to compete. So, this being the first day back, I have the anxiety because I have only practiced two days in camp. I still have those camp jitters going through my stomach. It was hard. It was definitely good to get out here today and be able to have three more days to really go out with pads on. We have to be smart with this. The advice I got was it could not get any worse. It is not going to get any worse by pushing through it so that was all the green light I needed. When they told me that, I came out and did all I could.
