By Jonah Bronstein<br><a href="mailto:bronsteinj@gnnewspaper.com">E-mail Jonah</a>
PITTSFORD — The lights went on Tuesday at St. John Fisher College’s Growney Stadium, long before the sun went down.
The Buffalo Bills were ready for their first night practice of training camp long before that.
Even before the morning’s hour-long walk-through practice, players were talking about how excited they were for the normally sold-out evening sessions, of which the Bills will hold seven this summer.
“Growing up, all in high school, you play under the lights,” running back Fred Jackson said after Monday’s practice. “And we have a good turnout from the fans, so it’s good to go out and give them a show.”
Coach Dick Jauron said he likes how the night practices break up the routine of training camp, and how enthused his players get for them.
“Our people are very, very competitive,” he said. “When they get an audience, they like to show off a little bit. And the competition gets ramped up, and it’s good, as long as we keep it under control.”
Wide receiver Lee Evans said the night practices are particularly exciting for the younger players.
“There’s probably more people than some of them had in their college days,” he said.
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Backup quarterback J.P. Losman was held out of practice, a day after jamming the thumb on his throwing hand while following through on a pass attempt.
Jauron listed Losman as day to day, saying the quarterback’s right thumb was too swollen for him to practice. Losman’s thumb was heavily wrapped as he watched practice.
Also on Tuesday night, starting free safety Ko Simpson missed the final hour of the two-hour session after jamming his left ankle in the artificial turf.
Jauron said the injury isn’t considered serious, adding that trainers held Simpson out as a precaution. The injury was to the same ankle the player broke in the Bills’ season opener last year, forcing Simpson to spend the rest of the campaign on injured reserve.
Starting outside linebacker Angelo Crowell was held out of practice as a precaution after experiencing soreness in his left knee.
Gibran Hamdan took Losman’s reps, while Keith Ellison joined the first-team defense and George Wilson filled in for Simpson.
Losman has developed a knack for getting hurt in training camp — even though players are restricted from hitting quarterbacks. Last year, he missed the start of training camp with a minor back injury. In 2004, Losman’s rookie season was effectively wiped out by a broken leg suffered in training camp.
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This could’ve possibly been a chance for Losman to shine, considering second-year starter Trent Edwards didn’t have his finest hour.
Edwards twice threw the ball two low for 5-foot-9 receiver Roscoe Parrish to make the catch; fired one pass into a double-team that was intercepted by Wilson and was nearly intercepted by cornerback Jabari Greer on two occasions.
“We just put in new plays a couple hours before practice, and guys haven’t run the plays before,” Edwards said. “Just a little lackadaisical. That might be because of all the fans out here tonight.
“There’s a lot of Bills fans out here, and we’re happy to have them, but it’s kind of hard when you’re not used to practicing that way. It takes a couple rounds to get used to it.”
Edwards did find Evans for a touchdown during no-huddle work late in practice. Matt Baker hit rookie receiver Steve Johnson on a fade pattern for the night’s only other true touchdown.
Players often take advantage of the lack of actual tackling in training camp, charging into the end zone on plays when they normally would’ve been stopped.
Jauron said Tuesday that he will only permit defensive players to tackle their teammates during specific goal line and short-yardage drills.
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So far, first-round draft pick Leodis McKelvin has worked with the second team as an outside cornerback, covered slot receivers while running with the third team, and done limited special teams work.
“He’s never been on the field before in the National Football League, in a training camp, and it’s different,” Jauron said. “It’s different from OTAs, it’s different than minicamp, so it’s a good start for him.
“He’s very skilled, he’s very athletic, but he’s got a lot to learn in the NFL, and the only way he’s going to learn it is by being out there.”
Still, Jauron said with the roster fluidity caused by free agency, and the size of contracts for high draft picks, it’s difficult to be patient with rookies.
“I don’t know that you do have much patience with anybody,” he said. “But the player develops at a certain rate; you develop in this as fast as you can. It doesn’t make any sense, and it doesn’t do any good, for you to lose patience with somebody. That is not going to help them get better.”
Free agent signee Will James took the field when the first-team defense went into nickel coverage, and was the outside cornerback opposite McKelvin on the second team.
Ashton Youboty, the former third-round pick entering his third season, has been relegated to the third team.
McKelvin, who set an NCAA record for return touchdowns last season at Troy University, did get a chance to field punts Tuesday, and drew praise from special teams coach Bobby April on more than one occasion.
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Daytona 500 champion Ryan Newman is expected to visit today’s practice, which begins at 1 p.m.
Newman is in town to promote the upcoming Centurion Boats at the Glen NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race Aug. 10 at Watkins Glen International. He’ll also likely visit with right guard Brad Butler, a college roommate of Bryan White, one of Newman’s crew members.
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QUICK HITS: A few University at Buffalo assistant coaches watched practice from the sideline. ... The Bills wore their white throwback helmets. ... Dustin Fox forced a fumble by Dwayne Wright. ... Spencer Johnson had an impressive pass block at the line of scrimmage. ... John Wendling jumped over the line to try and block a field goal. ... Marcus Stroud dropped Brad Butler during 1-on-1 drills. ... Jauron said the rookies will likely scrimmage on Saturday.
Contact reporter Jonah Bronstein at 282-2311, ext. 2258. The Associated Press contributed to this story.
