Healthy linemen joining fray for Bills

By Jonah Bronstein Niagara Gazette

PITTSFORD — The Buffalo Bills may have settled their quarterback situation, but the offensive line is still in flux.

Right guard Eric Wood participated in the entire practice Thursday as the Bills opened training camp at St. John Fisher College, completing his comeback from a gruesome compound leg fracture sustained in late November.

“He’s had to come a long way,” coach Chan Gailey said. “I think that tells you a lot about Eric Wood’s makeup. He would’ve been out earlier if he could’ve. He’s proven to be a fast healer, which some are and some aren’t.”

Wood was a limited participant at the team’s final minicamp in May. On Thursday, it was left tackle Demetrius Bell, less than eight months removed from surgery to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his knee, who dressed for practice but sat out the full-team drills.

“I feel pretty good,” Bell said. “I don’t think I’m far off, but still, I have a ways to get back totally.”

Gailey said Bell isn’t “quite ready” to take part in an entire practice and try to reclaim his starting position on the line.

“We’re being cautionary with him,” Gailey said. “We’re going to ease him back in. He didn’t have the advantage that Eric Wood had of taking the last couple OTAs and minicamp practices. So we’re trying to let him ease into it.”

Rookie left tackle Ed Wang practiced and appeared healthy. Wang sustained a high ankle sprain in early June and sat out the rest of the spring sessions. He get reps with the reserve units Thursday, while Jamon Meredith ran with the starters.

Wood was happy to be back on the practice field, but unhappy with his performance.

“I’m a step slow,” he said. “The first day back after the injury wasn’t as good as I wanted, but you just have to keep working. ... Pushing guys that are 300 pounds, that’s nothing you can do in the weight room, nothing you can replicate off the field.”

Wood said his left leg, which had a steel rod inserted to stabilize the tibia, was pain free. But after his first contact work since November, his knees and ankles were sore.

The surgery prevented Wood from doing any lower-body weight lifting until late March. 

“It was a lot of inactivity,” he said. “But I’ve gotten almost all my strength back in my lower body, and my upper body, I’ve probably gotten stronger. Now its about field recognition and getting my quickness back.”

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In a departure from his predecessor, Dick Jauron, Gailey put the Bills in pads on the first day.

“We haven’t been in pads when Dick was here the past couple years, and now we’re padded up, we’re going full go, right away,” quarterback Trent Edwards said. “That’s kind of the mentality, that we’re here hitting and banging heads right away, and that’s kind of the attitude we’re going to take.”

“We’re in training camp, aren’t we?” Gailey said. “Training camp is a time to go to work. We only have a certain number of opportunities to get out here and get better and be a physical football team so we take advantage of every opportunity that we have.”

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Gailey has also scheduled eight double-practice days, six more than Jauron put the team through last summer.

“We used to go two-a-days all the time when I first got in this league,” Gailey said. “And now, we don’t go two two-a-days in a row. So we try to be smart with our players. But on the flipside of that, our players work harder and are in better shape when they show up than they ever have been before as well. So you don’t have to play them into shape.”

Two-a-days start today with a 9 to 11:30 a.m. practice that is closed to the public, and a 7 to 9:30 p.m. practice that is sold out.

“... You’re just trying to get as many reps in as you can without beating them down, in order to be able to get the job done and prepare for the first game.”

Gailey said he told the players they were “sluggish” in the first workout.

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“He banged up his shoulder a little bit and it looks like he’ll be out a little while,” Gailey said. “I don’t know how long.”

Prior to practice, the Bills announced that safety Jon Corto (broken wrist) and linebacker Nic Harris (knee) were placed on the Active/Physically Unable to Perform list. They can be activated for practice once healthy.

Also out of action were Paul Posluszny (groin) and Keith Ellison (undisclosed injury), and with Aaron Schobel placed on the Reserve/Did Not Report list while he contemplates retirement, the Bills were down to just nine healthy linebackers by the end of practice.

Still, last year’s first-round pick, Aaron Maybin, was part of the second unit, behind free agent signee Reggie Torbor at right outside linebacker.

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In other position battles of note: 

Drayton Florence was ahead of McKelvin at cornerback. McKelvin had the day’s lone interception, on a wobbly pass by Ryan Fitzpatrick.

Steve Johnson, not James Hardy, was the outside receiver opposite Lee Evans.

And recently acquired Andra Davis was the strong side inside linebacker with the first unit, while Kawika Mitchell manned weak side spot in place of Posluszny.

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Media members have been moved from their normal sideline position to behind one of the end zones, making observation more difficult.

During 11-on-11 work, the action was on the opposite side of the field, and the non-participating players blocked the media’s view. Most reporters migrated to a gate in the corner of the field for a slightly better vantage point.

At one point, John Murphy, the Channel 4 sports director and Bills radio play-by-play man, noticed Rochester businessman I.C. Shah, who had closer access to field, and said, “Let me know if you see anything, I.C. You see more than I see.”

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