Buffalo Bills rookie quarterback Levi Brown savored his most extended action of the exhibition season Thursday, even if it didn't go completely to his liking.

Brown is not likely to see the field any time soon, so he was happy to play 33 plays in the Bills' loss to the Detroit Lions.

Brown, a seventh-round draft choice out of Troy University, completed 10 of 18 passes for 92 yards. He directed six drives over the final 22 minutes.

"He made a couple of great throws, and he made a couple of horrendous throws," said Bills coach Chan Gailey. "We gotta get the horrendous out. He'll learn from this and hopefully be able to go forward. But he's got great potential, there's no question about that. Working with him, he's got great potential."

Brown has a strong arm, but Gailey said that's not his best asset.

"I think it's understanding of the game," Gailey said. "I think he understands the game. He has a great feel for things. A couple throws he made down the field on some 'gos' were nice throws. But we've got to work on the accuracy part of it."

Brown could have had a 74-yard touchdown pass to James Hardy. Brown was flushed out of the pocket and threw a long bomb. Hardy made a fine catch after the ball deflected off a defender's hands. But the Bills' Jason Watkins was penalized for holding, wiping out the play.

"I thought I had my first NFL touchdown, and in pretty good fashion," Brown said. "I was pretty excited. Whenever I have a long touchdown pass, I always look back to see if there's a flag. I saw it, so that kinda sucked. It happens."

Later in the fourth quarter, Brown missed Hardy high and well wide in the end zone. Detroit's Paul Pratt intercepted and returned it 102 yards for a touchdown.

"I thought I could have thrown the ball a lot better than I did tonight," Brown said. "I thought I was really inaccurate on a few of 'em. The interception I had was just an awful throw. It was an easy throw. I could throw it 100 more times and hit it every time. But for some reason I just missed it."

Brown said it was a good learning experience.

"Every practice I learn more about it," he said. "I've said this before, I'll say it again, Fitz [Ryan Fitzpatrick] has been really great at helping me out, answering any questions. It was good to get out and get some extended playing time. I gained a lot of experience from it, learned a lot from it and hopefully I'll be better next time."

dots  The Bills must cut the roster from 75 to 53 players by 6 p.m. today, not 4 p.m., as previously reported. Brown will be waiting to see if he makes the 53-man roster or the practice squad. A player must clear waivers to get onto a practice squad. Seventh-rounders usually clear waivers. But if Brown makes the active roster, either Brian Brohm or Fitzpatrick will not.

Brohm hit 7 of 15 passes for 78 yards in Detroit. He was under frequent pressure and rushed four times for 34 yards.

"I feel like I did my best," Brohm said. "Each and every play I went out there and tried to do the right thing. I felt like most of the time I made the right reads. There were a couple throws I wish I could have made a little bit better. Other than that I think all the film is going to speak for itself right now, and the coaches are going to make the decisions they feel are best for the team."

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Question Mark, the weekly feature in which Bills beat reporter Mark Gaughan answers your football questions, will return this season. Gaughan will answer questions about the Bills, other NFL teams, the rules, football history or any other NFL issue each Friday during the season, beginning Sept. 10. Send your e-mails to mgaughan@buffnews.com or mail to Question Mark, The Buffalo News Sports Department, One News Plaza, P.O. Box 100, Buffalo, NY 14240. Please include name and hometown.

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