The offseason transition from defensive end to linebacker has been a private one for Chris

Kelsay, taking place in the film room, on the practice field and in his own mind. The first

real test as the Buffalo Bills' starting outside linebacker won't come until preseason.

At defensive end, weaknesses can be camouflaged because players are often gauged in

definite measures, such as sacks and hurries, rather than harder-to-interpret shortcomings. At

linebacker, mistakes such as whiffing on an open-field tackle or leaving a receiver open are

more obvious. Kelsay is about to be judged far differently than he was over the last few

seasons.

"It's a lot of changes ... new defense, new position," Kelsay said. "There will be a lot of

studying because I was basically in the same defense for seven years."

He must learn to play in open space and there will be games when he is beaten on a pass

route, flattened by a blind-side block and left watching helplessly as a shifty running back

dances his way into the secondary. There will be times when many will question the move,

including Kelsay himself, but such is life when a veteran has to be re-educated.

"It's almost like being a rookie again because I haven't studied this much since I was a

rookie just because I was so comfortable with our defense," Kelsay said. "I knew exactly what

I was doing and I knew exactly what everybody was doing. When you're in a system for a while,

obviously there's advantages to that but I'm extremely excited about what this defense is

capable of doing."

As he shifts from 4-3 defensive end to 3-4 linebacker, Kelsay is warming to the idea

quickly. Right now, the Bills have no plans to move the 6-foot-4, 261-pound Kelsay back, even

if defensive end Aaron Schobel does not return. Schobel, 32, has not attended the Bills'

voluntary OTAs as he mulls retirement.

So rather than attempting to surge up field on nearly every play, Kelsay must adjust to

roaming in all directions, sometimes toward the quarterback, sometimes floating into zone

coverage, sometimes laterally in pursuit of a running back or tight end.

"It's something I have to continue working on and making improvement in," Kelsay said. "I

feel a lot better than I thought I would at this point and it's coming to me pretty quickly

but there's a long way to go."

Kelsay had some exposure to the position at Nebraska, where the defensive ends were rush

ends and frequently dropped into zone coverages. He was a linebacker in high school and didn't

play defensive end until he got to Nebraska.

"And that was a long time ago," Kelsay said of his linebacker days.

Kelsay has made position adjustments throughout his career in Buffalo. His first three

years in the league, Kelsay was bulkier and saw minutes at defensive tackle and defensive end.

"We had some guys banged up inside so I had to play some three technique and even some nose

[tackle] in certain situations," said Kelsay, who weighed as much as 285 pounds early in his

career. "It wasn't a lot of fun but I knew it was something I had to do."

There are naysayers all over the place. In February, Kelsay was driving back home to

Nebraska from Chicago when he tuned into Tim Ryan and Pat Kirwan's show "Moving the Chains" on

Sirius NFL Radio.

"They were talking about the transition to the 3-4 and how I wouldn't make the transition

to stand-up outside linebacker," Kelsay said. "They're not the only ones who put me into that

category or stereotype me in that way. I just use that as fuel to the fire. I feel like I've

always been able to do what I put my mind to."

. . .

Bills running back Marshawn Lynch was a no-show again Tuesday when the Bills resumed OTAs.

Seattle's release last week of running back LenDale White is likely to continue speculation

about the Seahawks' potential interest in Lynch.

Justin Forsett and Julius Jones are battling for the starting job in Seattle, and the

Seahawks traded for Leon Washington to be the change-of-pace and third-down back. Washington

is coming off an injury and is expected to be ready for the start of training camp.