PITTSFORD — Safety Donte Whitner sports a pink mouthpiece.

"My grandmom died from cancer in March, and I wear that to signify my love for her and show

my support to everybody that's dealing with cancer or has a loved one that's died from

cancer," Whitner said. "So I'll continue to wear that throughout the entire football season."

Soul food

Backup linebacker Marcus Buggs knows good food. His parents run a popular restaurant near

Nashville, Tenn., called Cal's Country Kitchen.

"They've had it since I was 9, going on 13 or 14 years now," Buggs said. "It's soul food,

country cooking, fried chicken, catfish, macaroni, collard greens, turnip greens, chicken and

dressing."

So what does Buggs recommend in Buffalo?

"For soul food in Buffalo I found one place called Gigi's that's good," Buggs said of the

restaurant on East Ferry, near Jefferson. "They have some fried fish that's pretty good. I try

not to eat fried food too often. They have some good cakes and desserts, too."

Other favorites on Buggs' restaurant list: the Buffalo Chophouse, Hutch's and Papaya.

Defense steps up

The Bills' defense had the upper hand in the first two-minute period of camp Wednesday. The

Bills worked in pads for a third straight day. Linebacker Kawika Mitchell came free on a blitz

for what would have been a hit on Trent Edwards. On the next play, Aaron Schobel broke into

the backfield for a would-be sack. Then Drayton Florence had a good pass breakup on a ball for

Josh Reed.

In seven-on-seven drills, Leodis McKelvin made a good interception in the corner of the end

zone of an overthrown deep ball from Edwards. ... Another decent crowd of more than 1,000 was

on hand. ... Brad Butler and Chris Kelsay traded "wins" in one-on-one pass rush drills. ...

Center Geoff Hangartner looked solid in the middle.

T.O. Today

The best play for Terrell Owens — and Edwards — on Wednesday was a corner-route

completion along the left sideline against what looked like a Cover 2 defense.

Edwards went to the right spot with the ball and No. 81 did a good job getting his feet

inbounds.

Directions

From Buffalo take the Thruway to Exit 47. Take Route 490 East for 25 miles to Exit 25

(Fairport Road — 31F). Follow signs to fan parking and shuttle bus lots.

Schedule

Tickets are sold out for tonight's practice and the night workout Tuesday. The team works 2:15

to 4:20 p.m. Friday and 10:10 a.m. to 12:10 p.m. Saturday. A limited number of tickets for

next Thursday's night practice are available at the Bills' stadium ticket office.

Complimentary tickets for the night practices Aug. 11 and 13 will be available starting Friday

at Rochester-area Verizon Wireless store locations. There's one at the Eastview Mall.

Quote of the Day

"Going against those guys, we don't fear any receiving group in the National Football League

because we feel that we've got one of the best here."

— Safety Donte Whitner.