Bills step up recovery efforts
The Buffalo Bills worked on rebounding from their three-game slump and hoped for some reinforcements Wednesday as they began preparations for Monday night’s game against the Cleveland Browns.
Here were the developments at One Bills Drive:
• Guard Brad Butler, out the past three games with a sprained knee, practiced fully for the first time Wednesday. His return would help the offensive line. Coach Dick Jauron said the Bills will practice in pads today (Wednesday’s workout was with helmets and no pads), and that would be a better indicator of Butler’s status.
• Donte Whitner, out last Sunday with a shoulder dislocation, returned to practice on a limited basis. Whitner took snaps with the first team. It would be a surprise if Whitner played Monday, but his work was a sign he is getting closer to coming back.
• Receiver Josh Reed, out the past two games with an ankle injury, looks like he will miss this week’s game. He did some running on the sidelines but did not practice. Receiver James Hardy sat out with a sore hip that is not believed to be serious.
• The Browns could be without their best offensive lineman, Pro Bowl guard Eric Steinbach. He missed last week’s game with a torn abdominal muscle and did not practice Wednesday.
• Bills quarterback Trent Edwards said he worked extra on his mechanics after practice. Edwards has had three straight subpar games and threw for only 120 yards in New England on Sunday.
“I was out there working on my footwork after practice, throwing some extra routes just to get back to what I need to get back to,” Edwards said. “That’s part of the position. It’s my job to perform at a high level at the quarterback [position]. The mechanics are a big reason why you can or can’t perform at a high level.”
Edwards’ worst pass in New England came when he overthrew an open Lee Evans on a seam route, and the ball was intercepted. Asked about two misfires on the drive in Pats territory just before halftime, he said one of them was due to improper mechanics.
“The throw to Hardy, the slant to him, was probably bad footwork,” Edwards said. “Roscoe [Parrish] and I weren’t on the same page on that [other] route. So having good or bad mechanics probably didn’t matter on that play.”
• Several players agreed with the idea that playing on Monday night this week at home could be good timing for the team. The Bills say they are looking forward with excitement to the game, not looking back with disappointment at their slump.
“Obviously it’s very, very exciting,” Edwards said. “It’s obviously going to be a big night for us. Everyone’s going to be watching. I think that’s going to add a little bit to our preparation this week. I think we’re going to come in ready to play, knowing that a lot of family and friends will be watching us.”
• To a man, the Bills players insisted they are not facing any crisis of confidence after losing four of their last five games.
“I don’t think it’s a lack of confidence at all,” Evans said. “I think when you look at it, everybody is playing hard. Everybody is making mistakes but the thing is we just have to start playing better together as a whole.”
Asked why players weren’t expressing anger while being interviewed about the losing streak, tackle Langston Walker took offense at the implication that any players might not be driven to turn things around.
“Man, I just want to rip into that [question], but I’m not [going to],” Walker said. “We haven’t given up hope. True Buffalo fans haven’t given up hope. True football fanatics haven’t given up hope. People who really know the game, know that we’re not out of the hunt.”
“We all have to play better,” Walker said. “There’s nobody in here who can say everybody else has to pick it up, because we’ve all had our own faults. There’s no finger-pointing. There’s no down-talking. It’s all about being positive, and being true to yourself. You’ve got to be your own worst critic.”
Walker also showed he still has his sense or humor. Asked if the losing streak has had a sobering effect on the team, Walker said: “I didn’t think we were drunk.”
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