Inside The Bills

Florence and Levitre back

Drayton Florence (fibula) and Andy Levitre (knee) apparently just needed an extra day of rest coming off of last week’s game.

Both were back practicing fully on Thursday with their teammates after sitting out Wednesday. Levitre said Wednesday he expected to practice Thursday.

Both players are expected to start on Sunday.

Practice update

Here’s the rundown of non-participants at practice here on Thursday.

C Geoff Hangartner

Drayton Florence is back participating at practice after missing Wednesday’s practice.

Troup wants treats

Bills DT Torell Troup is looking to score some Christmas cookies or something, by the way his most recent post on his twitter account reads.

TorellTroup I hope someone sends me some christmas goodies or something this year. One bills drive Orchard park Ny 14127

Troup, unlike a lot of rookies, has some skills in the kitchen from when he used to cooks dinner for his siblings while his mom worked two jobs. So I’m surprised he hasn’t whipped up a batch of something tasty himself. Either way see if you can’t help a defensive lineman out Bills fans.

Torbor on the mend

Bills LB Reggie Torbor, who went on I-R two weeks ago is on the mend after shoulder surgery.

Torbor, who had surgery a week ago to repair a torn labrum, said surgery was successful.

“It went well,” he said. “This kind of injury happens every time your arm gets fully extended and a player runs through you pulling your arm back behind your body.”

Linebackers seem to be the most frequent victim of torn labrums, since they often make the most tackles on defense. Andra Davis also wound up on injured reserve with a torn labrum that required surgery.

Rehabilitation time is typically four months, and Torbor would know having been through this rehab before.

“Back when I did my other shoulder it was a four month recovery,” said Torbor. “That’s why I’m glad I got it done now because this means I’ll be ready for the start of the offseason program at the end of March.”

Note about Wake’s sacks

We came up with an interesting note about Cameron Wake’s sacks here on Buffalobills.com.

Our crack staff through film study saw that all 14 of the outside linebacker’s sacks have come against right tackles off the left side of Miami’s formation. When we asked Wake about it, he claimed he did not know that and said he’s comfortable rushing off either side, but head coach Chan Gailey doesn’t see it that way.

“He looks to me to be faster off the edge to our right, their left,” said Gailey. ”And they move him around a lot. It’s hard to find him. You have to make sure you scheme ways to find him and give some help because he is a really good pass rusher.”

Bills right tackle Mansfield Wrotto did notice that fact through film study and knows he’ll need to be ready Sunday.

“Obviously a large percentage of his sacks have been against right tackles,” Wrotto said. “He plays very little on the (right) side. I guess it’s a comfort level probably for him. A lot of his sacks are speed. He forces tackles to flip their hips. He’s great off the ball. That’s one thing that gets tackles off their rhythm. It’s just something that’s progressed over the last couple of weeks and I’ve watched him do that.”

Wake had a sack and a couple of batted passes in Buffalo’s season opener against the Dolphins. We’ll have much on Cameron Wake in our Bills Focus weekly matchup feature which can be seen in the media center at Buffalobills.com later this afternoon.

Wake benefiting as starter

Last season Dolphins OLB Cameron Wake was a rotational player in Miami’s defense as he sat behind Jason Taylor and Joey Porter on the depth chart. Now with a starting role, he believes it’s helped him diversify his pass rush game.

“Last year being more of a situational role player kind of guy, you didn’t have a whole game to set up other moves,” Wake said. ”You had to go in there not knowing if you’re going to get 10 plays, you going to get 15, or are you going to get two? You have no idea, so when you got in the game you had to throw your fastball out there and hope you do your best. You couldn’t set people up and work this move to set up another one. It was kind of one and done because you didn’t really know with the guys in front of you.

“Obviously going into this year being a guy with a role in this defense and being out there much more, you could put a streak together or use one to set up another one.

“You can’t just go out there and do the same thing every time. These guys are great athletes, the tackles and the people blocking you. Obviously, they’re very good at what they do also and they’re studying film and everything that you’re doing so you go out there with the fastball and they know it’s coming they’ll knock it out of the park.

“So you have to switch it up and try to do something else and even do something else after that. It’s something I’ve been able to work on the past couple of seasons.”

Wake leads the league in sacks with 14 and has 7.5 in his last six games.

High marks for Wood at C

The Bills coaching staff was pleased with Eric Wood’s performance at center last week against the Browns in his first NFL start in the pivot. Apparently the stat crunchers at ProFootballFocus approved as well.

Wood got high marks from the PFF game review staff. Here’s what they wrote about him.

Eric Wood (+3.1) returned to center, his college position at Louisville, and looked impressive there shifting inside from guard. In his prior 20 starts at right guard, he had only bettered his grade from Sunday as center once, a grade of +3.8 against the Bears in Week 9 this season in Toronto. Wood’s performance against Ahtyba Rubin was very impressive, controlling and moving Rubin both laterally and vertically within the box to create space for Fred Jackson and the Bills’ interior running game.

Thurs. radio appearances

Here’s the rundown of where you can find Bills players on the radio airwaves Thursday.

Arthur Moats – Norton in the Morning; 97 Rock @ 7:45 AM (listen online)
Eric Wood – Howard Simon Show; WGR 550 @ 7:45 AM
Fred Jackson – The Michael Irvin Show; 560 WQAM in Miami @ 12:15 PM 
Eric Wood – On the Block w/ Brent Axe; The Score 1260 in Syracuse @ 3:25 PM
Ryan Fitzpatrick – Shredd and Ragan; 103.3 The Edge @ 4:10 PM (listen online)

Gailey on his new linemen

The Bills added veteran OT Erik Pears and second-year guard Colin Brown to the roster on Tuesday. On Wednesday head coach Chan Gailey outlined the desire to make those additions.

Bills GM Buddy Nix had a good working knowledge of Pears since he played in the same division as his former team the San Diego Chargers. And Brown was in Kansas City when Gailey and D’Alessandris were coaching there leading up to the 2009 season.

“Erik is a guy that Buddy had his eye on and knew about him and had followed his career,” said Gailey. ”As we’ve said all along we’re always looking to try to find ways to upgrade our football team. Maybe Erik get a comfort level with our system and our scheme and he can find a way to contribute either short term or long term.

“Colin is a guy that we had in Kansas City that we knew what he’s capable of. He hasn’t had an opportunity to prove it yet in the regular season so hopefully he can earn a spot somewhere down the road and maybe be able to help us before it’s over with.”

Buffalo’s pro personnel department led by Assistant GM Doug Whaley is making a concerted effort to stockpile some capable talent in an effort to give the coaching staff about a month or so of time to evaluate a lot of these players in the practice setting first and possibly in the last few games so they can determine who might have a future with the club beyond this season.

With some of the additions like Kraig Urbik, Scott Chandler, Chad Rinehart and Pears to name just a few there’s a deeper talent base to draw upon and shape the roster next offseason.

Fitz’s beard to be sheared

Ryan Fitzpatrick’s beard has stirred a lot of locker room conversation, from nicknames like the ‘Amish Rifle’ to serving as a very effective accessory to a Halloween lumberjack costume. But Fitz’s ‘Grizzly Adams’ look is closing in on its expiration date.

Fitzpatrick was asked a series of questions about his beard by the media, including whether or not he’s been invited to take part in any local war re-enactments. He hasn’t… yet.

“I think there are people that want me to cut it or trim it up especially of the female variety,” Fitzpatrick said. ”I’ve gotten a lot of comments like, ‘How does your wife deal with that?’ But that’s part of it. She’s along for the ride.”

But not for long. Fitz confirmed that the beard will “definitely” be gone come Jan. 3rd a day after Buffalo’s regular season comes to a close against the Jets. When asked if his wife is counting down the days to when his beard is gone Fitzpatrick answered in the affirmative. 

“Yeah I think so,” he said. ”Actually I think she’s excited.”

Levitre update

Andy Levitre’s absence from practice Wednesday looks to be just a one day thing.

When asked if he’s okay, Levitre assured that he’ll be good to go on Sunday.

“I’m alright,” he said. “I’ll be out there (Thursday).”

Levitre likely got a rest day Wednesday for some minor bumps and bruises still lingering from last week’s game. The second-year guard has never missed a start in his career. Levitre’s injury is listed as a knee.

Practice update

There are a couple of new non-participants at Bills practice here on Wednesday.

Drayton Florence and Andy Levitre were not practicing with their teammates during the media viewing portion of practice.

Demetrius Bell, Chris Kelsay and Geoff Hangartner are also not practicing. Bell and Kelsay typically have Wednesdays off.

TE role more prominent?

Buffalo’s tight ends have taken a bit of back seat in terms of a role in the team’s passing game. Head coach Chan Gailey has favored more three and four wide looks with receivers on offense. Jonathan Stupar factored in a bit more and successfully so last week. Gailey left it open as to what the immediate future holds for his tight ends with respect to their passing game.

“I think it’s different week in and week out,” Gailey said. ”We have different packages in for the tight ends each week. Obviously Stupar made a couple of big plays for us last week, one in particular right before half. The guys have played their role pretty well. We just haven’t asked a lot of them. We haven’t done a lot with them.

“We had them do a little more last week and we’ll see how the season plays out, whether or not they continue to be a little bit more involved. I think (Scott) Chandler has a chance to be a help for us as well.”

Chandler was picked up by the Bills off waivers two weeks ago from Dallas. GM Buddy Nix has a firm working knowledge of Chandler’s abilities having drafted him for San Diego in 2007. He’s seen primarily as a solid blocker, with some receiving ability that can be further developed.

Nelson update

Bills TE Shawn Nelson, who has been placed on the Reserve Non-Football Injury list ending his season, is still at a point where his migraines are a debilitating problem.

Head coach Chan Gailey commented on Nelson’s situation admitting that he’s seen a handful of specialists.

“He’s seen a lot of people,” said Gailey. ”It’s just one of those things that hasn’t worked out for him to get healthy enough to play this year.”

Gailey had no details on what the future holds concerning Nelson’s migraine problems.

McGee moving forward

Terrence McGee played in last Sunday’s game, his first action since the Cincinnati game in Week 11. And unlike the Bengals game, he came through the contest against the Browns with no lingering problems.

A month ago when McGee first tried to return from a persistent nerve problem in his calf, he experienced a relapse with his calf going numb again late in the Bengals game. He’d go on to miss the next two games. But following last Sunday’s game there were no such problems.

“No, I’m alright,” McGee told Buffalobills.com. “Came through it okay.”

McGee didn’t play much on defense in the second half of the Cleveland game, though he did participate on special teams according to head coach Chan Gailey. Having come through last week with no setbacks, it’s possible his role could increase defensively this week at Miami.

Jersey numbers for linemen

The Bills signed a pair of offensive linemen on Tuesday. Here are the jersey numbers they’ll be wearing for Buffalo.

Colin Brown will be wearing number 74 and Erik Pears will be wearing number 79.

Wed radio appearances

Here’s the rundown of player radio appearances for Wednesday.

Arthur Moats – Morning Bull; 103.3 The Edge @ 7:45 AM

Jairus Byrd – Shredd & Ragan Player of the Week; 103.3 The Edge @ 4:10 PM_

You can listen online to both appearances at www.wedg.com.

Dolphins OT Carey to I-R

The Dolphins placed starting right tackle Vernon Carey on injured reserve as a persistent knee problem became too much to bear.

Carey was replaced last week by Lydon Murtha, who along with the rest of Miami’s line had their share of struggles against the Jets who tallied five sacks Sunday. Murtha is a former seventh-round pick of  the Lions (2009).

Add in the fact that Jake Long is playing with a bum shoulder that he’s got in a harness and the edges of Miami’s protection are not what they used to be at the start of the season.

Dolphins sign WR Curtis

The Miami Dolphins addressed the void left in their receiving corps by Brian Hartline by signing veteran receiver Kevin Curtis.

A former third-round pick of the Rams in 2003, the eight-year vet played most recently with the Philadelphia Eagles, before having to take a leave of absence from football to battle testicular cancer.

Now healthy, Curtis will try to help fill the spot vacated by Hartline, who went on injured reserve recently due to a finger injury that required surgery. No word yet if Curtis will dress for Sunday’s game against the Bills.

Vote for Moats

Bills LB Arthur Moats is up for the Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Week after his Week 14 performance in Buffalo’s win over Cleveland.

Moats had three tackles and a sack that forced a key fumble in the fourth quarter leading to an insurance field goal for the Bills in their 13-6 victory. So be sure to vote for Moats as he’s facing some tough competition in the nominee pool this week with Tampa’s Arrelious Benn, New England’s Rob Gronkowski, San Diego’s Ryan Mathews and Arizona’s John Skelton.

Voting ends on Friday at noon so help get Moats his due.