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| WEEK IN REVIEW - JULY 21ST - JULY 26TH, 2003 | PREVIOUS WEEK |
Training Camp Opens
Training camp is underway as the rookies reported on Wednesday with the exception of the unsigned top pick. They practiced four times before the remainder of the veterans reported on Saturday afternoon. That tops the news from the week; here is our take on the issues:
Before the rookies reported on Wednesday, all but one of the eight draft picks signed contracts. Only top pick Willis McGahee remains unsigned. His agent says the two sides are talking but admits significant work needs to be done before a deal is worked out. Our Take: There is no rush in getting McGahee signed since he can't play now anyway. He can get his rehab work in Miami or Rochester it doesn't really matter. Rookies and the select veterans that reported early practiced twice on Thursday, once on Friday, and once on Saturday before the remainder of the veterans reported on Saturday afternoon. Among the early reporting veterans were the QBs, Josh Reed, Jonas Jennings, Grant Irons, Brandon Spoon, and Marcus Jones. Jones said he's 85-90$ recovered from his injury and took contact for the first time since early last summer. He came out of it ok, despite some rust. Another player who hasn't had contact since last summer was Spoon but he also seems to be shaking off the rust in the opening days of camp. The only early injuries so far has been to Jerton Evans who has a shoulder stinger, a calf injury to rookie Lauvale Sape and an ankle injury to Mike Pucillo. The team has shown intensity in camp as even the offensive and defensive coordinators had words. The running backs have worked on holding on to the football at all costs as well. Our Take: It appears to be a good start to camp as the veterans that need extra work seem to be in camp early like Jones and Spoon. Evans' injury appears to be very minor. RB coach Les Steckel seems to be looking to put the Bills fumble problems behind them. For more on our thoughts, check out our offensive and defensive previews. Gregg Williams was ornery when he discussed his contract situation for the first and only time this year. He said it was his choice to play out his contract and it will not be a distraction as it is a media only issue. He will not discuss it again. It appears he was offered a modest contract extension by the club but decided to play out the current deal. Our Take: This is definitely a sensitive subject and Williams is right to put the stop to the talk about it so it doesn't become a distraction. It seems Williams may be gambling here that he takes this team to the playoffs and then he'd get a bigger payday then the one being offered this offseason. The tickets for the Aug. 4th night practice were distributed in just 15 minutes, that is half the time it took to distribute the tickets for July 28th's night practice. In other news, World Airways was named the official airline of the team and will fly the team to 11 of their games this year. Our Take: The night practices continue to be the highlight of camp. On a sad note, receivers coach Fred Graves underwent surgery for prostate cancer on Saturday. They believe they caught it early and he should be OK. He will miss four weeks of camp and Les Steckel will coach the receivers in his absence, while Tommy Kaiser will coach the running backs. Our Take: Our prayers go out to him and his family and hope for a speedy recovery. The league kicked back the seven year deal signed by Brian Moorman. The league said it violated the maximum raise limit. The team and Moorman quickly adjusted the final two years of the deal to become compliant with league rules. Our Take: Just minor bookkeeping stuff. Moorman is locked up and that is a good thing.Talk about it on The Stadium Wall
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