All along Bills head coach Rex Ryan has said he is cautiously optimistic that feature back LeSean McCoy would be ready for the regular season opener against Indianapolis. With that game now 10 days away Ryan's optimism hasn't wavered.
"The only thing I've mentioned is being cautiously optimistic and I remain optimistic," said Ryan Friday. "I'm hopeful he'll be available to us."
Ryan had to be even more optimistic when he saw McCoy participating in practice Friday afternoon. McCoy, who has been sidelined since the middle of training camp with a hamstring injury, was taking hand-offs and doing other drills with his teammates. His feelings about his status for Week 1 aren't all that different from Ryan.
"I feel good. It's just a matter of time," he said. "We'll wait and see how everything plays out. I'm going to control what I can control and that's working hard and getting treatment so I can get out there. It's a waiting process, just got to wait it out and see how I feel. "
McCoy admitted he didn't do a whole lot in what was described as a light practice by the players a day after their final preseason game against the Lions Thursday night.
"It was just to get the guys going a little bit since a lot of starters watched the last game," said McCoy. "Just get the blood flowing a little bit."
The Bills top back made it clear that he wants to be able to put his full game on display, and that means being the cutting and bobbing running back that eludes the big hits and can make something out of nothing or use his acceleration to turn a positive play into a big one.
"I'm always confident, but it does matter to be confident in the ability to make cuts," said McCoy. "I don't want to go out there and half a** it. I want to be able to make the cuts when I need to make them. I want to be as healthy as possible."
