It was the first opportunity for Bills fans to get an up close look at the team under new head coach Chan Gailey as the club held an open practice inside Ralph Wilson Stadium Saturday afternoon and 4,500 fans were on hand. Unfortunately they were unable to see fifth-round pick Ed Wang in action after he suffered a left leg injury in the morning practice.
During 11-on-11, Wang was mirroring his defensive counterpart and fellow rookie Alex Carrington and his left leg buckled awkwardly. Wang went down on the play, but got back to his feet. He hobbled off to the side where athletic trainers carefully examined his left leg before carting him off the field.
Head coach Chan Gailey provided an update on Wang's injury following the afternoon practice.
"He did sustain an injury this morning," said Gailey. "We're getting the reports back from the doctor this afternoon we'll know a lot more. I'm hoping we haven't lost him for the season."
Also pulling out of the morning practice early was NT Lonnie Harvey. Gailey said Harvey suffered a minor injury and anticipates him back on the practice field soon. Rookie offensive guard Jorge Guerra also left the morning practice session before it was over. Harvey and Guerra missed the afternoon practice along with Wang.
QB UpdateDuring the morning practice, Brian Brohm was the first quarterback through the rotation in both 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 team work. He was followed by Trent Edwards during both segments and then Ryan Fitzpatrick with Levi Brown closing out the series.
The top three quarterbacks got equal reps during 7-on-7, but Brohm and Edwards got a few more than Fitzpatrick and Edwards in 11-on-11.
Typically the third and fourth quarterback through during 11-on-11 has received fewer reps throughout the OTAs as well.
In the afternoon Ryan Fitzpatrick was the first signal caller to take snaps in 7-on-7, and he was followed Brohm, then Edwards. During 11-on-11 however, it was Edwards that took the first set of reps followed by Fitzpatrick, Brohm and eventually Levi Brown.
Suffice to say the coaching staff has been true to their word in keeping the reps as even as possible.
Observation notesWhen Lonnie Harvey left the morning practice with an injury he was replaced at nose tackle by rookie Alex Carrington. Harvey was the third team nose behind Kyle Williams and Torell Troup. In the afternoon however, it was veteran Dwan Edwards taking nose tackle reps.
George Wilson has been getting some reps as the first team strong safety after previously working with the second unit. Part of that has been due to the limited availability of Jairus Byrd, who is still recovering from offseason hip surgery. Wilson also worked at first team free safety.
Ellis Lankster got some first reps in the nickel as the slot corner in the morning session, but Drayton Florence was back there in the afternoon.
Not participating were Terrence McGee, Leodis McKelvin, Lydell Sargeant, Nic Harris, Jorge Guerra (afternoon), Joe Klopfenstein, Kawika Mitchell (afternoon), Eric Wood, Demetrius Bell, Lonnie Harvey (afternoon) and Ed Wang (afternoon).
Not in attendance for Saturday's voluntary workouts were Will Croner, Lee Evans, Fred Jackson, Marshawn Lynch, John McCargo and Aaron Schobel.
Kick returnersOn special teams in the afternoon practice, the team ran a full kick return drill. The returner pairings featured Roscoe Parrish and Chad Jackson, top pick C.J. Spiller and Chad Simpson and Ellis Lankster and Joique Bell.
HighlightsFrom the morning workout the defense again had a good number of plays. Reggie Corner performed well with an interception early in 7-on-7 on an overthrown pass intended for Roscoe Parrish. He also had a pass breakup on a throw designed to go to James Hardy over the middle.
Ellis Lankster broke up a pass that had rookie Donald Jones targeted.
Undrafted rookie Brett Johnson knocked away a pass intended for Chad Jackson.
Bryan Scott had a pass break up on a throw for Shawn Nelson in 7-on-7.
Kawika Mitchell had a pass defense on a throw for tight end Michael Matthews.
Ashton Youboty intercepted a pass that was tipped by Bryan Scott at the line of scrimmage.
On the offensive side of the ledger, Chad Jackson had a well-timed reception on a 15-yard out from Trent Edwards along the near sideline.
James Hardy effectively worked the middle of the field and pulled in a pass from Brian Brohm for a 15-yard gain.
Jackson would be heard from again on a 20-yard pass play down the middle of the field from Brohm during 11-on-11.
And undrafted rookie Donald Jones hooked up with Edwards on a 40-yard pass play down the sideline.
In the afternoon session Andra Davis had a pass breakup on this pass intended for Jonathan Stupar underneath in 7-on-7.
Shawn Nelson had a well-timed play with Fitzpatrick that beat the defense.
Roscoe Parrish split the safeties in the deep middle of the field for what looked like a touchdown play on a nice throw from Brian Brohm.
Trent Edwards did a good job stepping up in the pocket to hit Parrish going over the middle in 11-on-11.
James Hardy made this reception in stride over the middle in 11-on-11 on a throw from Fitzpatrick.
Kyle Williams got good penetration up front to force Trent Edwards to scramble from the pocket.
Rookie Naaman Roosevelt pulled in a couple of passes that got the hometown crowd excited for the U.B. product. One was a 20-yard pass play with Brian Brohm, while he made a strong fingertip grab in traffic on a pass from Levi Brown.
Jairus Byrd had an interception during 11-on-11 that he returned to the line of scrimmage.
And third round pick Alex Carrington batted this pass out of the air to force an incompletion.
ScheduleThe Bills have a single Sunday practice to wrap up their voluntary minicamp and it's scheduled to start at 10:45. OTA practices resume for the team on Tuesday with our coverage continuing here on Buffalobills.com.
