The Buffalo Bills open their preseason against the Chicago Bears on Saturday night, and it couldn’t come soon enough for Bills quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick.
For the first time in his seven year career, Fitzpatrick is the unquestioned starter going into the preseason after a solid year in 2010 where he threw for 3000 yards and 23 touchdowns.
He even looks forward to the contact of the season, “You almost welcome that first hit just to get back into it.”
Fitzpatrick is a hard-nosed, old school type of player, and he feels that without the full contact of preseason games, you can’t really evaluate the team. “There’s not a lot of hitting, there’s not a lot of live football in training camp, so we could have a guy that nobody could tackle and we don’t even know it. So this is a time to get out there for the linemen, to be real physical to show what they can do when they’re going live.”
He lost one of his main targets with the trading of wide receiver Lee Evans, but the Bills have picked up a few alternatives, including wide receiver / backup quarterback Brad Smith, who can play WR, or be a threat in Wildcat packages.
Smith feels that the team is coming together, but it’s going to take some real game action to enable the team to meld fully. “It’s going to take a little time, until we get out on the field and play some games, to get a good feel for each other.”
