Tuesday April 2nd marked the beginning of the 2013 season for the Buffalo Bills, as players and coaches had their first opportunity to interact with each other. For most players it was their first opportunity to speak with the new coaching staff. Running back C.J. Spiller spoke of new running back coach Tyrone Wheatley and seemed excited to work with him “It is definitely fun when you have guys that actually played your position and know what you are going through professionally and personally.” The feel most players gave off is that the new staff will definitely be more upbeat and high energy than in years past, and Stevie Johnson spoke on that as well “We are going to be up-tempo and have attitude.” Mario Williams commented on the anticipation of working with the new defensive staff, specifically defensive coordinator Mike Pettine “it is definitely something that everybody should be excited about, including myself. He definitely has a very outstanding resume.”
On the other side of things, head coach Doug Marrone’s wait to meet the players on his new football team finally came to an end. Well Marrone had talked to some players on the phone, he was happy to have some in person interactions “This is really the first time that we will have the ability to have face-to-face interactions,” and added “Kind of reminds me of the first day of kindergarten.”
The day added further excitement when the team announced the signing of ex Seahawks defensive tackle Alan Branch. A former 2008, 2nd round pick by the Arizona Cardinals, Branch had spent his last two seasons with the Seahawks where he started 31 games, primarily at the nose tackle position.
The signing of Branch allows for much more flexibility along the Bills defensive front, possibly allowing Marcel Dareus and Kyle Williams to play the end position in 3-4 looks. Branch also added he is capable of playing multiple positions along the defensive line “Honestly, I fit every single spot on the defensive front. I like to have experience playing every single spot that they have on this team for the defensive front. I have played the end, nose all the way to the three-technique.” Branch joins Manny Lawson as the second free agent to join the Bills so far this offseason.
A side note is that third string running back Tashard Choice also signed a contract extension. Choice as served as a backup running back for the Bills over the last few seasons where he has proven to be a valuable veteran teammate.
This was the first day of many busy days for the Bills in the coming months, but in the short term the excitement will be limited, as only conditioning and physical strength rehabilitation will be allowed for the first 2 weeks. Until the beginning of OTA’s on May 13th no team practice activities will be allowed.
