PITTSFORD, N.Y. – Chan Gailey had a good first impression once he finally had an opportunity to see his Buffalo Bills players on the field for the first time.

“We look bigger,” Gailey said as the team opened training camp in suburban Rochester this weekend.

Now the question is whether bigger means better for the Bills, who haven’t made the playoffs in 11 seasons.

Gailey thinks so, believing that additional size should help Buffalo compete in the tough AFC East, where the Bills have finished third or worse in eight of the past nine years since the NFL went to four-team divisions in 2002.

“We feel like we’ve upgraded our football team from the end of last year,” Gailey said. “We’re bigger, and hopefully that translates into being stronger, more physical and harder to push around.”

The Bills have a recent history of being pushed around. Gailey’s entering his second season after a start-from-scratch 4-12 finish last year. It marked the 10th time in 11 years Buffalo finished with a losing record.

The added size is particularly evident on defence, which couldn’t stop the run, had difficulty pressuring opposing quarterbacks and gave up an average 26.5 points last year. The unit was so porous, it allowed 200 or more yards rushing eight times — including a combined 549 in two meetings against the New York Jets.

“I don’t care who you have on your team, if you don’t stop the run, you can’t win,” linebacker Andra Davis said. “So the No. 1 priority all camp is to stop the run.”

Buffalo started plugging its holes by using the third overall pick in the draft to select lineman Marcell Dareus, who is listed at 6-foot-3 and 319 pounds. They also added size to a comparatively small group of cornerbacks by selecting 6-foot, 204-pound Aaron Williams in the second round.

The trend continued Sunday, when the Bills bolstered their linebacking corps by agreeing to a contract with 6-foot-2, 236-pound veteran free agent Nick Barnett.

And don’t forget last year’s late-season addition of linebacker Shawne Merriman. The hard-hitting player, known as Lights Out, never got to play last year after a nagging Achilles’ injury put him on the injured reserve list. But Merriman says he’s healthy and preparing to return to his once dominant form.

Quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick noticed a difference after the team’s first practice Saturday.

“I tell you what, looking at Merriman on the other side, he looks big,” Fitzpatrick said. “There are some big boys over there. I think it’s a good thing especially in our division, just how physical it is: Bigger is better.”

The Bills are also planning to bulk up their offensive line.

Gailey is experimenting with the possibility of replacing starting centre Geoff Hangartner with guard Eric Wood, who plays with a more physical style. The switch also would allow 6-foot-5, 323-pound backup Craig Urbik to take over in Wood’s spot.

Erik Pears, at 6-foot-8 and 305, opened camp starting at right tackle. Pears ended last season at that spot after the Bills signed him in November, after he was cut by Jacksonville.

The changes are being considered to improve an offence that was inconsistent in protecting its quarterback in allowing 34 sacks, and sputtered in the run game.

Size is one thing. Performance is another as far as Wood is concerned.

“You look around the league and say you want to get bigger. Well, everybody’s big,” Wood said. “It’s about ability. You’ve got to get the job done.”

General manager Buddy Nix likes the look of his team entering his second season, but remains cautious.

“We got bigger,” Nix said. Whether “Whether we can play or not, I don’t know, but we are bigger.”

‘);
if(infobox==’True’ && ShowInfoBox_l551797_0==false){
jQuery(“#player_infobarl551797_0″).trigger(‘click’);
ShowInfoBox_l551797_0==true;
}
};
$.setup_player(Play_Conf);
//info bar setup
jQuery(‘#player_infobarl551797_0′).click(function()
{
var $info =jQuery(‘#player_info_contentl551797_0′);
if($info.text()!=”){
var $content = jQuery(‘div’,$info);
//min heigth
var min = $content.css(‘min-height’);
var max = $content.css(‘max-height’);
$info.slideToggle(600);
ShowInfoBox_l551797_0=!ShowInfoBox_l551797_0;
}
});
});

  To view our videos, you need to
enable JavaScript. Learn how.
install Adobe Flash 9 or above. Install now.



Then come back here and refresh the page.

Fans get their first chance to see their team Saturday afternoon at the Buffalo Bills training camp at St. John Fisher College.

It is the first full day of workouts for the Buffalo Bills in Pittsford. The day started with a walk through first thing Saturday morning.

Clad in there new practice gear, pads and helmets excluded, the Bills took the field at Growney Stadium. It was the first time since the end of last season the team actually got to the business of running plays on both sides of the ball. For the players it was good just to get back at it

“It’s what you work out for, ya know working out and running gets a bit monotonous for you. When you do it over the course of six months and that’s all you really do. So that gets to so you,” said Kyle Williams, Bills’ nose tackle. “We’ll go hit the field today, we’ll get to see what we’ve been doing all that for. So it will be good.”

“I haven’t had a full training camp yet. In my rookie year I had that contract dispute and then last year I had to sit out every other day for weeks at a time, so I’m looking forward to getting better. Training camps where you develop as a player and I’m really looking forward to getting better and hopefully having a pretty good year,” said Bills’ center Eric Wood.

The first session open to the public goes from 3:20 to 5:30 Saturday afternoon on the new sports field at St. John Fisher.

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Receiver Brad Smith is coming to the Buffalo Bills, and the Wildcat formation can’t be far behind.

Brad Smith:

Moves from Jets to Bills

The multitalented former Missouri quarterback agreed to a four-year contract worth about $15 million yesterday, Smith’s agent, Mark Bartelstein said.

Smith was a free agent after spending his first five NFL seasons with the New York Jets, where he was a threat as a receiver, rusher and passer while taking snaps out of the quarterback spot in Wildcat formations. He threw his first and only career touchdown pass — a 3-yarder to Dustin Keller — in a 38-14 win at Buffalo last October.

It’s that type of versatility that should complement Bills Coach Chan Gailey’s wide-open offensive philosophy.

“It’s a great fit,” Bartelstein said. “He’ll bring a real dynamic factor to that offense.”

Bartelstein added his client was open to re-signing with the Jets but knew he would have to wait while New York focused on attempting to sign high-profile free agent cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha.

“The more he thought about it, the more he thought what a great opportunity this was,” Bartelstein said. “It was time for a change and him wanting to be able to control his situation, other than waiting for something he couldn’t control.”

Smith was excited.

“Very glad to be joining the Bills!!” Smith wrote in an e-mail to The Associated Press. “Excited about the opportunity to play for Coach Gailey and the entire Bills organization!”

The Bills have also agreed to a three-year contract to re-sign eight-year veteran cornerback Drayton Florence, who completed his second season in Buffalo last year. Florence had 58 tackles but no interceptions in 16 starts last year, while proving to be the Bills’ most dependable cornerback.

Smith was a star quarterback at Missouri before being selected by the Jets in the fourth round of the 2006 draft.

For his NFL career, he has 557 receiving yards, 767 rushing yards and 51 passing yards. He’s also a special teams threat in returns and coverage. Last season, Smith returned two kickoffs for touchdowns.

Gailey toyed with using the Wildcat during training camp last summer, but the Bills hardly used it during the season.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.