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Ryan Fitzpatrick and the rest of the starters should get about 20 plays or so against the Vikings. The quarterback got to rest his arm a bit this week as the team wrapped camp at St. John Fisher.

Fitz did not take part in 7-on-7 drills at all, giving the bulk of the work to Vince Young and Tyler Thigpen, the two guys vying to be the Bills number two this year

"It was two-fold. Ryan had taken a bunch of throws and we wanted to get him some rest. We wanted (QB Vince Young and QB Tyler Thigpen) to make a lot of throws and further evaluation of those two guys. It was really a two-fold thing. Ryan did not throw in one-on-ones for a couple of days. We are just taking that opportunity to get them reps and to rest him," said head coach Chan Gailey.

"That is a good time to go through your reads and make sure you are throwing to the right guy. For me, teamwork is really important - in terms of getting out there with the live rush and doing that. I wanted to make sure I focused on that and gave some of the other guys some time on 7-on-7s to get down some of the timing and throws," said Fitzpatrick.

As one of the teams in the NFL that still holds camp away from home, the Bills feel like they accomplished a great deal during their time out at Fisher.

"It brings your team together where you can focus strictly on football," said head coach Chan Gailey. "They are away from everything else. That is the advantage of it. I see other teams (stay home), I have done it both ways. I see advantages the other way to but this really works well for us.

"It is a great opportunity for us to come (here). If it was spread out all over the place, it might not be ideal. But this is one great camp setup. The best I have been in."

Training camp is not the grind it used to be for the players. Gone are the traditional two-a-day practice and heavy contact. Practices are now shorter and less frequent under the most recent collective bargaining agreement.

"For me, I am out here poppin’ every day so my arm feels a little fresher than it normally would," said quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick. "I know it makes a big difference with the other guys and the season is so long as it is. It is always nice coming out at training camp. I am feeling good and ready to go."

While the Bills have left St. John Fisher, Chan Gailey stressed that camp really still continues, only now in Orchard Park.

The Bills have three more preseason games, starting Friday night at Minnesota.

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The Bills held their final workout open to the public Tuesday night. A little under three weeks total, the Bills still with three preseason games to go. Training camp is a lot different then just a few years back, thanks to the labor deal agree upon by the league its players last summer.

"Yeah, it is a little bit different. We can only practice once a day. There is no such thing as a two-a-day anymore," said Head Coach Chan Gailey. "It is a little bit unique but really the reason we are out so early this year is the way the schedule fell. It just fell that way. So it is one of those things that was great for us but it will be good to get home too."

The Bills with a closed practice Wednesday morning to close training camp.

One of the big questions coming into Bills training camp this summer was who would back up Ryan Fitzpatrick, Tyler Thigpen or Vince Young. One of them appears to have the upper hand with camp winding down.

The battle between Young and Thigpen has been close mostly because both players had trouble this summer grasping and executing Chan Gailey offense. Of late however, Young has come on and Monday put together his best effort of training camp and his coach took notice.

"He (Vince) threw all day. That is the best he has done since he has been here," said Gailey. "We are not holding anything back. He has a better grasp of it than he did at any time in OTA’s and mini-camp and I think he is feeling a lot more comfortable."

Again, the Bills with a practice today open to the public and closed workout tomorrow before leaving St. John Fisher and head back to One Bills drive.

The battle between Young and Thigpen has been close mostly because both players had trouble this summer grasping and executing Chan Gailey offense. Of late however, Young has come on and Monday put together his best effort of training camp and his coach took notice.

"He (Vince) threw all day. That is the best he has done since he has been here," said Gailey. "We are not holding anything back. He has a better grasp of it than he did at any time in OTA’s and mini-camp and I think he is feeling a lot more comfortable."

Again, the Bills with a practice today open to the public and closed workout tomorrow before leaving St. John Fisher and heading back to One Bills Drive.

With two days left in training camp, the Bills released offensive lineman Michael Jasper Monday.

At nearly 400 pounds and athletic, the Bills drafted Jasper in the seventh round of the 2011 draft as a project. He did not make the Bills 53 man roster as a rookie and was clearly outperformed by other players at camp this summer.

The Bills with just one more night practice left at St. John Fisher before breaking camp and heading back to Buffalo.

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Stealing some of the spotlight from the first full week of NFL preseason games, Chad Johnson's arrest over the weekend. The wide receiver arrested after his wife accused him of head-butting her during an argument. Johnson was released from jail and later released for his deal with the Miami Dolphins.

Here in Pittsford, Bills head coach Chan Gailey spoke to the media about having quality guys on his team.

"I think that you first have to look at everything as individuals. The character of our football team, in my opinion, is extremely high," said Gailey. "They are human; they are going to make some mistakes. We have just been smart about it. I think our football players have been very smart about how they handle themselves and what they do or what they do not do more importantly. It speaks to the character of the football team, the kind of guys that (GM) Buddy (Nix) and I both want on this football team."

PITTSFORD, NY - By the end of Bills practice on Sunday, the stands were almost completely empty. A few brave fans were grouped together beneath a handful of scattered umbrellas. About two dozen teenage fans found their way to the top of the stands at Growney Stadium, taking whatever protection they could get from the stadium's pressbox. Beyond the entrance to the field, under a small shelter that covers the door to the fieldhouse, a couple dozen media members took cover. The rains were so hard, they forced everyone away. Everyone except for the players of course. Practice ran the usual two and a half hours.

Before the rains rolled in, it was clear that the Bills were focusing on the execution of the run game. Of their first 11 full-team snaps, eight were running plays. That's something we're likely to see more of Friday night in Minnesota.

Some observations from practice:

Stephon Gilmore and Stevie Johnson had a bit of a battle. During seven on seven drills, the rookie cornerback outworked Johnson to break up the pass. A few plays later, Johnson caught a pass near the goal line and received a quick, light pop from Gilmore for a minimal gain.

Vince Young continues to show off the running ability. During 11 on 11s with the second team, he took off for a 30 yard scramble. It's interesting to wonder how that play would have unfolded during a game.

Ryan Fitzpatrick and Donald Jones had a nice connection. Fitzpatrick laid a perfect pass over the head of Jairus Byrd and right to Jones in the back corner of the end zone. NFL replacement officials have been taking part in practice over the past few days, and the linesman ruled the play a touchdown; despite the urging of George Wilson.

Training camp continues Monday with an afternoon practice, followed by one final night practice Tuesday. The team's second preseason game is Friday in Minnesota.

PITTSFORD, NY - The message from head coach Chan Gailey to his top offensive unit was quite clear. Thursday's performance against the Redskins was not good enough. Gailey held a meeting with the team's offensive players prior to Saturday's night practice, in an effort to right the ship.

"Mentally we have to prepare like champions really. We got to get past the whole 'let’s win this many games in a row,'" said Stevie Johnson. "We have to be thinking like champions right now. Aggressive and dominant, that’s it."

"If everybody does not feel that way, we are in trouble," Gailey added. "I want everybody to understand. . .we made progress last year, but it is not just going to happen. You have to go make it happen this year."

David Nelson returned to the practice field on Saturday night. The slot receiver fully participated in all drills. For the most part, his seemed to have full mobility. But it became clear the knee injury is still a little tender when he caught a touchdown pass during red zone drills.

"I felt a little rusty out there today. I am still not 100 percent but then again I guess you are never 100 percent in the season," Nelson said. "I just have to push through it and continue to move on. And it will get better as we go and I just felt good to be out there with the guys."

A couple observations from night practice:

We saw a glimpse of what an asset the defensive end rotation can be. Chris Kelsay broke through the line and batted down a Ryan Fitzpatrick pass, giving the quarterback no chance to get the ball away.

Second year cornerback Prince Miller had a good night in coverage. During red zone drills, the Georgia product very nearly had an interception in the endzone, electing to bat the ball down instead. Later on the same series, he played tight with David Clowney and forced the receiver out of bounds for an incompletion. Miller then quipped: "I'll be here all day."

Gailey says that TJ Graham still has a lot to learn, but the rookie receiver continues to show flashes of potential. Vince Young connected with Graham during the 11 on 11 drills, as Graham weaved his way through a crowded secondary to get open at the goal line.

The Michael Jasper project appears to be nearing its end. Chan Gailey acknowledged: "he's struggling." He spoke of Jasper's talent level, but said. "At some point you have to say. ‘When is it a project and when is it not?’"

The Bills are back on the field for a morning walk through Sunday, followed by an afternoon practice at 3:00.

PITTSFORD, NY - The Bills hit the field at 6:30 tonight at St. John Fisher College, for their first practice since dropping the preseason opener to the Washington Redskins by a 7-6 score. Tonight, many eyes will be on the first team offense. While operating in the no huddle system, that unit managed only two first downs. Ryan Fitzpatrick finished the day six of 14 for 61 yards, and was sacked one time for a five yard loss.

"I think with the preseason people tend to overreact positive or negative and this was good because we got to go against a defense that wasn’t ours," Fitzpatrick said following the game. While he did not place a high emphasis on it, the Bills' quarterback was clear that the team needs a better showing Friday night in Minnesota. "We wish we would have been more productive and done some things better but you chalk it up to learning experience and hope everybody comes out healthy and move on.”

Since the first team offense seemed to struggle operating out of the no huddle system, it will be interesting to see if they shy away from that in tonight's practice. Following Thursday's game, Chan Gailey was more concerned with the team's offensive penalties. Gailey said that five illegal motion penalties and one alignment penalty were a major problem to the team's offensive flow.

"This was a great lesson in our lack of discipline at this point. We saw where we were there," the head coach said. "The other thing was, it was great to see all of the pressure. We knew they were going to bring pressure. We have to see how we can handle that because we are going to get a ton of it this year when we get empty packages in our four-wide, three-wide packages. We will learn a lot from it. It looked ugly, it felt ugly."

Those are among the issues that the Bills will look to iron out tonight, as they begin their final four days of camp. The second preseason game is set for Friday night at 8:00 in Minnesota.

It may not count in the standings, but the Bills host the Washington Redskins in their preseason opener.

Ryan Fitzpatrick and the front line starers probably won't see a whole lot of action; maybe a series or two to start things off.

One thing to watch for will be backup quarterbacks Vince Young and Tyler Thigpen, who are competing for the number two spot.

Kickoff is at 7 p.m. and the game is blacked out on local TV.

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Fans say with the addition of players like Mario Williams, this could be the year for the Bills.

“Our defense really got boosted quite a bit... think we can be a Super Bowl team again,” said Chris Curry of Perry.

“I think we have a lot of new talent coming in, and we had a strong team last year... so I'm really hopeful,” said Cally Graham of Buffalo.

Some of the other security changes include the screening of all fans, employees, and vendors. Fans will have to hold up keys and other objects before heading through.

The second overall pick in this spring's draft is making his NFL debut against the Bills. Griffin and Williams share the same agent, have met, and the trash talk already started earlier this summer.

RGIII said he'd prefer not to get hit in preseason. Williams has other plans.

"I told him I was coming for him, so he knows I will be looking for him," said Williams, jokingly. "But it is all fun. And it is the preseason so it is actually better for him to get hit earlier than later, you know, so it is not a shock. It is just the preseason so I am pretty sure he is going to be running and gunning. He is going to be excited. His team is going to be excited just as we are. I think it will be a good little matchup."

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Head Coach Chan Gailey felt the players were not really into practice today. Not in pads for the first time in a while, Gailey said the players treated practice like a morning walk through. Game day is just two days away at this point.

The Bills first tune up will mark the debut of Mario Williams. The big free agent pick up this spring was brought in to pressure the quarterback and more.

“The great thing about him is I believe he will be just as big an asset when we look back on this versus the run as he is versus the pass,” said defensive coordinator Dave Wannstedt. ”Everyone likes to think, defensive ends, pass rushers, and sacks. Well, the other side of the coin is that you have to stop the run first.

Eleven days of camp down and just four to go. Following Thursday's game against the Redskins, the Bills are back out here on Saturday.

The game will provide a first look at the Bills highly touted new defense. The team added pass rushers Mario Williams and Mark Anderson, drafted a strong cornerback in Stephon Gillmore and also switched the defense to four down linemen.

They've looked good out here practicing. Thursday, we'll see how Dave Wannstedt's unit fairs in a game situation.

"What we are looking for in training camp is a high intensity as far as practice," said Wannstedt. "It started off a little bit were we'd have a good day and then the offense would have a good day. The last three or four days the guys have come out and we've practiced at a high level and set a standard."

Don't expect to see too much of the starters on either side of the ball Thursday. Head Coach Chan Gailey only plans to give the first team between 15 and 20 plays.

After landing the number two spot following the trade of Lee Evens last summer, Jones appeared in just half of last years games making 23 catches for 231 yards and one score due to ankle injuries.

This year camp is a lot different for the player that looks to be a regular part of the Bills offense.

"last year when I came in I was just looking for a special teams roll again you know just trying to get on the offense," said Jones. "And now I have a roll in this offense and it's just getting the timing down with Ryan Fitzpatrick now. Last year coming in like I said I was trying to just make it."

The Bills with one more workout at St. John Fisher on Tuesday. Thursday night they host the Washington Redskins in the preseason opener.