BATTLE OF THE WEEK
WR Antonio Brown began his quest to retain the starting punt and kick return jobs in Sunday night's preseason opener against Denver and Round 2 is set for Saturday night against Tennessee. A year ago, Brown returned two punts for touchdowns in the preseason to win the job going away, but the regular season was a much different story. Brown's 4.4 average on 25 punt returns was the worst in Bills' history as Buffalo ranked 31st in punt return average. Brown was the victim of some exceptional punting days by opponents, who produced great hang time and placement, but he also made little happen. Now it's on back on him. "Ultimately, it comes down to the returner," new special teams coach Bobby April said. "He's got to make plays." Free agent Drew Haddad, Terrence McGee and starters Josh Reed and Nate Clements are in the return mix, but the Bills would like nothing better than for Brown to show he deserves to keep the job. Exposing starters like Reed and Clements to injury isn't something they relish.

OTHER BATTLE FRONTS
DE Chris Kelsay had a strong second week of camp, and the battle for the starting left end spot with Ryan Denney is heating up.

Incumbent FS Izelle Reese has responded to the presence of Coy Wire competing for his starting job and remains No. 1 on the depth chart.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
QB Drew Bledsoe. After coming to camp in his best shape in years, the veteran rebounded from an average showing against the Cleveland Browns in a scrimmage to have a very strong week. While connecting down field with many passes, Bledsoe's most impressive work has been getting the ball out of his hands quickly on dump offs and short routes to his backs and tight ends. Buffalo's new coaches have stressed to Bledsoe a "West Coast mentality" - that is, accept the fact that on some plays a 3- or 4-yard gain by a running back or tight end is better than taking a 7-yard loss via a sack.

"We'll never lose that down-field component of our offense. That's always going to be there," Bledsoe said. "But you are going to see a stronger emphasis by this team in the running game and in the short- to medium-range passing game. We're looking to be much more efficient than year ago. So far, I think it's starting to take shape. I'm able to get the ball out quicker, receivers are coming open quickly and on time, we're doing a good job in protection. We're making progress."

ROOKIE REPORT
WR Lee Evans continues to run with the first unit and it would take a dramatic fall off for the rookie not to start the season alongside Eric Moulds. ... QB J.P. Losman, who was expected to play most of second half against Denver, continues his streaky play with flashes of great mixed in with poor reads or jittery feet. ... DT Tim Anderson has shown enough already to conclude he'll log playing time behind starters Sam Adams and Pat Williams, and may push young veteran Justin Bannan out of a job.

INJURY REPORT
NT Sam Adams, who strained a hamstring in the very first practice of training camp and sat out the Browns scrimmage, returned to full contact. The impact was immediate with Buffalo's No. 2 defense stuffing the offense in a goal-line drill last Wednesday.

RT Mike Williams (strained arch) was not expected to play against Denver and remains day to day.

CB Kevin Thomas cracked a bone in his left wrist during practice last Thursday and was expected to sit out the Denver game. He could return soon.

Copyright (C) 2004 The Sports Xchange. All Rights Reserved.