FAN ZONE

Training Camp Move-in Day with Running Back Fred Jackson

Courtesy: buffalobills.com

Originally published Wednesday, July 28, 2010

On the vibe being different with new Head Coach Chan Gailey:
You have to. He’s bringing in a different vibe, like you said, and a lot of people are going to try and feed off of it. So, right now, I think we’re all excited with what he can bring and what he’s going to try and get done. I think a lot of players are buying into it and we’re excited about seeing what we can do this year.

On if the coaches have indicated what the tempo will be like in practice:
None whatsoever. We’re trying to see what we’re expecting. We don’t know what we’re going to do. We know we’re going to work more than anything. We know we’re going to be working. So I think a lot of guys are prepared for that and looking forward to it.

On if he’s talked to rookie RB C.J. Spiller over the last month:
Yeah, he’s putting in work just like anybody else would in the situation that we’re in. He’s coming in ready to go to work and do whatever he can to help the team win.

On his thoughts about the Bills being picked to finish fourth in the AFC East:
We haven’t done anything for them to pick us any different. We’re very confident that we have the capabilities to do what we can do. I don’t think that we feel that way by any means. We feel like we have a lot to prove this year. It’s time for us to make some noise. For us to get respect, we have to go out and make the people respect us.  A lot of guys are thinking, in terms of being picked [fourth in the AFC East], the only way to change that is to go out and win ball games.

On what he thinks is a must-have at training camp off the field:
I’ve got to have a big screen TV. That’s the first thing I carried in. It was my son’s TV and he just realized that I brought it here. The whole conversation while I was walking down the hallway was like, ‘Well [Dad], you’re taking my TV.’ (laughter) I had to explain to him that Daddy’s going to borrow it for a about a month or so. Then he tells me I better bring it back.

On if his son, Braeden, is OK with him taking his television to training camp:
Not really. He just kind of understands that it’s a battle he’s not going to win. He’s just dealing with it now.

On if he thinks that Spiller needs to get to training camp as soon as possible:
Everybody needs to be here as soon as they can get here. I know, in talking to him, that he wants to be here. It always plays a role into getting started on the right foot. The sooner you can get here, the better. He knows that and he’s well aware of that. He’s trying to get [his contract] done and get here as soon as he can. We all have to be on the same page and the sooner he can get here, the better.

On why he thinks the rookie signing process takes so long:
You can sit and think about it and speculate, but I don’t know what’s going on in that room or what’s being said. I don’t know how negotiations are going. I haven’t talked to him about it. I believe that’s between him and his agent, but like I said, I’m sure he wants to be here as soon as he can. I think he’s going to do everything he can to get the deal done so he can be here to help us.

On what he thinks about being under the radar this year and the reduced media presence due to the departure of WR Terrell Owens:
I think it’s going to be. Other than last year, I think that’s the way we’ve always been around here. A lot of guys are accustomed to that, the guys that are here. We’re used to it being like that. I think we dealt with T.O being here last year and the media attention we got. We handled that well.  I think now it’s just about going out there and playing football. We’ve got to start training camp. We’re all looking forward to that and hopefully we can get some things done this year.

On his son, Braeden, helping help him move into his training camp dorm room:
He wasn’t too excited about that either. I had to promise him I’d take him to get something to eat at his favorite place, which is McDonalds. So, he’s doing that right now. Hopefully I can keep him moving and we can keep things flowing pretty easily, and he can get over me taking his TV from him.

On who will move in all of the heavy stuff:
As soon as I asked him to help, he said I was taking all of the heavy stuff as soon as he saw the door open.

On the age of his son Braeden:
He is three. He’ll be four in September.