By CHUCK POLLOCK, Wellsville Sun Senior Sports Columnist
The number has shrunk by three-quarters.
There was a time when virtually every one of the NFL’s 32 teams held their training camp away from team facilities. These days, a mere eight franchises follow that format: Buffalo, Dallas, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Los Angeles Rams, Las Vegas, New Orleans and Pittsburgh.
Today, for the 24th time, the Bills will hold training camp at Pittsford’s St. John Fisher University since 2000. The only two times it was held in Orchard Park over that span was during the Covid pandemic. When the franchise was formed, its first training camps were in East Aurora, then at Niagara University, followed by Fredonia until the switch to suburban Rochester a quarter century ago.
BUT THIS will be a special year for Buffalo as HBO has gotten permission from team owner Terry Pegula, coach Sean McDermott and general manager Brandon Beane for the Bills to be the focus of the network’s pre-season “Hard Knocks” broadcast.
That decision forces HBO to establish two shooting sites, one at St. John Fisher and the other at the team’s practice facility in Orchard Park.
THE FORMAT for fans with be about the same, though a bit shorter.
Admission is free but requires a moble ticket and all seats are general admission.
Nine of the 11 practices are 9:45 a.m. starts (Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday this week and July 28, 29, 31 plus Aug. 6 and 7 subsequently). In addition, the full-team scrimmage is set for Highmark Stadium on Aug. 1 from 5:30 to 7:30 while Sunday Aug. 3’s workout will be at St. John Fisher at 11:45 a.m.
Parking for the Red & Blue scrimmage at Highmark will open at 3 p.m. with a $5 charge to benefit the Buffalo Bills Foundation (stadium gates open a 4 o’clock)
There is no parking on campus for practices open to the public at St. John Fisher. Visitors may take a shuttle from designated lots to the entrance of Training Camp for the cost of $1. All shuttles are accessible for guests with disabilities. Shuttles are available from Jefferson Road Elementary (15 School Ln, Pittsford, NY 14534), Sutherland High School (55 Sutherland St, Pittsford, NY 14534) and Thornell Road Elementary (431 Thornell Rd, Pittsford, NY 14534).
As usual, there will be the fan experience with a football toss, running back and quarterback challenges, plus an appearance by Billy Buffalo and opportunities for autographs,.
THE PURPOSE of training camp, of course, is for teams to reduce their rosters from 90 players to the regular-season limit of 53.
For years, the NFL had multiple cutdown days, the last two, though, there has been one and this season it’s Tuesday, Aug. 27 at 4 p.m.
Buffalo’s current 90-man roster breaks down as follows: quarterbacks (4); running backs (6); wide receivers (13); tight ends (5); offensive line (16); defensive tackles (9); defensive ends (8); linebackers (7); cornerbacks (12); safeties (6); specialists (punters, kickers, long-snappers) 4.
(Chuck Pollock, a Wellsville Sun and Olean Star senior sports columnist, can be reached at cpollock@wnynet.net.)
Read more from Chuck:
• We lost a gem in Frank Layden
• A trip through a sports writer’s office
• A look back at Bradford’s Stew Barber who protected Jack Kemp’s blindside
• The Portville comeback story with the Pittsburgh Steelers
• A retirement at the Buffalo News, update on the Bills
• A look at the late rounds of the draft and NFL sleepers
• Beane kept his promise during the draft for the Buffalo Bills
• Bills stay true to their needs in Round 2 and 3
• A look at the Bills’ first pick in the 2025 draft
• Bills need a cornerback, but they don’t need to pick one in the first round
• Part 1, a look at the 2025 NFL draft for the Bills
• The Bills have plenty of holes to fill in draft
• Catching up with Hornell’s Gene Mastin and the years before three-straight state football titles
• A look at Terry Pegula’s beginnings in Olean and his competitive drive to win
• Bill Walton was must-see basketball when he played in Buffalo for the Braves
• Mark Schmidt and St. Bonaventure Bonnies men’s basketball team looking at a rebuild
• Good news, bad news on high school hoops; thoughts on George Foreman
• Why the Bona NIT loss took place
• An embarrassing week for Beane who was perfect in free agency
• An interesting look at St. Bonaventure’s A-10 matchups
• St. Bonaventure joins $2.8 million settlement to get past and current student-athletes paid• St. Joe’s is looming as a big test for the Bonnies
• Part II: McDermott is building a team to win the Super Bowl, not beat the Chiefs
• It was a different McDermott this season
• A look back at the ‘Super’ Bowl
• Pollock prediction on the Super Bowl and his annual quiz
• Part 2: What does Brandon Beane have to do to make the Buffalo Bills better?
• Part 1: Buffalo Bills’ GM Brandon Beane discusses 2024 season
Don Scholla, the passing of an Icon
• The Chiefs still have the Bills’ number
• Pollock Prediction: Chiefs 28, Bills 25 (actual score 32-29)
• Allen and the Bills heading to the AFC Championship game
• Josh Allen wants to hear Mr. Brightside against the Ravens
• Win over Richmond gets St. Bonaventure Bonnies ready for A-10 matchup with Duquesne
• Offensive line of the Buffalo Bills knocked out the Broncos
• Pollock Prediction: Broncos loom as a threat but the Bills will win
• Where the St. Bonaventure victory over VCU ranks in program history
• Josh Allen showed why he should be the NFL MVP
• Pollock Prediction: Bills will beat Jets in a must-win game for playoff seeding
• What happened during those six lost days
• Bills didn’t play with a sense of urgency against the Patriots
• Bills passed a big test against the Lions
• The media missed the point with questions of McDermott
• We did not expect the Rams-Bills results as Josh Allen sets major records
• Will the Bills be motivated against the Rams?
• Schmidt doesn’t want the Bonnies to get caught up in 12-1 talk
• A look at the rise under Sean McDermott
• The snow and the Buffalo Bills were too much for the 49ers
• St. Bonaventure Bonnies put unbeaten hoops record on the line in ESPN Tournament
• Pollock Prediction on San Fran at Buffalo Sunday night game
• A look at McDermott’s smart play-calling and why aren’t we talking more about James Cook?
• Can the Bills do this to the Chiefs in the playoffs? Josh Allen touchdown run seals victory
• Pollock predicts a one-point Kansas City victory
• What happened to this being a rebuilding season for the Buffalo Bills?
• A dominating performance by the Bills
• Pollock predicts a Bills victory over the Colts on the road
• Thoughts on the 61-yard Bass field goal and where the Bills sit
• Solid win to open the season for the Bonnies
• Bass vindicated by 61-yard field goal to beat the Dolphins
• Bills don’t own the Dolphins but have an option to buy; prediction 27-20 (final was 30-27)
• The season is here for St. Bonaventure basketball
• St. Bonaventure speaks out, “We got Woj”
• Mark Schmidt on the NIL deals and the Bona NIT mess
• Pollock on the passing of St. Bonaventure legend Paul Hoffman
• Pollock on listening to the radio and the days of Willie Mays
• Houghton’s Phil Stockin gets Cazzie Russell to the Castle in Olean and then a title for the Knicks?
• The right hire for St. Bonaventure to lead the athletic department
• The inside story on why WPIG left the Bonnies after 74 years and a Gary Nease update
