Roth: Can these Bills break curse?

The fans and the moving vans pulled out of St. John Fisher College on Tuesday, signaling the end of another Buffalo Bills training camp.

That's No. 16 if you're keeping score.

Boy would Katherine Keough, the late great Fisher president, be proud of how this event -- part NFL practice, part Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus -- has grown. It was Keough and current Bills president and Fisher alumnus Russ Brandon who envisioned this mutually beneficial arrangement. A small private college could grow its identity. A small-market professional football team could grow its fan and business base.

And just as they hunched, everybody jumped on the train.



Companies hawking computers, auto glass and appliances, the National Guard hawking the chance to rappel out of a helicopter, banks offering a better checking deal ... each had a presence inside the Bills massive merchandise tent.

Heck, even a certain Rochester daily newspaper represented, with hundreds of fans stopping by a table to sign a banner that will be sent to the Bills wishing "Good Luck, From Your Fans at Training Camp.''

Yes, Keough would be proud how this summertime tradition on her campus she helped start just keeps soaring, not on the wings of a Cardinal, Fisher's mascot, but those of a golden goose. But what would mystify her, as it does all of us, is how in the heck can the Bills be 0-for-15 on making the playoffs since moving their training camp to Rochester from Fredonia?

Has it been too much pampering of players? Too many distractions? The Curse of Doug Flutie? A Fisher hex?

"If that's what you have to dig into to find a reason or an excuse, you're on the wrong page,'' said defensive tackle Kyle Williams as he exited the field.

Williams and running back Fred Jackson are the longest tenured Bills, each starting his 10th season. I assured him I was only kidding about the curse thing, and that Rochester only wants this monkey off our backs.

"The bottom line is that we haven't been good enough collectively as a team to win and make it,'' Williams said. "We've had bad breaks, this and that, that kept us out of it. But good teams make things happen. I think this year we have the guys that can make good things happen.''



Certainly, the mixing of football and marketing has always made NFL general managers and coaches squeamish. Philosophically, it's oil and water. Angelina Jolie and Billy Bob Thornton. The football guys want to get ready for the season. The marketing guys want to figure out the best way to sell $35 Rex Ryan bobbleheads, $100 Sammy Watkins jerseys and, most importantly, five-figure luxury suites back at Ralph Wilson Stadium.

We all know what Vince Lombardi would've told the guy in the three-piece suit, but today's NFL coach doesn't have that luxury. He must compromise.

I must say, the seven Bills head coaches that have come through Rochester have all been good sports in terms of scheduling night practices that pack the bleachers, allowing their players to sign autographs, in meeting increased demands on their own time from media, sponsors and community partners.

The charismatic Ryan, who could run for mayor of Anytown, USA, was a natural, of course, as he performed under the Big Top daily. His time as New York Jets coach, where training camp was held at SUNY Cortland, got him adjusted to the NFL's brave new world of open practices and anything goes.

He even ate dog biscuits one day to support the SPCA, giving new meaning to the term "dog days of summer.' And he absolutely loved the energy that was generated during five night practices, something he hadn't done before.

"I wasn’t that gung-ho about it quite honestly,'' he said. "But (they) have been terrific. I love having the fans, we’ve had a great turnout and I think that kind of elevates the practice, the excitement of the practice, and the tempo. So they’ve been great and obviously I look forward to doing them again next year.''

When he returns, maybe it will be as the coach who broke the 0-for-15 playoff skid. The one who got Angelina and Billy Bob to work.

Even with a rash of injuries, this was a very productive training camp. The Bills discovered they have three quarterbacks who can walk and chew gum at the same time (Matt Cassel, Tyrod Taylor, EJ Manuel), the scenario Ryan hoped for as he and his staff decide on a starter. They found two starters from their draft, guard John Miller and cornerback Ronald Darby. Injuries to key starters meant roster depth could grow.

As for the fantastic crowds Fisher is known for, it was again much appreciated, Williams said. But he also said players don't come to training camp to acclimate to crowds, they are acclimating to getting hit in the face and feeling pain for the next four months. Five if you make the playoffs.

"The reality is that 95 percent of NFL games are decided by five points or less and those five points are four to five plays per game,'' Williams said. "I think the guys we've added can make up those four to five plays we've been missing.''

Wade Phillips, Gregg Williams, Mike Mularkey, Dick Jauron, Chan Gailey and Doug Marrone couldn't match Ryan's bombastic way combined. But we like it.

"Look,'' he said before heading down the Thruway. "We definitely expect to be in the playoffs, period. We said that since Day One, we got no qualms about it. We expect to be in there. We've got a good football team.''

As much as any, Rochester and St. John Fisher College are hoping Ryan is right. King Kong has gotten really heavy.