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Orchard Park, NY (WGR 550) – When the Buffalo Bills traded for Rasul Douglas from the Green Bay Packers, the Bills still had nine games remaining. In those nine games the veteran cornerback had four interceptions
Douglas is back this season and now will have the benefit of those nine games as well as mandatory minicamp and a training camp.
“Just learning, actually learning the playbook and not just what are we doing with that game plan, so I’m still learning. It’s me and coach every morning trying to get that down pat, so it’s good to have a full season here and not just the half that I had here.”
Last season Douglas played very well just by flying by the seat of his pants. He said he got help from two big veterans,
“I came in and I just listened to whatever Micah (Hyde) and 'Po' (Jordan Poyer) said. They just looked at me and just told me, ‘Alright, you can jump something' and I just did it, so they just simplified it for me.”
Douglas didn’t participate in any of the voluntary OTAs, but he said the coaches knew he wasn’t going to be there and why. He said he needs the time off to make sure he’s ready to dive into football when training camp starts,
“I always don’t go to voluntary. If you know athletes and the mindset that you have to be in during the season, you can’t be in that the whole time, so you’ve got to take a break from it because we miss so many funerals, birthdays, all type of events and we’re all human, so I just feel like sometimes you just need to take away and take a deep breath and be thankful for what god blessed you with, the family that you’re with and it’s just a special time with them.
“It’s also to get your mind healthy and happy and there’s not much sun here, so you’ve just got to get out and just chill and once you get back, you’re locked and loaded.”
Bobby Babich is the Bills new defensive coordinator and every single defensive player I’ve spoken with in the past month has talk about the high energy Babich brings. Being 29, of course Douglas noticed,
“He’s juice. He’s a lot of energy. Even last year when I first got here I was like, ‘That guy doesn’t change.’ Every day he comes in and you know he’s coming, you can hear him, he’s loud, he’s up, it’s like he takes a five hour energy as soon as he wakes up and that’s him all day.”
When your leader enters the building bring that with him, Douglas said it’s contagious,
“It wakes you up because you have to try to match his energy. He’s ready, he’s juiced, he’s pumped to go out and there and it’s like he’s playing, so if you’re not already up you’ve got to wake up.”
Douglas is in the final year of his contract and he said his goal this year is to be All-Pro. The Bills are the fourth NFL team Douglas has played on as his first three seasons were with the Philadelphia Eagles. He then spent one year with the Carolina Panthers.
Training camp starts at St. John Fisher on July 24.
Photo credit Losi & Gangi
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