(AP) -Coach Chan Gailey's has added more hitting to Buffalo Bills' training camp and it has raised tensions on the practice field.Center Geoff Hangartner and linebacker Aaron Maybin exchanged shoves and wrestled each other to the ground midway through practice Friday morning. Things got heated after Maybin shoved running back Fred Jackson from behind and sent him sliding along the grass field.
As Jackson yelled out, "C'mon, man," Hangartner ran over and straight-armed Maybin across the helmet. The two then exchanged several shoves and Maybin got in a punch on Hangartner as they tangled on the ground before being separated by teammates.
Just two days into training camp and there is already more physical contact under Gailey, who took over as coach in January after Dick Jauron was fired midway through last season. Unlike Jauron, who preferred holding walkthroughs and having his players practice without pads, Gailey is demanding far more hitting in practice.
"If you got passion about the game it is going to come out," said Gailey of the skirmish. "Sometimes it comes out the wrong way. If it becomes an issue then you have to talk about it because it could be an issue during a ballgame."
Gailey did not address the team about the scuffle and does not plan to barring any more confrontations.
"I think it's part of the game," Gailey said. "I've been in them and everybody that has played the game has been in them. It comes with the territory."
Hangartner was unhappy with Maybin's hit on Jackson.
"You hit our 1,000-yard rusher in the back when he's not looking, then it's going to kind of cause some hard feelings with the O-line, so that's kind of the way things go," Hangartner said afterward. "I've got to protect our guy."
"Stuff like that happens. No hard feelings," Hangarner said. "And it'll happen again with somebody else before this camp's over with I promise you. It may not be me and him, it'll be somebody else, but it'll happen again."
Maybin laughed when asked about the scuffle.
"I think it's a little bit less of a big deal than everybody makes it out to be, but it is what it is, it's a physical game," Maybin said. "Emotions are always going to be a little bit higher because you have pads on. So it is a little bit of a heightened emotional level."
Maybin joked that he and Hangarner will likely continue "talking trash in the locker room." Maybin's hit did lead to some trash-talking on the field.
Within earshot of several reporters standing alongside a fence near the practice field, offensive guard Eric Wood yelled that Maybin should "give back some of that money you ain't earned."
Touted as a solid pass-rusher and drafted 11th overall last year, Maybin saw limited action, registering 16 tackles and no sacks in 16 games as a backup as a rookie.
Defensive lineman Marcus Stroud voiced support for Maybin by yelling out: "Do that again, Maybin. This is football. You're supposed to get tackled."
Wood declined to comment afterward about what he was overheard saying. Wood acknowledged that practices have been more physical.
"Yeah, tensions do rise," Wood said. "It's the game of football. I mean, Stroud yelled it, it's football."
Maybin said he didn't hear Wood's comment. When informed what Wood said, Maybin smiled and said, "There's nothing to make out of that."
(AP) -Quarterback Trent Edwards has a renewed perspective on what it takes to be an NFL starter after being given the opportunity to reclaim his job with the Buffalo Bills.
For Edwards, it's one thing to open training camp as the leading candidate, as he did on Thursday. It's another to keep it after he was benched midway through last year.
"I've grown from that. I'm a year older. I'm a year stronger. I'm hopefully a year better," he said. "And I'm going to use that to my advantage, just like I'm using this competition out here to my advantage."
Edwards has the inside track for the job, as coach Chan Gailey delivered on his promise to establish a pecking order after providing his three quarterbacks equal time during the team's offseason minicamps.
Edwards enjoyed the majority of practice time throughout the two-plus hour session, and primarily worked with the first-string offense. Ryan Fitzpatrick, who finished last season as the starter, worked with the second-stringers, followed by third-stringer Brian Brohm.
Gailey said Edwards deserved the opportunity to lead the pack based on how he saw the quarterback perform in practice through spring.
"He just made a lot more plays that we thought were positive," said Gailey, who provided all three quarterbacks a clean slate since taking over as coach in January. "He did a good job of handling the team."
Gailey said Fitzpatrick and Brohm will split time working with the second-stringers over the next few weeks. And he stressed that the competition is far from over, noting he'll continue gauging the players' performance through the preseason.
Aware that the job is not his yet, Edwards isn't taking anything for granted.
"I must have been doing something right in minicamps, so it's nice that you're appreciated for what you've done in the past," Edwards said. "But that's in the past now. We need to grow off that and get ready for the Dolphins Week 1."
Edwards was referring to the Bills regular-season opener against Miami on Sept. 12.
At the very least, opening training camp as the starter marked a first step for Edwards in what's already been an up-and-down tenure in Buffalo.
Selected in the third-round of the 2007 draft out of Stanford, Edwards supplanted J.P. Losman as the starter during his rookie season. The following season, Edwards helped the Bills get off to a 5-1 start, before he and the offense struggled in contributing to the team losing eight of its final 10 games.
Last season was all too forgettable with Edwards taking the brunt of the blame for running a popgun offense that had numerous problems beyond his control. Coordinator Turk Schonert was fired two weeks before the start of the season, followed by the Bills releasing starting left tackle Langston Walker.
Edwards then lost his job in early November after Dick Jauron was fired and replaced by interim coach Perry Fewell.
Looking back, Edwards acknowledged he didn't handle the adversity very well.
"I think I probably got overwhelmed or stressed over too many little things, and paying too much attention to too many things I shouldn't have been paying attention to," he said. "I feel like that was almost good for me."
Edwards was already considered the front-runner for the job as he entered this year with the most statistical categories, including career starts (30), pass attempts (826), yards (5,498) and touchdowns (24) during his three NFL seasons. Fitzpatrick, entering his sixth season, was next with 23 starts, 4,104 yards and 21 touchdowns.
Fitzpatrick accepted Gailey's decision, but added that he intends to continue competing for the job.
"You can't be disappointed," Fitzpatrick said. "I just have to continue to get better and that's the only way I can approach it, and do whatever it takes - whether it's me in there or not - to help the team win."
Brohm is regarded as a raw talent. Selected by Green Bay in the second round of the 2008 draft out of Louisville, Brohm eventually landed in Buffalo last November when the team signed him off the Packers practice squad.
He struggled in his first career start last season, going 17 of 29 for 146 yards and two interceptions in Buffalo's 31-3 loss at Atlanta in December.
