Bills coach Sean McDermott wasn’t happy with how his team was practicing early in Monday’s session so he called the team together in order to let them know how things had to change.
The practice did change from that point, although the results may not have been exactly what McDermott was hoping to see as scuffles marred the rest of the day.
“Coach brought us up and really grabbed us by the facemask and gave us a good butt-chewing,” guard Richie Incognito said, via NewYorkUpstate.com. “A lot of guys needed to hear that. A lot of guys at this level are not used to hearing that and the practice instantly changed. It got chippy, it got physical, it got violent. We had some live periods in there. You mix in a little bit of coach McDermott’s speech and a little bit of just being hot and tired and you kind of get a powder keg getting ready to explode.”
Defensive end Jerry Hughes and quarterback Tyrod Taylor got into it at points, leading to Hughes being sent to the sideline. Defensive end Shaq Lawson was also pulled from a drill by McDermott.
“He did the right thing,” Lawson said. “It’s something I can’t do to hurt this team. That was my mistake. Better I did it in practice not in a game.”
Hughes, McDermott and defensive tackle Marcell Dareus had another conversation as practice came to an end. Hughes said that it did not have to do with any of the extracurricular activities during practice, but it seems clear that several people in Buffalo have some cooling off to do after Monday’s practice.