Bills’ Parrish could speed his way into a significant role

By Anthony Bialy  |   Wednesday, August 29, 2007  |  Comments( 18 )

 Buffalo Bills
It's not Roscoe Parrish's fault he started off on the wrong foot in Buffalo. Blaming Tom Donahoe, the Bills' former general manager, for everything that went rotten under his watch is like making fun of Britney Spears' parenting skills: easy, but totally justified. The fact is that the Bills needed help on both lines going into the 2005 draft, ...
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CommentsComments: 18
 No.1
Michael Sluder		 12:08 AM
08/30/2007
Heres to the coaches giving Roscoe Parrish that chance. And if they don't well then that would be another dumb mistake. And may I add from the other day's article... it is my hope that they keep Fred Jackson. If they let him go or position him on the practice squad again I most likely will be a little pissed! So like all of us I will just have to wait and see.
 No.2
Nate		 02:58 AM
08/30/2007
Parrish may not be built robustly enough to ever be on the field for kickoffs, but he still has the gumption and physical constitution to deal with charging special teams defenders during punt returns. Maybe Anthony or someone more knowledgeable than I can explain to me why returning punts is any less dangerous than returning kickoffs?
Parrish also has a chance to succeed in Buffalo because he carries little baggage. Unlike some other University of Miami players, Parrish doesn't seem to have the same astounding swagger so common among former Hurricanes. Some more glamorous communities might find braggadocio appealing, but such behavior is viewed as off-putting in a no-nonsense, no-illusions city like Buffalo.

Bills fans are unlikely to tolerate anyone brasher than someone like, say, Jim Kelly, and he was a Hurricane who also happened to end up as a first-ballot Hall of Fame quarterback; certain accomplishments justify a tad bit of cockiness. Thankfully, Parrish doesn't seem prone to strutting, preening, or any other disreputable behavior that distracts from his game.
Yes Buffalo is a blue collar town but if a player walks the walk Bills fans don't care if he talks the talk. Kelly could walk the walk while all McGahee could do was talk the talk. Kelly was embraced, McGahee villified. As I recall Bruce Smith, Andre Reed and Thurman Thomas all had pretty good egos and weren't shy about telling the world how great they were. It's too bad Parish isn't about 20 pounds heavier. At 5'9" 171 lbs he is too short and gets lost going across the middle and could get killed by safeties and linebackers he's giving up 40 or more pounds to. He's also too light to run block. He's also been slow to learn how to run his routes which is the main reason he hasn't received much playing time in past seasons. There's no doubt the kid is an exciting player with the ball in his hands. Its just finding the right situations to get it there that's always been the problem. Maybe this year the coaching staff and Losman will have it figured out? Oh yeah, lets also hope Roscoe doesn't disappear when the mercury dips below 30 degrees and the wind comes howling off of Lake Erie like many players born and raised in Southern Florida do.
 No.3
gjv		 05:13 AM
08/30/2007
Roscoe Parrish should be an every down player with the Bills offense. He has similar size,speed and hands as Steve Smith of the Carolina Panthers. As we have seen during the last season and this preseason, the Bills offense cannot sustain a drive. They can only score touchdowns with long passes. Parrish is a better choice than Price or Reed for scoring with long passing plays.
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