Highlights

TODD HALEY: “Thursday practice. Gilberry was full today and Flowers was the only one out. He has a shoulder [injury] and that will be the way it will be listed.”

Q: Did he do it at practice?

HALEY: “No. He did go full yesterday.”

Q: You still couldn’t get outside to practice today?

HALEY: “Could have today probably, but looking at the weather game day it looks like it’s going to be mid-40s so tomorrow we’ll probably go out since it’s going to be 36 [degrees.] I thought that would be more like game conditions. We had [indoor facility doors open] up there and I thought it was another crisp practice.”

Q: How critical is it to have to go up against receivers like Evans and Owens even with one of your top corners ailing?

HALEY: “I won’t speculate on any of that right now. As I said yesterday, this is a team with a bunch of weapons between the three receivers. Josh Reed is a guy I’ve thought a lot of as a slot receiver. He can run with the football and the tight end can stretch the field. Then the two backs. I think the quarterback is playing with some confidence and can run around and make some plays with his feet. We’ve got our work cut out for us with this team.”

Q: Buffalo has won four games this year but three of those wins came when the opponent turned the ball over four or more times. Do you put more of a focus on turnovers this week?

HALEY: “I don’t think you can ever say more of a focus. On Buffalo they have been in a bunch of games against some good opponents for sure. That’s generally the way the league is. If you wind up in the minus category it hurts your chances greatly, even just minus one. You go into the high 70 percentile of not winning the game. That’s what we stress. We’ve got to protect the football on offense, get it on defense. But more than anything, if we don’t turn the ball over we’ve generally been in games and have a chance to compete. When we do turn it over it’s gone the other way.”

Q: Defensively, what do you do differently going up against less than an accomplished quarterback as opposed to a veteran? Different schemes?

HALEY; “I think regardless of who we play our coaches game-plan and we spend a lot of time figuring out what we do best, first of all. That’s regardless of who is the quarterback. You game plan differently for everybody you see. I’ll leave that till Sunday. I think the guys have a grasp of what we want to get done on defense.”

Q: You haven’t been around TO [Owens] for a while. How has he looked to you?

HALEY: “Yeah, a 98-yard touchdown. He’s up close to around 700 yards receiving and it looks like he’s running with the football very well. He’s got a complementary receiver on the other side that I think creates some problems of which guy do you deal with on a down-to-down basis. He looks like he’s playing at a high level to me. He’s a always a threat and he’s always a threat to score anywhere on the field.”

Q: Was that a learning experience for you in Dallas with the spotlight on you because of the position you coached and the one TO played?

HALEY: “I hate to go back into all that. As I’ve said, I’m grateful for my experiences in being a receiver coach for a long time and getting to be around and coached some of these guys you’ve got to be on your game all the time.

“I’m proud of what we did that year and I know he was a productive player for us when he was playing [in Dallas]. I still feel like we were an extra-point length field goal away from doing some damage in the playoffs. It’s one of those you have regrets about and lose sleep over.”

Q: Who’s the fastest receiver, the deepest threat on this team?

HALEY: “I think it looks like Chris Chambers can run pretty good. He was a 4.37 guy coming out and he’s taken really good care of himself and it appears to me he can really run. Now, we haven’t lined up to race lately. That’s something Terrell liked to do.”

Q: When Bowe comes back does he have that speed?

HALEY: “Probably not in just a race, but it’s how you carry your pads and how you play on Sunday that’s most important. There have been a lot of guys going way back to Lynn Swann who were 4.6 and it never seemed to matter. For the guys that know how to play and know how to do their job speed is overrated.”

Q: Do you count pass drops?

HALEY: “I count drops [of passes] and always have and have been a pretty critical judge in that area. I do feel like if a receiver gets his hands on it he should come up with it. That’s what they get paid for. We’ve had way too many. I know we’re at 37 drops by our count and that’s too many and it hurts everybody.

“Whether it’s a first-and-10 play that might be another first-and-10 play and now it’s second-and-10. If it’s third down now we’re punting the ball. We’ve got to do a better job of catching the ball. There is no trick to it. You’ve got to get on the jugs [gun] before practice and after practice. You can’t catch enough balls and practice your craft, whoever it is, tight ends, receivers or backs, cause everybody has a hand in it. We need to do a better job. Those are things this young team can’t overcome. We’ve shown that. We can’t overcome dropped balls. The games that we’ve done a good job of catching the ball we’ve been pretty competitive. When we haven’t it’s been an additional thing that’s been too hard for us to overcome.”

Q: When you’re playing a team that has struggled this season is there any worry that if you lose this game the players are going to be a little more discouraged?

HALEY: “No, trying to win every game and do everything we can to win each game and leave no stone unturned and put the work in on all ends. A win is a win and we need wins.”

Q: But the Bills at home. Is that a game you’re supposed to win?

HALEY: “That’s for somebody else to decide.”