Buffalo Bills' Parrish says he's ready for bigger role

ORCHARD PARK — Roscoe Parrish doesn't say a whole lot, but the pint-sized wide receiver lamented his lack of playing time the other day after the game in Miami, and then reiterated his point Wednesday in the Bills' locker room following practice.

"I don't know Josh Reed's status, but I'm always here," Parrish said Sunday after learning that Reed would miss some time after suffering ankle and Achilles' tendon injuries in the 25-16 loss to the Dolphins.

"I always want a bigger role on offense. That's what I came in for, not to be a special teams player. I don't want to start a conflict, but I want to have more on offense and do what I do which is make plays and do whatever I can to help the team."

After running with the first string the past two days while Reed has watched practice wearing a protective boot on his foot, Parrish did not back down on his request to become more involved in Buffalo's offense.

"I don't want to make an issue about it, we're winning games and we're doing good," he said. "But you don't have to do special things to utilize me. I heard before you have to use gadget plays, but it's not true. I run routes, I do everything. Just call my play."

Whether that will start happening more frequently come Sunday — when the Bills play host to the New York Jets and Reed won't be on the field — is uncertain, but quarterback Trent Edwards sure likes the fact that Parrish has expressed his opinion.

"I'd expect a guy like Roscoe to say that," Edwards said.

"I want to have receivers in my huddle that want the ball. I'm very happy that you told me he said that. That's what I respect about Roscoe Parrish and hopefully we can do that on Sunday."

Parrish has established himself as one of the NFL's premier punt returners, but his contributions on offense have been limited given his status as a second-round pick in the 2005 draft.

In his first three seasons the 5-foot-9, 168-pounder had 73 catches for 820 yards and 4 TDs, and this year he has tacked on only 10 receptions for 82 yards and 1 TD.

He has one career 100-yard receiving game — against the Jets in 2006 — and he has three six-catch games, but his highest yardage total in those was only 56 yards. Among his 83 catches, only four have gone for 40 or more yards which is perplexing considering his big-play ability.

Asked if it's difficult to get Parrish the ball in spots where he can do something with it, primarily because of his size, Bills coach Dick Jauron neatly sidestepped the issue by saying, "We definitely have plays for Roscoe. Size-wise, clearly Roscoe plays in a league of big men and he succeeds. He really performs well in this league in whatever he does."

Edwards was asked the same question, and he said it's more a function of him getting in sync with Parrish, which is tough to do because he doesn't get as many practice reps as Lee Evans and Reed.

"The thing with receivers is that you have to get in rhythm with them and I'm slowly coming around with Lee, I'm slowly working around with Josh, and it comes with a lot of repetitions and game repetitions," he said.

If Parrish gets the start in place of Reed, rookie James Hardy will be the No. 3 receiver, and like Parrish, Hardy has been largely invisible on offense thus far, though being a rookie gives him special dispensation. Hardy has just seven catches for 66 yards and one touchdown.

"The thing that held me back the most is that most of the stuff I've learned here, I hadn't learned at Indiana," Hardy said. "I have so many things being thrown at me at once and I have to pick my poison to see what I need to get better at in each category. I can't do it all at once, but it's starting to come."

The Bills need both players to produce because without Reed, things are only going to get more difficult for Evans. Evans leads the Bills with 31 catches, and his 20.5-yard average is tops in the NFL among receivers with at least 20 receptions.

However, he's going to get blanket coverage with Reed out, and it's not going to stop unless Parrish or Hardy can pull some defensive attention their way.

"We know we have to pick it up," Parrish. "We know what we have to do with Josh down. Lee is a big part of our offense. Whenever a ball comes our way, we have to do what we can do. We want to make plays."

(democratandchronicle.com)