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Orchard Park, NY (WGR 550) -- Eric Wood holds the reputation as one of the most passionate and tenacious players in the locker room at One Bills Drive. It really isn't a surprise that he stood by his convictions that the game played in Toronto this past weekend was a "joke"
"Yeah, I did call it a joke. And that's how it felt the other day," the stirred-up center said. "It just-- it stunk that we were up there. And I was heated when I said that, and I'm not going to sit here and retract all my statements because it's what I meant and what I felt. Hopefully in the future it improves."
The Buffalo Bills center almost did a whole lot more harm than good during the game as he watched his teammates getting shellacked by the Seattle Seahawks, getting close to drawing a fine for illegal use of social media to tear in to the atmosphere.
"I wrote and deleted about three tweets during the game, you know, kind of using that 10 second rule," he remarked. "That was probably best, but, it just kinda ticked me off."
The one thing he did add to his rhetoric was a general acknowledgment of why the Bills have given a game to the Rogers Centre in Toronto for each of the past five years, and possibly beyond 2012.
"I understand the benefits of the Toronto game," Wood said. "I understand we have a small market, and we have a huge market just north of the border. I love the city of Toronto for eating, and for pleasure, but the game just has a different feel and it's not a whole lot of fun to play in at this point.
"Now, will that change in the future if we re-sign with them? Possibly. But, it kind of rubbed me raw last year when we jumped offsides on a 3rd-and-1 when they're doing the wave. This year, from what I had heard -- I didn't get to travel -- everybody was complaining that there was more Seattle fans than there was Bills fans, and I don't think that many people from Seattle made the trip."
The center went on to say that he doesn't blame Bills CEO Russ Brandon, and that he respects all the decisions he makes to "to keep us in this market and to provide a good business plan."
While not going quite as far as his teammate, Bills' defensive tackle Kyle Williams did confirm one widespread belief within the locker room: all the players would much rather have played in Orchard Park.
"I think obviously everybody's seen that it's different. It's not the same as being here," he said. "It's very similar to a road game, but I also understand the business side of things. I don't think you'll find a guy in here that wouldn't agree that they would much rather be in Ralph Wilson Stadium."
It's a bit different for individual players to speak out against it, but often times viewed as the face and voice of the organization, head coach Chan Gailey didn't stoke the fire. In fact his approach was much more diplomatic, understandably so.
"In my opinion, I understand the situation," the coach said. "I understand the importance of that series for the organization. Two years ago, it was great up there. This year, it wasn't as great. When you win, and you play good, all those are great."
The Bills and Rogers Centre have completed their initial five-year pact to send eight total games -- three preseason and five regular season -- to be played in Toronto. The two sides have yet to reach an agreement on an extension, but it's been reported that it is expected to be completed once the team reaches a lease agreement with Erie County.
The Bills have a regular season record of 1-4 in regular season games played at the Rogers Centre, with their lone win coming against Washington in 2011.