Doug Marrone: 'No use for fighting'

PITTSFORD, N.Y. -- Bills coach Doug Marrone blew up at his players on Thursday, sending a message that he's fed up with too many fights and post-whistle shoving matches during practice.

Following an intense fight near the end of Wednesday's practice, a few small scuffles broke out early in the Bills' morning practice Thursday. Marrone quickly put an end to it.

Marrone lined players up on one sideline and ripped into them for fighting. At one point, defensive end Jerry Hughes talked back to Marrone, leading to more shouting from Marrone in Hughes' direction, questioning him about whether he wanted to stay on the team.

Players then ran sprints across the field in an apparent act of discipline.

Looking directly at Hughes, Marrone used several profanities in telling the player to stop complaining.

"Why can't you handle it as players?" Marrone yelled. He then motioned toward the locker room and said: "Do you want to play on this team?"

Once again looking at Hughes, Marrone said: "If you've got a problem with me, you need to come and tell me."

Marrone spent a few minutes meeting with Hughes following practice.

Walking off the field, Hughes referred questions about what happened to Marrone, and added: "The head coach took care of it."

Afterward, Marrone said his comments were directed at the team and not Hughes.

"That's directed at anyone who doesn't want to be part of the team," Marrone said. "I told Jerry that I love the way he practices and I love the way he plays special teams and how he goes about it. And we've got to get some other guys who are starters to do that."

Marrone's blowup occurred on the final day of practice at the Bills' training camp facility in suburban Rochester. The Bills will have two more walk-throughs at camp -- both closed to the public and media -- before traveling to Orchard Park on Saturday for their preseason game against Tampa Bay.

Several fights have broken out during camp, which opened July 20.

The most intense fight occurred Wednesday when rookie defensive end Bryan Johnson ripped off the helmet of center Eric Wood and then connected with several punches.

Numerous veterans stepped in to defend Wood, who sustained a cut on his nose. Johnson was wrestled to the ground by guard Erik Pears and tight end Scott Chandler.

Hughes wasn't involved in the fight, but yelled a few things from the sideline, including: "Twenty-one days in pads and counting. I love it!"

Marrone, a former NFL offensive lineman, said there's no place in the game for fighting, that it shows a lack of respect for players, coaches and the game.

"Figure it out. We're responsible for the integrity of the game," Marrone said. "There is no use for fighting in the game of football. Period. End of discussion."

Veteran defensive tackle Kyle Williams spent time counseling Hughes immediately following Marrone's blowup.

"We talked about being a pro and making sure we keep it that way all the time," said Williams, a nine-year veteran and longtime defensive captain.

"We've been hitting on each other for a while and that kind of thing spills over from time to time," Williams said. "But at a certain point, you have to be a professional and understand there's guys here trying to make the team. And there's a time that you've just got to walk away from it."

Information from ESPN.com's Mike Rodak and The Associated Press was used in this report.