ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- Undrafted rookie linebacker Eric Striker didn't hold back in his first day on the job with the Buffalo Bills, drawing gasps from reporters when he questioned the greatness of the city's cuisine staple.
"I guess the Buffalo wings [are what the city is known for], but in my mind, I'm like, 'I've tasted a great chicken wing,'" he said Friday. "How [much] better can it be here? You know what I'm saying? I feel like I've had some great chicken wings. What else can you do to a chicken wing? [That's] all I'm saying."
Groans from the dozen or so reporters in attendance followed. Striker, a Florida native who played at Oklahoma, heard the response and insisted he would try Buffalo's famous wings.
"So what place do I need to go to?" Striker asked. "Is it Duff's?"
As Striker mentioned Duff's, the wing chain considered one of Buffalo's best, rookie quarterback Cardale Jones walked by and noted that Duff's doesn't deliver and that he was "starved last night."
"We can take a cab," Striker proposed.
As reporters began to fire out other recommendations for wing spots and how they should be ordered -- crispy and with blue cheese, of course -- Striker said he would try the spots and report back on his experience.
"But like I said, I didn't think a chicken wing could get too much more special," he said. "But maybe I'm wrong. ... We'll see. We may go try it today."
Told about Striker's comments later Friday, coach Rex Ryan said he would set his rookie straight.
"We already got to fix that, don't we," Ryan said. "Get some Buffalo wings. And don't be ordering boneless wings. Not here in Buffalo. Trust me, I never do that. But yeah, we got to break him in better than that."
One player who Ryan doesn't have to coach up on Buffalo's food is undrafted rookie fullback Glenn Gronkowski, who returns to his hometown after a career at Kansas State.
"[I] definitely [missed] the food," Gronkowski said Friday. "Every time I come back, first thing I do is go to Jim's Steakout and get a chicken finger sub. So I definitely miss the food. Already got some wings and everything, so it's good to be back."