Astrobot

I think it may have been 3 straight seasons. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5zFbLzEdzM I vote yes to Stevie being on the Wall.

I'm editing a mock draft right now that goes live at DraftTek midnight Wed., and EDGE and OT are in great supply when the Bills pick. I won't spoil the suspense, though...even though it's 268 days until the draft...

I just fanagled a ticket. I'm going! AstroNotes tonight!

Not one note about Striker, I'm afraid.

It was 1" out of reach, not a drop. It would have been a non-issue if Tyrod had thrown it. I have to disagree with Tyrod's "meh" day comment a Buffalo sportscaster made. Here's a list of what Tyrod did today: ---Made 100% of his 4 fade throws to both the L and R corners. ---Made 100% of his 4 red zone passes on the end zone line. ---Threw ridiculous balls to Dez Lewis, Greg Little in Session 6 ---Threw OVER THE MIDDLE to Felton, ---Threw OVER THE MIDDLE to a wide-open Dez Lewis, where he and Powell had rendered Robey/Graham useless. ---Threw OVER THE MIDDLE to Gragg slanting for a TOUCHDOWN. ---Connects far side to Davonte Allen, near side to Goodwin. ---About to be tackled in backfield, takes off and throws over LB head to McCoy for 15+ yards. ---Puts a ball in a place only Salas can catch ---Sweet sideline pass to Hankerson ---Nice swing pass to MCCoy-->TOUCHDOWN ---Little, Salas, and Woods line up, pass to Woods-->TOUCHDOWN Negative plays: ---Ragland moves up to the R of the R-EDGE and would have tackled Tyrod ---Worthy, IK Enemkpali get through to make tackle ---Near-INT by Preston Brown

Sorry. Jamison Lalk. He looked pretty sullen walking off the field. He wasn't used much at all.

Also 7 of the 32 first rounders, correct?

Cliff's Notes: We have a MUCH-improved set of receivers than a year ago! Tyrod acts the part of QB, EJ is more schooled but still shows some hesitancy and inaccuracy, Cardale has not hesitation but is still inaccurate. Biggest problem I saw was pass pro in 11 on 11. Defensively, Ragland's going to be great in Rex's scheme, PBrown is much-improved, Dareus on the sidelines is looking great (he's being mothballed IMHO). Saw MLawson and 3 others (Reggie Brown, perhaps?) doing fitness work on the sidelines. Carp probably beat Morgan today. The stands are 1/2 full today, as the work week begins and impending rain (which never materialized) kept people away. 71 degrees, 88 percent humidity. Schmidt is punting some boomers as I found my place in the stands (top right corner as you face the stands). Arenas is fielding punts first, Powell second. They're using Lewis and Little as gunners. Schmidt, the only player with no competition, only dropped one out of bounds. Tyrod is playin catch with Woods during this time. When the positional drills start, They are doing rollouts and throws to TEs. I watch the OL for a bit. Jamison Lalk is playing OG and looks the part, but the biggest eye-openers are Velasco, who actually held a block with his body turned, and Miller who looks stronger. He road-grades Urbik 5 yards before Urbik can even settle. Renfrow looks like he has trouble moving sideways. Mills looks more agile. Groy is a tad shorter than I thought. I watch the QBs next. Cardale is a whole helmet taller than Tyrod, and 1/2 a helmet taller than EJ. Cardale mops his brow a lot. EJ is becomeing more well-versed in the mechanics of his throws, and seems to have footwork down better. The difference this morning between EJ and Cardale was this: EJ had the mechanics more automatic (example: a great sell on a draw play), and still overthrew WRs (less often than last year, though, and the WRs made him look better). EJ hesitated now and then in 11 on 11; Cardale got the throw out for better or worse. Cardale's mechanics were inconsistent, but he is going to wow us in some preseason action against future fry-cooks. Cardale "pulls the trigger" faster than EJ even now. He got the ball to Woods right out of his break, and made a throw to his 2nd look at another point. He was able to find Blake Annen on another play--no way he was the primary or secondary on that play. Cardale also showed a great "sell" on a draw play, as does EJ. Receivers: We've got real talent, especially with Tyrod and with this scheme. Goodwin and Dez Lewis impressed me the most right off the bat. Goodwin made a sweet catch OVER THE MIDDLE at full speed. Catch Me If You Can . Boykin was the least impressive, looking smaller than I thought and dropping two. Salas is very fast, particularly into his breaks. Hankerson kept his balance, making an impressive catch after an awkwardly-thrown ball. Powell looks the part and has some PR/KR upside; he plays with urgency and effort but several times couldn't gain separation. Woods hauls in a 40-yarder from Tyrod on point over his right shoulder; he's the best I've seen him look in a preseason. Dez Bryant makes a difficult over-the-head catch in stride on the ensuing play. Goodwin matches both receivers with a nice catch OVER THE MIDDLE at full speed. Little is more labored into his breaks--will watch that more. Powell makes a deep grab on the run. Chambers makes a smooth catch and looks like, "What do I have to do to get noticed here?" One more mention: Devonte Allen. Salt this guy away on the PS and he'll see the field in more than preseason. He's slighter than some of the other 6-2 guys, but he made several nice catches. He didn't "sell" his route on one play, so he can't be telegraphing that in the NFL. TE: Gragg is the better receiver than O'Leary today, but both were better than Dray. If Dray is the TE, it's a blocking assignment and I thought they would get a guy more versatile than that. Maybe next draft. Annen had the best catches of the day, and this could be his meal ticket onto the 53, taking that Marqueis Gray role (and likely forcing O'Leary out). In the Session 2 drill, Tyrod was given Woods, Goodwin, and Salas, and that may be a starting lineup. We saw Woods, Salas, and Little a bit later. When they were working fade routes to the L corner of the end zone, Tyrod was 100%, EJ was 8 for 9, and Dez Lewis was the best receiver. Walter Powell and Salas are pretty good too, but lack the height. I watch some defense now, and Darby's having trouble with some of these receivers (Dez, Goodwin, and . He does break up a great EJ throw, though. Duke Williams gets a flag for trying to cover Goodwin OVER THE MIDDLE; Goodwin makes Duke look like he's not an Olympian...But Duke has three other good plays today, so the jury's still out on him. Powell makes a nice catch on Colt Anderson, Robey's beaten on an outside shoulder fade by Little, and Mario Butler nabs a nice PBU on Dez. The Cardale inonsistency (which was brought up when he was at OSU) was so evident in Session 5. He throws a 64-yard TD to Powell with S Robert Blanton, then throws a 40-yarder to Davonte Allen. You think EJ's in jeoardy, right? Then Cardale sails one over Greg Little's head that would require a hook and ladder truck to catch. Tyrod steps in and throws a beautiful 50-yarder to Goodwin with Robey helplessly trying to keep up. Woods makes a nice 20 yard catch, and runs it out to the end zone--just for the exercise. Dez Lewis is caught up with Sterling Moore and can't make the catch, and Duke Williams breaks up a pass intended for the smallish Powell. Jonathan Dowling, who has some meat on that skeleton, breaks one up vs Chambers; I would have called the penalty for contact but the 4 referees didn't call it. Little heard the footsteps of Mario Butler and dropped a catch-able ball. Finally, Boykin has trouble with Sammy Seamster (Seamster has height but doesn't make this backfield). Who was best on the defense today? Ed Reed. He has a presence, always chatting with the guys and looks marvelous. IMPRESSIONS and MISC: Much less trouble today with offsides penalties. I only caught one player offsides--Adolphus Washington, and he didn't hesitate. He trotted off the field and jogged around Growney Stadium. No surprise in the 11 on 11's who the starting OL is. This is important because it's the first time in 20 years. On one play, I saw a RB, TE, and FB all in the backfield with Tyrod. Lots of throws today OVER THE MIDDLE. It's so nice to hear we're going to work on something and then see it actually occur in practice. This wasn't true before Greg Roman. The kicking contest had Carpenter up on Morgan today, with Carp missing one (a 43-yarder if I can do math) and Morgan missing two. Sanborn walked off the field with Morgan, but maybe I'm reading too much into this. Our new NT Casey Walker, is a food truck with legs. He looks more like a NT than Dareus, but Dareus looks very much in shape for a 320-pounder. Goodwin had the Catch of the Day vs Robey for a 50-yarder from Tyrod. Kugler looked like a real football-DNA player as backup backup OC. Meeks got an INT vs EJ today. Preston Brown almost got one. I'll be going to camp Thursday and Friday. --Astro The greatest negative was how poor our pass-blocking was. Worthy and IK got in on Tyrod on one play, TT was forced out of the pocket a couple times, and had to dink it to McCoy. When given time, EJ had a gimme TD for 60 yards go 1" beyond Little's fingertips.

I'm loving my copy. The section on Roman's run concepts alone is worth the cost. Rob, we'll see you at camp at some point. Thanks for creating this guide.

2017 RBs: (my list; not DraftTek's) https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/19D8I9D3txSJjZRNyCEAeNTG2_gaTghTXMt4rOkViTvs/edit?usp=sharing

Nope. Grandchildren and my younger son and his wife! Sunny 300 days a year, college feel, bikes everywhere, Lots of trees and a river runs through it. Will be back in plenty of time for camp!

It's a real possibility. Felton is not even in the top five run-blocking backs in the Bills. Only McCoy is worse, and we'll forgive him. Felton's yards per carry was 2.0 last year. Take Gronk who is a better receiver, and a decade younger.

I'm agreeing with BADOL on this one: Justin Zimmer succeeding Kyle Williams at 3-tech.

Came in 7th. Which may also be where he ends up among the 6 WRs we take this year.

Rob Quinn, 24-Editor-In-Chief/Columnist for BuildingTheHerd.com @BuildingHerd, is one of the most knowledgeable Bills writers out there, and his Bills Guide is a fan's gold mine. It's insightful, deep, and vast! I already have mine and it's worth the $10. It'll give you something to read that isn't pap before training camp. Preview: http://buildingtheherd.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Bills-GUide-Preview.pdf Order for $10: http://buildingtheherd.com/commentary/rob-quinns-2016-buffalo-bills-guide/ See you at camp! Astro

1992-John Fina 1994-Jeff Burris 1995-Ruben Brown 1996-Eric Moulds 1997-Marcellus Wiley

It's the principle of the thing. Reporters not able to do their job. Free speech.

Until further notice, I will not do Astro-Notes at Bills Training Camp practices until the Bills change their policy.

I love Slow News Season. But I can't wait for training camp!

LOL!!

This is the first time in TWENTY years that we're returning the same OL. The chemistry alone will make them better. I think the rookie OL are going to be perfect fits for G-Ro's system, especially Lumpkin. His specialty is pulling and delivering precise blocks at the second level. The addition of Velasco is a stopgap, he has 2-3 years left.

We're staying in Rochester for the foreseeable future, and I've retired so I'm planning on being there every day.

Me too, Jimmy10. You must live next door! I'm up Baird Rd. I'll do Astro Notes again for all the day practices, at least.

Great question! I'm going to pick PGH at home Dec 11. We have a tough time against the Steelers, we should be in the playoff hunt, and it's late enough in the year when we will see what our rookies are made of.

When a CB or WR is tracking a ball well, both eyes "see" the ball (in its vertical, horizontal, and depth axes), and the brain "fuses" these images into one (called stereopsis). Then the brain gets the visual input and hands-feet-body to coordinate movement toward the catch point. With corrected vision, Kevon will see the image of the ball much more clearly (he had 20-60, corrected to 20-20, I believe). That doesn't guarantee success, though: That's because the eye testing is done on images not moving in space, and with the person staying still. Furthermore, Most eye doctors also immobilize the eye muscles by giving the patient eye drops, although some do stereopsis testing to detect eye muscle imbalances Before giving those drops.