NY Nole

He definitely looked like he had more in his step to me. Hit the hole hard and emerged from the congestion with some authority. Admittedly, they were only in their shells and shorts -- but he looks like a legit #2.

Astro - great notes as always. Thanks for the detail. I wanted to share my observations about tonight's practice as well: 1. The pace of practice was much faster than any I remember in recent years. It seemed like everyone had a similar amount of reps by the end of the night. There was constant movement and no one walked from drill to drill. I was impressed by always having two groups going at once. By the end of the night - all of those defensive blue jersey's had turned a dark navy shade after all the sweat. 2. Best hands of the night award - Daikiel Shorts! He did not drop a ball thrown at him all night - including a very high sideline grab from Petermen. Also had the best catch of the night in my opinion over the middle on a rope thrown by Petermen (more on him below). Keep your eye on Shorts - if he consistently performs like tonight he might be the diamond in the rough. 3. Petermen had some good throws and many bad ones - he was inconsistent. his arm looks very average - but he did zip some 7-10 yards. Yates is solidly number 2 right now. 4. Some new drills this year - including the DB's running laterally in tandem while playing catch with tennis balls. Darby had difficulty at first with this drill. Power and Hyde were very good at it. 5. Keep your eye on Croom for backup TE - he had some nice looks. 6. Starting LB's - Humber (Sam) Brown (Mike) Alexander (Will) - Hodges and Ragland ran with the two's. 7. No punting - wanted to see the UDFA was bummed. Haushka has a nice leg - hit every kick attempted with ease. 8. White and Jones look to be very nice acquisitions. Go Bills.

Totally agree. I like MG but between McCoy, Tolbert and J Williams -- I don't worry about the backup running back spot. Even if they don't draft a RB replacement in a deep draft - I would rather take the pick and let McDermott find players that fit his style. As for the comments critical of Whaley -- I think he was right in assigning an original round tender-- NOONE was giving up a second round pick for MG.

I would trade back if possible and pick up peppers. Safety is more important to me than WR with health concerns (Davis) or hands concerns (Williams). Take Jones in second or corner - then the other

They say that now - but high draft pick(s) could give them ability to draft an early rd QB this year or next. We have seen the plug and play nature of their backups - I'm not convinced Jimmy G is instrumental to their success.

With their ridiculous collection of draft picks, Cleveland is reported to be interested in making a big offer to the Cheaters for Garoppolo. I can see NE fleecing the Browns for their top picks -thus setting up the Cheatriots for another run after Brady. Ugggggh. Maybe we should have just given Cleveland Tyrod.

This is nothing more than media making assumptions. Shefter doesn't know this for fact -- the title of his article even put his premise with a question mark. Wawrow also doesn't know anything but what he is fed. Hell - the Bills are leaning to move on from the whole damn team in October -- doesn't make it so. They do what makes best sense from an ability/cost standpoint every year. There is way too much "I have to be first for breaking this story" crap going on this time of year.

I'll be happy if he can at least be in the right spot for a change -- Duke was young and fast but couldn't figure out where to go.

Welcome to twobillsdrive Vic Carucci, I mean Birdo.... I don't believe your source at all - not saying you are not telling it how you heard it - just think the source is like alot of other mouths coming out of the woodwork - full of it.

The Bills have employed the #1 (Mario Williams), #2 (Reggie Bush), #3 (Vince Young), #8 (Donte Whitner), #10 (Matt Leinart), #22 (Manny Lawson) and #26 (John McCargo) draft picks from the 2006 draft. At the time, I remember thinking this was one of the all-time draft classes after that amazing Rose Bowl. In retrospect - probably not so much. Here's hoping Reggie Bush can recapture some of the former magic. Go Bills.

Tough to give accurate assessment - as there were minimal series, neither marcel or Kyle were in there and there seemed to be more passes than runs. Generally, Oline starters gave gave decent protection. As mentioned Cordy handeleld IK, Kouandjio was swing tackle and filled in for Cordy. On defense - it seemed that when they didn't rush the house - they (Line) didn't get a lot of pressure - most "sacks" we're from LB and DB's (not sure how much 3-4 line gets sacks in general). Ya - I thought JWill looked good - first time in camp he really caught my eye, also might be because they were rotating in with starters and giving him good looks.

Here's my best attempt to give you some observations in the absence of Astro: * Night started with special teams players working on punts, returns and kickoffs. I would like to take this opportunity to comment on an overlooked/ taken for granted issue - we have another really good punter in Colton Schmidt. He was absolutely banging some punts out of the end zone - 60 yarders. I was particularly impressed with his craft - when punting from his own ~40, he would routinely kick the ball end over end which had the effect of making fielding more challenging (and potentially setting up a big play turnover in red zone)..Powell almost dropped one of these. In instances nearer their own 20-30, he was well adept at positioning high spirals close to the boundaries, while others closer to their own end zone - he would routinely drive kicks 50-60 yards. Fun watching this. As for our returners, rotation between Powell, salas, bush, arenas and Seymour. No drops - with 1 close call on end over end by Powell. From there they went into calisthenics then position drills. Not to much to report here - but I did enjoy watching Ed Reed alternate throwing to WR's with Tyrod. Reed's passes were pretty on the money and tight spirals. I absolutely love that Ed Reed is one of our coaches and really think he is adding something special to our team - as mentioned before - he always has a player around him seemingly hanging on his wisdom or instruction. Also noticed some practice reps for FB's taking handoffs. Next up was scrimmage. It began with a Reggie bush fair catch around the 15. First team offense included Goodwin and Woods, Felton, Shady, Gragg. First team defense: Worthy and Washington at end, Bryant nose, Enempali and Hughes at OLB and Brown and Brown inside. Offense went three and out to start - Tyrod started slow. Second team came in and scored on EJ TD to Goodwin. Goodwin's speed is obviously something the Bills coaches love - he bobbled the catch - but made nonetheless. I thought Goodwin was on outside looking in to start camp- but it appears the Bills are giving him every chance to grab a spot on the 53. Speed kills, but I would like to see more consistency with catching and more health out of him. Unless he has a terrible preseason - I think he makes team. Next up Cardale led the third team - didn't do much on their series - Cardale was/is very inconsistent with accuracy (so is EJ) - but this guy is fun to watch. He has an almost robatic cannon for an arm. He does to his credit make quick decisions. On one play in particular, he dropped back to throw, pocket started to collapse around him and he took off running up the middle (it was probably premature decision, but to his credit it was decisive). While he did not produce a TD (both Ej and Tyrod had one) he nearly did/ should have - as on an absolute all out blitz, he avoided rushers, broke free and effortlessly threw a deep bullet to Boykin - who nearly took it in. The next three goal line plays showed another side - as he wasn't close when firing a shot into the end zone (they settled for a third-team FG). A few other observations: I am very concerned about IK. Prior to Cordy Glenn leaving with an injury (not sure of severity but he walked off), IK got absolutely engulfed by #77. I do think Cordy is an above average tackle - but IK was totally neutralized by him. On another running play - he was pushed back and could only watch as the RB went blowing past him. As much as I respect his right uppercut - I think better options might be needed. Jerry Hughes is a better defender in space than many might think. Striker was active in the backfield and got a sack - though his size is a negative when taking on lineman in run support. One thing I noticed was that he tried to strip Cardale when he was running. I like this attitude. As a diehard FSU fan, I am pulling for Nick O'Leary - but he dropped his only attempt over the middle (hard catch but he had it in his hands). Rookie back Williams looked good to me - hit the holes with force and has football/deceptive speed. Finally, Jonathan Dowling needs a major effort in preseason games in order to make this team. It likely won't be as a gunner - as he was pushed about 10 yards into the sideline and fell down. It also probably won't be as a CB - because he got toasted by Woods for a TD. Greg Little had a nice catch and Blanton redeemed himself with a few nice breakups. Defense looks like it will be bringing lots of pressure from defensive backfield this year. Probably lot's more that Astro would have caught - but about all I can remember. Go Bills.

Thanks for the mention Astro (and the detailed observations). It was fun talking Bills with you and helping be a spotter. I left tonight with high regards for the performances of Powell, Striker, Bush, Salas, Woods, Darby, Tyrod (he was only QB to land football in giant trash can in corner of endzone), Albright, Shady, Corey White and even A. Williams (hopefully his hit/contact helps get more confidence back). WR corps looks better in person than on paper. Offense worked on lots of motion and shifts, Defense looks more aggressive (and unpredictable), and Ryan brothers are fun to watch - honorable mention to Ed Reed - everywhere he walks a player is always right next to him. Here's to a great season. Go Bills.

First off - good to have Astro's notes -- he does a great job reporting the action. I also attended today and wanted to share some observations: Felton vs. Gronkowski --- if the Bills plan is to have a devastating lead blocker then Felton should win this competition easily. He is simply the more explosive, powerful (and polished) of the two. While this is probably stating the obvious (since he is a seasoned vet), I think Baby Gronk has a long ways to go to unseat him. I felt sorry for the blocking sled today when Felton stepped in front of it. Greg Little really jumped out at me, in fact I would have said he had the best day out of all the receivers -- had he not dropped a perfectly placed deep ball from EJ heading into the end zone. His size could make him a great asset -- as evidenced by a pass he snagged vs. Nickel Robey-Coleman (who had zero chance of competing against the taller receiver -- this scares me a bit...more later). Of the others -- Dez Lewis does look MUCH improved vs. last year and Greg Salas seems to catch most everything thrown to him. Goodwin showed the wheels -- but did little to separate himself otherwise. Woods looked like our #2. Walter Powell had the catch of the day. In terms of QB's -- they did alot of deep throws today. Tyrod looks the part a #1 (but did make some mistakes -- his first pass was intercepted by Gilmore I think). EJ still looks hesitant -- but IMO looks like a capable backup. Taylor and Manuel are light years ahead of Cardale. Here's hoping the Bills take their time and invest in the rook the right way -- because he does have intangibles (Size, Arm). His footwork is not very good -- nowhere near the other two - I lost count how many times he threw off back foot without stepping into throw. DB's - so I really was enjoying the DB drill -- especially because the QB's and WR's were allowed to air it out. I am a little concerned at CB depth. Gilmore looks great (did have a holding penalty) but he is the most physical off the line. Darby looks very good too -- I would say 1 and 1a for many teams in the NFL. Behind them -- Nickell Robey-Coleman is so much smaller than bigger receivers that if he has to defend a verticle route against size there is going to be trouble. I thought Seymour showed very good closing speed -- and is a definite keeper. Moore and White each had good moments and bad. This drill had the DB's playing on the receiver like a CB -- with that said -- let's hope Blanton never lets his man beat him deep -- because he got roasted out there today. From my vantage point -- he could not keep up running with receiver. DB depth looks so-so -- hopefully Ed Reed will pay dividends. Only saw limited team action -- but what I did catch -- Ragland was always around the ball -- and was very vocal -- both he and Jerry Hughes were constant noise! Go Bills.

You offend me. So I think you should stop posting on this board all together. Then I can implement the same philosophy to anyone else that I deem to be offensive and soon I will be the only one allowed to post. If you are offended, don't buy a Redskins branded product, turn the channel or find another outlet that brings tranquility to your daily life. It is the beauty of living in this country.

"The minute you start listening to the fans, you'll be sitting next to them" - Marv Levy. I personally love Thurman's FU to the media - especially the local "media" that have to justify their existence by continually tyring to divide the team that puts money in their pocket.

Let's stop the nonsense that last year's Bills defense was the 85 Bears. They were not a good defense - let's remember the Raiders game at the end of the season - couldn't stop a thing. Some of you need to find a new team to constantly criticize.

I don't ignore the HORRIBLE majority of the first half that EJ had against the JAGS - but I choose to focus on the above average second half he had in leading them back to the lead in the game. There are alot of good QB's that have a bad half in games. It's why the game has two halves. EJ did enough to lose the game - BUT he also did enough to win the game.

Josh johnson is active tonight because he played for the Jets and Rex goes out of his way to motivate former team members/players from the local area. It is not an indictment on EJ. Rex does not plan on Tyrod going down - otherwise EJ would be in there. This says more about health of Tyrod. Some of you need to STFU about EJ. He would have been just as responsible for producibg a win against the Jags had the defense held and then you would have had nothing to talk about. Get a damn life and move on to next topic.

Sorry - you are correct.

Just clarifying that the center was in fact Alex Kupper (third string) not Urbik - I noticed a few people mention this. Urbik looked good to me and should be a very capable backup Center this year. I agree about EJ - but also want to add that I was REALLY impressed by Frank Miller at G. He was at RG all first half and into third quarter with EJ (Kuojo was RT in 2-3 quarter). Anyways - almost every major run was either behind him or he pulled to clear a path. Great night from the rookie IMO.

Winston also had 65 TD's to go with his 28 Int. For comparison: Winston - FSU Career: 851 Pass Attempts, 65 TD 28 Int. Jim Kelly - UM Career: 676 Pass Attempts, 33 TD 28 Int.

Thought I would share a few observations from the scrimmage tonight: 1. That was one of the biggest crowds that I have ever seen at Bills camp. People were everywhere and the line to get in wrapped from the entrance down the campus road, along East Ave and all the way to the park n ride. Line moved relatively quick - but there were a lot of people. 2. EJ had a good night, obviously had the TD to Brown (also could have had a wide open TD on the same play to Nick O'Leary who had broke clear on a wheel route on the other side of the field) but he looked more comfortable and in command of the field. As already reported he had an absolute laser to Hogan and should have had another big throw but Goodwin dropped a ball placed perfectly. He did have a few bad throws -- one behind woods and another that he skipped off the turf to a receiver - but these throws didn't overshadow the fact he had the biggest arm and best composure of the night. On the QB bootleg he had one of the best fake handoffs I have ever seen - as the entire defense followed the RB. As far as the botched handoff, Brown needs to share in that exchange - as he initially went the opposite way than EJ. 3. It is really hard to evaluate Tyrod Taylor because the guy drops back, makes an initial read and then looks to run. I do not know if he is doing as coached but I have to think the coaches would rather have throws on tape to make a better decision vs. his improvised runs. The guy seems to be elusive, but his run first mentality is a little worrisome. He has made his share of nice throws (usually on the run) as well as bad throws when in the pocket. 4. Cassel didn't do much to stand out. Seems to be a player with the lowest ceiling and weakest arm. He did make one very nice throw - the rest were shorter, high percentage stuff. 5. Cyrus Kouandjio really struggled today. He got beat like a drum on several occasions against Corbin Bryant. His biggest problems were against speed and finesse moves. he just had no answer. When he was able to anchor against a power move or run block he fared much better. Based solely on tonight (there's a lot of preseason to go) I would say Henderson is the choice for starting RT. 6. DT/ DE Bryant had a solid night. 7. RB Karlos Williams impressed. Hit the holes quickly and runs physical. Think he might have had a fumble though. He flashed quite a bit throughout the night and looked like second best back on the field after McCoy. 8. Bryce Brown scares the hell out of me. I want to like him, but every time he gets the ball I seem to wonder if he will fumble. 9. Nick O'Leary started out a bit shaky - did not provide adequate blocking on at least 3 occasions, but did improve throughout the night and had a couple nice catches - and as I said above could have had a TD on a wheel route that EJ missed and went to Bryce Brown instead. 10. Whether due to injuries or scheme - Roman used two tight end sets a lot tonight. Many times, the second TE was used as an H-back and blocker. This is an area that O'Leary will need to improve if he wants to make the 53 (I'm pulling for him). Gragg had a decent night catching - I didn't really notice the other TE's much.

So I too am reading many conflicting reports about last night's session -- but as I was in attendance, let me throw in my two cents: EJ had the best night out of the three QB's, followed by Taylor and Cassel. In my opinion, EJ throws the nicest deep ball, Cassel has the most consistent accuracy on short-intermediate routes and Taylor throws best on the run. In what amounts to nothing, Taylor also was the only QB who actually managed to lob the ball into the top of the garbage can in the end zone on their fade-route practices. (Each QB had maybe 6-7 attempts - Taylor had one go in and several bounce near target, Cassel had several bounce near target, EJ had a couple and Simms had virtually none anywhere near target -- until the end when he drilled the ball into a side hole). The "play of the night" as being "reported," when Taylor scrambled out and hit Watkins for a "score," would never have happened in the game because he either would have been sacked or threw it away -- a blitzing defender was in his face and pulled up. Still, it was a very impressive throw on the run -- and Sammy did make a nice move on Gilmore. I was mostly watching the QB's throughout practice and disagree with the reports of EJ struggling early. In the drills against air, most of EJ's throws were on the money. While all of them did fairly well, I would say Cassel was off the most. Once the contested portion began, EJ did have a lousy throw that Rambo should have intercepted hands down. Watkins looked like an absolute stud and Woods looked very good as well. One interesting note that I came away with -- on the WR/CB one on one drills, it looked to me like they were working on having the WR's get off cleanly -- because the CB's were up close and pressing the whole time (as well as a good amount of jamming the receiver). This lead to alot of of the more inexperienced WR's having a difficult time breaking cleanly and led to a fair amount of incompletions by all the QB's. On a final note -- though I am labeled an FSU homer by many on the board -- I honestly do not care who wins the QB job this year -- as I finally feel we have a capable coaching staff that will make a decision based on the best player we have. Last season, I had no confidence in Moron or his in-over-his-head side kick Hackett. I thought EJ was put in a terrible, no-win situation -- and am extremely pissed that we have probably the only third-year rookie QB in the game. While I hope EJ emerges as the QB (as I think it is in our best long-term interest if he is capable), I don't mind if Cassel or Taylor emerges. Therefore -- my opinion is hopefully unbiased. I did think it was appropriate to comment on my observation about EJ last night -- because reading Joe B. and Matthew Fairburn (who I normally like)'s assessment made me wonder if we were at the same practice. Looking forward to Saturday night!

Whatever man -- the amount of "relevant info" posts that you have seen fit to bring to the attention of this board is clearly one-sided against Winston. I like your "don't shoot the messenger" act. Hope you get another buffalo underneath your avatar for all the hard work in re-posting other people's opinions.