BillsObserver

Yes, yes, yes. I was going to start a thread about "Dates to watch" but there's no sense in it since you just summed it up. For Bills fans, keep an eye on final cut down day. Nix likes to see what comes available and snatch up a player or two. I do like that 53 man roster aside from a tweak here or there. Torbor has been standing out in camp so far, which is a surprise to me. He's probably making it. Even though he's likely a solid special teams contributor, I'm not of a Corto fan. I can do without him.

Like I've been saying all along, get me to September 11th in Kansas City with him healthy and THAT'S when I'm freakin' pumped beyond belief.

No disrespect but lets not act like every move the Eagles make is amazing. I like Ronnie Brown and all but if he was THAT good, why was he still available? Very reminiscent of any transaction the Patriots make.

At least this means we can go 2-4 in the division!

Moats looked like he's starting to feel a bit more comfortable with the ILB position. I saw him in on a few run plays. Batten looked even better. I want to temper my enthusiasm but he's regaining that 2010 training camp form he had before the injury. I just heard Paul Hamilton on the radio and he reminded me of something regarding Jasper. During the drills where you run around the dummies and finish off tackling the last one, Jasper would do the drill and just KILL the last one by landing on it with full force or just smash it as hard as he could. This often caused some laughter and "Oooohs" from the crowd. Not sure if this was for show or Jasper going all out on drills. And thanks again for the comments, I'll be attending a bunch more so I'll post more reports whenever I go.

He bullrushed a few guys a couple of plays. He was also stopped at the line 2 times but I believe one of those times he was double teamed. From my viewpoint, which wasn't always the best, he seemed real confident with his bullrush. Not too much to note because he didn't get a lot of reps today. And in the captain obvious department, this guy really is as big as advertised. He made the other big guys on the team look small. It was hilarious seeing him next to the water guys and coaches. He was one of the first few guys to hit the field.

Thanks, man. I appreciate that!

I didn't see any reports for today's camp so I thought I'd put mine up. This is nowhere near the detail Michael Thomas provides in his report, but I hope you enjoy anyway: August 1st Camp Notes I attended my first Buffalo Bills training camp of the year at St. John Fisher College in Pittsford, NY. It ran from 3 to 5:30pm. It was pretty damn hot out there. Kind of a light crowd out there today which is what I prefer. I made a mistake when I first arrived assuming they would be practicing on the longer field (which they've done in years past) but I was wrong. They did the majority of the practice on the split fields. I assume it has to do with the turf. Anyways, lets get to fine points of the day... Levi Brown had a pretty brutal day -- misfiring and throwing near picks like you wouldn't believe. Josh Nesbitt, who was playing the role of QB today (until Brad Smith and Thigpen can participate, which is August 4th) was just as bad. No wonder this guy is listed as a DB. Kyle Williams was a big time disruption, consistently getting in the backfield. Dareus eating up double teams will make Kyle Williams into an even bigger star this year. Dwan Edwards, a guy who I almost forgot about, had a few nice plays including batting down a Fitzpatrick pass (something he's vulnerable to) that led to a Shawne Merriman pick. Well, at least I think it was an interception. Edwards was having a strong year prior to his injury last year. Here's to hoping he can bounce back from his injury. Maybin looked tiny next to Merriman. This shouldn't matter so much to me but it does. He did show some speed on a run play, tracking down the RB (can't remember who it was) Johnny White, running back from North Carolina, physically resembles Marion Barber. He runs like him too. This guy could contribute this season if he can get some carries which will be a tough task with the Bills seemingly ready to put CJ Spiller in a feature role, next to Fred Jackson. Geoff Hangartner looked small next to his fellow linemates. Andy Levitre, on the other hand, looked bigger than ever. Oh and I noticed the new haircut and mustache. Donald Jones, a surprise contributor from last season, made some nice plays today in his limited time on the field. This guy has some serious speed. Reggie Corner came off the PUP list and made a nice play today. He's had a forgettable tenure with the Bills thus far. May have a tough time making the team this year with the new additions. Shawne Merriman made some nice plays again today. That would make it a few days in a row of looking good for him. We just need him to stay healthy. If I see him starting on September 11th against the Chiefs, I'll be excited. This guy seems to have all the tools to be a player but can he keep that Achilles healthy? Fitzy made some nice, tight short throws today. The long ball was a bit off again today although he did throw a beautiful 50 yard bomb to Stevie Johnson who was double covered but had a chance to make the catch. Perfect placement of the ball on Fitzy's behalf. Lots of short throws and screen passes today.. Did I mention how awful Levi was? Sorry, nothing personal Levi, it's just that I expected better. I can't wait to see what Tyler Thigpen can do. Please be better than what I saw out of our backups today. I'm still trying to adjust to McKelvin and CJ Spiller's number switch. Read the rest here. Or not.

Yes. Troup mentioned in a recent interview that he sensed his weakness was his core last season. He often felt like he no leverage when he was double teamed. He worked on it a TON this off-season. Hope it works for him this season.. seems like a real good dude

I agree with your assessment -- spot on, I just don't think they have been on "a lot" of people's minds. Carrington and Troup developing to the level we hope for, would provide depth we've been lacking on the D side for a long time. Carrington is a big, big guy and if he can piece it together, he could become a valuable asset for us. Troup as well, but it'll be hard to unseat Kyle Williams or Dareus (even though he hasn't played a down, he looks to be their guy from Day 1).

2nd round pick Torell Troup and 3rd round pick Alex Carrington. It's like people have completely forgotten about these guys. Maybe they don't generate much interest due to playing on the D line or because they really don't say much OR because they just haven't produced yet. Either way, these guys are EXPECTED to be solid contributors to our defense and I'm sure Buddy is expecting some of that contribution to come this season. Both were drafted as projects and treated as such last season. I was at today's practice and noticed Troup a bit more. Chris Brown said "he had the best move of the day with a nice swim move on a center to get to the QB target." He also praised Carrington for beating someone clean. Now this doesn't really mean much until the games start but I think it's interesting that so much attention and PRESSURE is being put on this year's draft class and not many folks are thinking about Troup and Carrington's development. Me personally, I expect a lot out of these two this year. If I don't see much, that will be a big disappointment. Carrington is a beast at 6'5. Troup, based on his tweets, worked his butt off this offseason, working out just about every day talking about wanting to be great this season. Obviously the Bills drafting Dareus certainly changed Troup's role a bit. I'm just curious to see how this year goes for them. So far, the expectations seem pretty low.

I was going to start a thread about this so everyone could see it but I'll post it here hoping you all, who complain about WGR, will give this is a chance. Nick Mendola and Brad Riter just posted a podcast that talks a lot about the Bills. The first few minutes talks about their departure from WECK so if you're not into that, skip ahead a few minutes. After that, there's some very interesting Bills discussion, like the idea that Fitzy isn't the worst QB in the league (sorry Schopp, he's not) and so forth.. I highly recommend it if you're looking for an alternative to WGR. Here's the direct link

Good for you man. Despite all of the negativity, I'm still pumped for this season.

I read about one line of it before I posted. My bad.

Please just quit the board.

I like the move. Perfect back-up to my boy Fitzy.

The original poster is trying to prove his point by saying the Bills HAVE TO START HIM BECAUSE OF HIS CONTRACT EXTENSION while not acknowledging how little of that contract is guaranteed. It's simply not the case. If (big if) things shake out like I expect, Kelsay will be the guy rotating in as a backup and I'm cool with that.

I LOVE THIS PICK.

This guy is a player.

Having Big Ben certainly helps.

haha I LOVE the facts.

I hope you are right. I do believe that Ralph trusts Nix to some extent. The fact they spent some money signing Wannstedt is a great sign. The fact they snatched Doug Whaley from the great Steelers organization is a great sign. I am excited for the future. But we really need a strong draft to erase the failures of past drafts (even last years). A few free agents are critical to our development as a team. We can't keep relying on undrafted guys. Get 'er done, Buddy!!

LOVE the move. The Bills are making moves real teams make. LETS KEEP THIS UP, BUDDY AND CHAN!

The Bears bore the PISS out of me. If they make the Bowl, it'll partially ruin the game for me. PACKERS ALL THE WAY. As for the AFC, if the Jets are going to talk trash more and make the game even more interesting, I wouldn't mind that. I also wouldn't mind seeing the Steelers do their thing. Big Ben is one of the premier post-season QBs so it wouldn't surprise me if the Steelers beat the Jets. Just as long as the Packers win, I'll be happy.

NOBODY is better than Fitzbeardy.