Training Camp 8-4-2012

[sven233]

Hey everyone. I haven't done this in a while, but I went to Training Camp today for the first time this year and wanted to share some quick observations. I won't get too in depth because you can find a lot of other reports out there with all the details, but I thought I would share a couple of quick thoughts:

 

- It was extremely warm out there today. I know it was in the mid 90s officially today, so it was definitely into the triple digits on the field. There was a slight breeze, but still very warm.

 

- I have been so excited for football season to get here. I always am. I know I am one of the few that just love everything...every part of the season and off-season. I love the Preseason!!!! Yeah...that's right... I love watching the young guys and the competition for jobs. I can't get enough. But with that said, I haven't been this ready for football to get here in a very long time. This defense had me excited just on paper. Now, seeing this d-line in person......let's just say that things look a bit different.

 

- While I am not going to go into the details of every play, let me just offer a few things in general. Fitz looked pretty good out there. He was decisive and went to the right place with the ball most of the time. He did have a couple throws that were brutal, but for the most part, he looked sharp.

 

- As good as Fitz looked, out back-ups...not so much. Thigpen had the back-up reps today with VY getting the 3rd team reps. While both had a few nice throws, they were as bad as have been reported for the most part.

 

- Fred Jackson was given the day off (at least from team work) so Spiller and Choice got a majority of the reps. Not worried about the RB position.

 

- Stevie Johnson was also given the day off, so it was interesting to watch the other guys work. With Nelson also out again, a lot of the other guys had a chance to shine. Hagan looked like the best of the bunch today. Had a nice TD in front of Gilmore on a great back-shoulder throw by Fitz. Impossible to defend that throw when done right. Jones was OK. He was what he has been. Easley has everything you want in a WR.....size, speed....you name it. Remains to be seen if he can take the physical gifts and turn them into something.

 

- Now.....onto the defense. This is where things start to get exciting. Let's just say that our new D-Line almost has to be seen in person to appreciate the size, speed and athleticism they have. It has been a long time since I have seen a Bills line look like this. Williams, Dareus, Williams, and Anderson.....I CAN'T FREAKING WAIT.

 

- Mario Williams.....We haven't had a guy like this on our D-line in years. Since Bruce. He is an animal. The line looks completely different just looking at them lining up with him at LE. He swapped sides a few times today, so I would expect him to be moved around a little bit this year.

 

- Dareus......MARK MY WORDS RIGHT NOW. Dareus is going to be the best player we have on our D-Line this year. His stats may not say it because of the position he plays, but this guy will be un-blockable at times this year. Playing with this front 4, he will be dominant this year.

 

- Kyle Williams....Had a great day today. Had his leg wrapped, but regardless......he was a force today. In the backfield a lot.

 

- Mark Anderson....His first step is lightning fast. Don't be surprised if his stats look great this year. With teams having to focus on the other 3 guys, he will have a lot of 1 on 1 opportunities. He will make some plays.

 

- Shawne Merriman......Well, here we go. I have to be very careful here. It would be very easy to get ahead of myself here. What can I say right now....he looks great. And I'm not just saying that. He really looked great. He looked a like a completely different player out there than what we saw for 6 games last year. He had burst off the edge, showed great speed and power. It was almost strange to see. He looked like he could really impact this defense this year. I am actually very excited to see how he looks in game action. Whether or not he will stay healthy is anyone's guess, but he looked great today. Couldn't believe it at times.

 

- Gilmore....Up and down day today. Had a pick-6. Got beat by Hagan a couple times. You can definitely see the talent this kid has. He will be special and is far and away our best CB.

 

- Speaking of CBs.....if McGee makes this team I will be stunned. He has definitely hit the wall. Looks slow in the drills and was getting beat by the 2nd team. Not only that, but after every play, he would almost limp back to the huddle with his head down. I know he restructurer his contract, but with the money he is making, I just don't see how he is worth keeping unless they want that Vet presence back there.

 

There is a lot more I could get into, but I am sure most have heard it or seen it in other reports. But there are a couple more notes I have to make.

 

- Brian Moorman hit the biggest punt I have ever seen in my life today. Standing at about his own 20 or so, he booted a punt that went through the opposite endzone......IN THE FREAKING AIR!!!!!!!!! Doing the math, the put traded about 85 yards IN THE AIR!!!!! He was with a slight breeze, but still. It was unreal.

 

- There is a completely different vibe at camp. Everyone is competing. Yeah, most guys probably hate practicing, but one of the coolest things I saw today was after a first team rep. Mario Williams was out on the field and was supposed to come off for Mark Anderson (who was on the 1st team today, but had the previous rep off). Well, Mario didn't want to come off the field when Anderson came running to the field to sub in. Well, after a short discussion, they actually played ROCK-PAPER-SCISSORS to see who would get to stay on and take the next rep. Anderson won the game and took the rep, but I thought that was really cool that both guys WANTED TO BE ON THE FIELD FOR PRACTICE!!!! In 100 degree heat on top of that!!!! It was pretty cool. Everyone wants to compete. Even the top guys want every rep they can.

 

So, to sum up the day, it was a solid day of practice for the team. Both sides of the ball had their moments, but I can't wait to see this defense go live and get after someone. It is going to be something special to see. If this team can stay healthy, I'm telling you.....WATCH OUT. This is a different football team. The D-Line is gonna be dominant. If the offense can score enough points, this team will play with anyone. They don't have to score 30 points a game. They just have to be solid and we will be in the mix this year with a chance to do something special.

 

 

I did take some photos of camp today. If anyone wants to check them out, they can be seen here in my Facebook album:

 

 

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.4468724685658.2178138.1516074644&type=1&l=5938c3c8b8

 

LET'S GO BILLS!!!!

Edited August 5, 2012 by sven233

[San Jose Bills Fan]

Just awesome work, Sven!!!

 

You articulated something I had kinda been feeling which is that all of our starting defensive linemen (all 6 of them) have completely different playing styles and I love that. They are all very distinctly different from each other.

 

Also I would advise others to click on your link and view the photos… all 103 of them. Interesting that Aaron Williams was covering Scott Chandler in 7 on 7s.

 

Thanks very much, Sven. Great Job!!!

 

Photo #54: Michael Jasper and Mario Williams conversing.

[#34fan]

Great post! Thanks for the run-down.

[San Jose Bills Fan]

Picture #81: First team O-line vs first team D-line.

[ajzepp]

Thanks, Svenster!!!

[ICanSleepWhenI'mDead]

. . . Well, after a short discussion, they actually played ROCK-PAPER-SCISSORS to see who would get to stay on and take the next rep. Anderson won the game and took the rep . . .

First, thanks for the report. But don't keep us in suspense - - did Anderson win with Rock, Paper or Scissors? Everybody knows you're not supposed to run with Scissors, so I'm guessing it was Rock or Paper.

[ganesh]

 

I did take some photos of camp today. If anyone wants to check them out, they can be seen here in my Facebook album:

 

 

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.4468724685658.2178138.1516074644&type=1&l=5938c3c8b8

 

LET'S GO BILLS!!!!

 

Thanks for the awesome update....Living 10K miles away, it was fantastic to get this great a description of the TC. Thanks.

[jwhit34]

I was at practice Sat. too, here's what I'd agree with:

 

1. Fitz looked very good, his accuracy is more consistent.

 

2. The first team D-line is as advertised.

 

3. Gilmore is the real deal. I watched him a lot in 7-on-7 and he smothers the receivers. I wish I would have gotten a chance to see him work against Stevie Johnson.

 

4. The Moorman punt was great - I think McKelvin backpedaled so much in ended up hitting him in the head out of the end zone.

 

5. McGee is done. It was sad, he got beat bad in 7-on-7s a few times and right after that he was just standing on the sidelines or on the stationary bike and looked totally defeated. I felt so bad for him, you couldn't see his face but you could tell he was very dejected.

 

I wouldn't agree with:

 

1. Merriman. I tried watching him and he really didn't do anything. Comparing him strictly size-wise with the other DEs, I thought of Maybin. I hope it was just situational but I walked away thinking the best to hope for from him is 10-15 plays where he rushes the passer and records a few sacks.

 

2. I liked what Donald Jones did. He's not the deep threat they need but he runs good routes and made some nice catches. He and Fitz are in sync with each other.

 

Other observations:

 

1. I know Pears is out, Wood isn't taking full reps and the D-Line is really good, but I wasn't impressed with the O-Line. Hairston and Glenn have a ways to go.

 

2. If the WR group isn't Johnson, Nelson, Jones, Easley, Graham and Hagan I'll be surprised.

 

3. I was bummed that it was Thigpen's day as #2, I wanted to see Young more. Fitz is by far the best QB in camp, and Brad Smith isn't very good. He holds the ball and struggles finding open targets.

 

4. The LBs should be good enough, the way they play D the line & DBs are most important. There won't be 3 on the field for more than about 40% of the plays.

 

5. Scott Chandler looks like he's still getting better and could be an important part of the offense.

 

6. Spiller has made huge strides, he runs totally different (better) now. This will be the year people stop lamenting about picking him.

[machine gun kelly]

Thanks guys. Living in Florida I rely on your eyes and posts to hear what is happening out there. The beat reporters are fine, but your observations are excellent.

 

i've thought the same thing about Merriman's size. He'll be relief for Anderson, and can see Kelsey giving some relief to Super Mario.

[CSBill]

Thanks much, I haven't been to Training Camp in about 10 years - last time I went I got a Doug Flutie autograph, with all this excitement I'm thinking about breaking my string.

[eball]

Appreciate it, fellas! Neither of you mentioned the dropsies by the WRs John Wawrow wrote about and Gailey commented on -- are they making it sound worse than it was?

[Jerry Jabber]

Thanks for the report & pictures!!

[Hapless Bills Fan]

Hey everyone. I haven't done this in a while, but I went to Training Camp today for the first time this year and wanted to share some quick observations. I won't get too in depth because you can find a lot of other reports out there with all the details, but I thought I would share a couple of quick thoughts:

 

- Speaking of CBs.....if McGee makes this team I will be stunned. He has definitely hit the wall. Looks slow in the drills and was getting beat by the 2nd team. Not only that, but after every play, he would almost limp back to the huddle with his head down. I know he restructurer his contract, but with the money he is making, I just don't see how he is worth keeping unless they want that Vet presence back there.

 

 

Thanks for the great writeup and the great pictures.

 

One Q: what about the "dropsies" by the WR that Chan has gone on about?

 

Maybe I'm just living up to my name here, but I think it's early to write off McGee. Having come back myself from a slightly different knee injury and watched a very competitive amateur cyclist come back, the root problem here is he needs another month, perhaps 2. He's slow because he's running on 1 leg. He's 8 months into rehab on an injury that can take 10 months to heal.

 

Unlike proven starters like Stevie, Woods, Pears, Williams and Merriman, whom the Bills are coddling, the Bills are putting him in the bad situation of having to compete. And he knows he can't right now. Who wouldn't be bummed?

 

We don't have that much veteran depth. Hopefully he is living in an ice pack off the field and continuing with his overall rehab, and like Nix says the goal is 9 Sept. If he shows enough willingness to hurt (that's an awkward way to put it), and is progressing, I think we keep him for proven veteran depth.

 

As with Vince Young, give him time. He's got another month.

[San Jose Bills Fan]

Appreciate it, fellas! Neither of you mentioned the dropsies by the WRs John Wawrow wrote about and Gailey commented on -- are they making it sound worse than it was?

I thought the dropsies episode happened on Friday.

[The Poojer]

Another awesome report. Thanks so much for thinking of us and giving us your observations

[uncle flap]

Thanks for the write-ups!

 

It's good to hear from different perspectives because there's so much going on there, there is always something that one guy picks up on and another guy misses. Or even just different interpretations of the same thing.

 

When you read the reports from the "professionals," you notice they all key on the same things, as if there is a script for reporters. It's usually echoing something that the coaches say, so that the reporters don't have to go out on a limb.

 

EDIT: I realize reporters will ask questions to support/expand upon what they saw at practice, so I'm not claiming there's some kind of conspiracy, I'm just saying most reports don't vary much within the day... What we've been getting here is more well-rounded, honest, and without any type of agenda.

Edited August 5, 2012 by uncle flap

[Fan in San Diego]

Thanks for the report. Cant wait for the regular season to see the defense wreak havoc.

[Wooderson]

Some things I'll add that I saw. Offense was throwing a lot of back shoulder throws with much success. Basically the only time Gilmore was beat was on a back shoulder throw.

 

I agree with OP, McGee looked done. Seemed slow and definitely still hurt.

 

Dickerson is going to be an interesting player to watch. Great mismatch against safeties.

 

I thought Glenn and Hairston looked good in oline vs dline work but admittedly I didn't watch them that much in team work.

[Beerball]

Hey everyone. I haven't done this in a while, but I went to Training Camp today for the first time this year and wanted to share some quick observations. I won't get too in depth because you can find a lot of other reports out there with all the details, but I thought I would share a couple of quick thoughts:

LET'S GO BILLS!!!!

Bastard, you're making me feel giddy about the D!

 

Also thanks to jwhit34 & Wodderson for their perspectives!

[Fixxxer]

Awesome reports guys, thanks a lot for your hard work.