Astrobot Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 (edited) Shout-Out to RSXFirestorm (sp) who came down to introduce himself and say thanks. Very gratifying. Must have been my Winfield 26 jersey with the silver duct tape over the nameplate saying ASTROBOT that gave me away! Warm sunny day at SJF with 1/4 of the crowd here for Monday night or Sunday. They used the new grass field. No Kolb, Choice fully participated, Hairston was in pads today and peripherally participated in position drills, then did situps, slides, backpedals real slowly, etc with a trainer. I'd guess he's about 60%. Chandler dressed and for the first time I saw no compression sleeve--good news. Elliott still has the sling. He was doing sprints from sideline to sideline for a while. Zach Brown was not in pads, so Gaskins and Choice are your RB's battling for the 3 spot right now. In positional drills, the DBs worked on tackles, backpedals, then 3 on 8 pass coverage. Defensive Linemen did side-to-side running, WRs were thrown the ball as they ran toward the passer, then did cuts through cones. RBs were dragging an anchor-like weight as they ran, then worked with the QBs on handoffs, then ran through a rack of foam arms in securing the ball. OL did drive blocking, then 2-on-1 blocking using blocking pads. QBs did footwork then handoffs to the RB, then did passing to WRs on the stadium field. LBs worked on taking the right angle to the RB, then allowed the RB to make cuts so LBs could adjust. Again, I don't recall seeing this much work, or these drills, in my last 8 years here. Two things I noted that our QBs need in future drills: (1) work on getting the receiver the ball right when they make their cut. Receivers are standing there for a 1/2 second before the pass is made. (2) QBs need a drill where they look at the non-intended receiver before making their pass. There is some staring with both, but EJ made a leap today in going through progressions, which I'll get to. Electronic boards at either end of the field display "Period" and "Time Remaining" (again, never seen in camp before). All coaches know what their group is going to do for each of the 14-16 Periods. Period 6 begins the actual fun part of practice. Today, it began with 5 on 5 (2 or 3 DL plus LB vs. 2-3 WRs and QB and sometimes RB). Kyle Williams may play DE more than DT, and it suits him. Dareus occasionally didn't release himself from the blocker, allowing the run to go through his gap. Blatnick continued to shine. Moats shed bloackers very well, and of course Alonso and Moats love creating havoc out there. Neither are afraid of contact to be sure. Mario isn't full go you can tell, but he's out there doing the right thing. Carrington has one gear for practice or game--love his effort. Period 7 was 11 on 11. I see Welch in at LT and Sam Young at RT, and Young does a good job holding off Blatnick. The DL is Dareus, Carrington, K-Williams and Manny Lawson. EJ hands off to Spiller; I'm watching Gilmore cover Woods right in his back pocket. Gilmore and Sherman from Seattle are my early picks for Pro Bowl. A WR (TJ?) sucks Aaron Williams to his L, allowing Spiller to run to his R. EJ throws to Chandler for 7-8 yards and Chandler looks full go. CJ rips off 30 yards going off LG. Hogan goes to the ground to make a neat 15 yard catch. He's my #8 on the depth chart. Brad Smith mis-catches a pass yet again, but they go right back to him on a screen to the other side but for no gain. I will not be surprised (and will be relieved) if Smith is not on the final 53. A pass deep to Da'Rick Rogers was one step too long. Gilmore was right on him, but the ball was placed so that if anyone was going to get it, it would have been Rogers. Both QBs are good at that. Sack on the next play thanks to Williams and Williams. Tuel's in, but there's a bad hike on the next play. Could have sworn it was Chris Scott but I doubt he'd be the OC. Drew Smith misses a good pass; to me he's the waived RB. They're fixing Choice's helmet in the middle of the field as punt practice from the back of the end zone begins. Stahovich wins today's punt battle, with kicks from back of the end zone. Powell had a lame quail caught on the 35 on the same side of the field; 2 others went to the 45, and one went to the far 45 (65 yds.). Stahovich was consistently in the 50-65 yd. range. Nickell Robey dropped his long punt. Both punters had to run one out of bounds (never saw that before). Period 9 was 7 on 7. They are actually calling plays in the huddle for the first time, but still it's brisk.Robey redeemed himself by coming up super-quick on a swing pass to Freddy. EJ then went to Woods for 10, (and this is important) went through 3 progressions with his eyes nice and quick, then took off on a keeper for 15. EJ handed off to Gaskins, who went up the middle for a nice gain. Tuel came in and disappointed me. He held on to the ball for too long, and was Trented for a 5 yard loss. His next pass play was better, Easley for a long one was tackled by Heath and Ellis. A pass to Sampson and Da'Rick Rogers ended his turn. EJ passed with good velocity to Goodwin, immeditely touched by Ron Brooks (not writing his name enough). EJ again made 3 reads and took off with Searcy tackling him. EJ went to HOgan on an underneath route. Tuel looked at his target too long and Kip Edwards and Duke Williams closed in. Tuel responded to adversity with a bomb to Easley (best pass-catch combo of the morning) for 40+ yards and to KAufman for 20 yds. Period 11 was a 14-minute 11 on 11 session. Carrington shone on the first play, flushing EJ so that he ran smack dab into Dareus. I think both EJ and Dareus were both surprised. The next pass hit Dareus in the helmet. EJ ran for 5 on the next play, but Pears couldn't find his man to block. PEars has been pretty reliable. EJ found Woods on a quick out for the first down, then CJ runs for 15, but CJ carried it to the end zone and got a cheer (his birthday Mon.). EJ to TJ on a slant-in from the left side went for more because of a sweet spin move from TJ (best move of the day). Gaskins carries it up the middle for a few, then Brad Smith re-secures his #6 spot on my depth chart with back-to-back catches. He doesn't disappoint me, though, as he mis-catches EJ's pass on the left sideline due to poor footwork (no base to spring up for the pass). Marquise Goodwin, my #4WR, almost makes the catch of the morning for a 50 yarder vs. Crezdon Butler, but it's off his fingertips. The 11 on 11 finishes with Gaskins rumbling upfield for 20. Still like him better than Choice for the #3 spot. He has 28 pounds on Choice. Neither of them is particularly fast, but I'd feel better with a more substantial back behind a lightning guy Spiller and an aging Fred. Period 12 was Kickoffs. Your gunners were Da'Rick, Nickell, Kip Edwards and Woods. Kaufman and Sampson were the fastest to the KR, Kip Edwards and Unamba were slowest. Second group's gunners were Rolle, Ellis, Searcy and Sinkfield, and this time the gunners Sinkfield and Ellis were fastest to the KR, and Izaan Cross was slowest. TJ Graham was today's best returner; he reads blocks ahead of him the best. Brad Smith is 2nd, and Goodwin was disappointing. Your brick in the middle is Jay Ross; he's a blocker with attiude. TJ Heath impressed me in coverage, and Da'Rick showed great effort on ST. Period 13 I looked at blocking on the O-line, as it is a concern of mine. From L to R they had Welch, Urbik, Wood, Cordy Glenn, and Pears (A guy I was sitting with said they are trying Cordy out as a swing, and don't read too much into it). Stars in the drill were Spiller and Kaufman, who caught a 40-yarder from Tuel. Defensively Unamba stopped Goodwin for no gain on an out pattern. Legursky did well at OG, Antoine Caldwell the new Guard saw his first action and looked quite good, and Zebrie Sanders moved his man further and stayed on his man longer than either of them. He's not quick, but if he locks on you, you're out of the play. The other new thing I noticed is that Spiller and Freddy were in at the same time in the backfield. The new OL is Welch-Cordy-Wood-Urbik-Pears, Graham on the outside with BRad Smith in the slot next to him (remember that'll be Stevie), and Woods over on the right end. Chandler's the TE. See you right here tomorrow! Hopefully Friday night I can meet up with several of you who've said you're coming. Message me and we'll make arrangements. Astro Edited August 7, 2013 by Astrobot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gugny Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 Thanks, Astro. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BringBackFergy Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 Astro - nice notes. Interesting to see how your notes from the first few days of practice compare to now as it relates to EJ's improvement. I think you are describing rapid improvement which is nice to know. Also enjoy reading how Moats and Alonso are animals. Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eball Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 Ranks, Rastro! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billshank Redemption Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 do you think you could throw us a depth chart of your own based on your observations? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canadian Bills Fan Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 Thanks Astro! I guess there is nothing worth noting regarding the kicking competition? CBF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eball Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 According to Marrone, EJ has gotten about 100 more snaps as a result of Kolb's absence. I love it -- the more practice the better. Kolb's got an unbelievably uphill battle to try and win the starting job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canadian Bills Fan Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 According to Marrone, EJ has gotten about 100 more snaps as a result of Kolb's absence. I love it -- the more practice the better. Kolb's got an unbelievably uphill battle to try and win the starting job. I agree. EJ would have to be terrible in order to lose the starting job CBF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Miner Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 Is Kolb still out due to the death in the family or his knee? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bangarang Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 Is Kolb still out due to the death in the family or his knee? Family. He'll return Thursday night and will be evaluated by the doctor. That will determine whether or not he plays this weekend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry Jabber Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 Thanks again Astro! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nucci Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 I agree. EJ would have to be terrible in order to lose the starting job CBF I want him to start also but let's see some game action first Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bonechiller Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 Thanks for the awesome updates Astro! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yungmack Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 Excellent! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrags Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 Thanks Astro Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDH Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 Much appreciated astro, I look forward to your reports. I imagine reports so comprehensive take lots of time to do. It shows. Thanks! A question: when you say "mis-catches" do you mean drops? I'm assuming so but just wanted to check. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astrobot Posted August 7, 2013 Author Share Posted August 7, 2013 According to Marrone, EJ has gotten about 100 more snaps as a result of Kolb's absence. I love it -- the more practice the better. Kolb's got an unbelievably uphill battle to try and win the starting job. I think his battle is now for #3 or a spot on the Bills. Tuel is profiting from his absence, and throws an accurate deep ball. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chandler#81 Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 Thanks so much, Astro! Outstanding reporting! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDH Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 I think his battle is now for #3 or a spot on the Bills. Tuel is profiting from his absence, and throws an accurate deep ball. I'm not so sure about that. th preseason games will have more of a bearing on the pecking order than practices and scrimmage. If Kolb plays well he could very well start. I also don't see the Bills having tuel in the #2 spot as they'd likely want the experience of Kolb coming off the bench if needed. Last thing you want to do is bring a rookie off the bench nonchalant been getting many practice reps once the season has started. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Poojer Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 thanks Astro, love the reports... one note i read this morning, EJ was the first player on the practice at 7.55 AM, this kid just seems to be constantly doing the 'right things' ' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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