Astro-Notes Day 2: Satuday 8-1-15

[VanCity]

Thanks Astro. This report is the highlight of the day!

[NickelCity]

Suburb notes. Always look forward to these.

[Buffalo Barbarian]

Another sunny day in Ra-Cha-Cha. I met @GIFF who was tweeting the whole practice, along with his son Christian, who really knows running backs; I picked his brain about the upcoming crop. His analysis of Karlos Williams was spot on: one-cut runner, great mass x acceleration, good complement to McCoy, runs too upright at times (heck, he even stands in the backfield too upright).

 

Players out of the dressing room firstWoods and Hogan, Matt Cassel and O'Leary. Woods was walking over hurdles placed closely together (what a stretch hat gives your hamstrings and sartorius muscles), and Hogan was over at the JUGS machine with Andre Reed. Love that Andre is here, and this year. The WR class is too deep; some quality receivers are going to be looking for work. Watkins was next on the JUGs, occasionally playing (catching the passes one-handed, trying to catch and tip them into a waiting laundry basket), while Hogan had been all business.

 

Session one: Calisthenics was done first both days so far. This is unlike any of the camps I've been to where teams would limber up with easy sessions first before stretching. I could see Carpenter and BJ Larsen on the sidelines. Ronald Darby eschewed the red knee sox for a much more conservative blue ankle sock, which relieves me.

 

Session two was a kick drill while gunners worked at the other end of the field on beating double-teams. Bills special teams coach Danny Cross does a lot of running around and barking. Andrew Hudson LB seemed to get the most insturction. Corey Graham made an excellent hands catch of a punt. Tobais Palmer struggled to catch and run twice. Thigpen juggled one. I caught Jimmy Gaines not running full tilt.

 

Session three featured RB screens left and right. Boobie Dixon is still in the mix, as his run after catch was beautiful. The QBs went on to do handoff fakes. Grading them, I'd put Tyrod's and Manuel's fakes above Cassel, and light years ahead of Simms. Tyrod did two fake handoffs and pretended to hide the ball, while EJ just executed two fake handoffs, neglecting to hide the ball at the end. Simms' fakes were too frantic and Cassel, whose fake handoffs were a strength in KC, was less-convincing. Advantage Tyrod by a hair.

 

Goodwin's stock went down today for me. He ran the beginning of a fly route at less than top speed, then turned on the jets when he saw EJ's pass was further than he perhaps expected. He made the choice to run fast too late, and he missed. He was pissed. Watkins made a few graceful over-the-shoulder catches so effortless that it was like breathing. Andre Davis made a good catch, then ran the practice's most ugly route. Dexmin Lewis made a nice catch. Advantage: Watkins.

 

Session four: We next looked at the four QBs, rating them on whether the ball came out early, late, on time, or best of that series. EJ got 3 "best" grades. Cassel got 2 "best" grades, and Tyrod got one "best" grade. Simms also got one "best" grade. Advantage: EJ.

 

Next we watched how each QB evaded pressure in a sidestep drill. They did a drop, moved laterally, then stepped up to make the throw. EJ's passes were low, Cassel's were high, Tyrod's had no zip, and Simms' passes did. Advantage: Simms.

 

The QBs did throwing on the run. Cassel is the most awkward at this. To no surprise, Tyrod was the best, but EJ was also pretty good. Advantage: Tyrod.

 

When the QBs did a lot of throwing at the end of the session, we just gave them "good, best, bad, or WR dropped" grades. Manuel had 2 best, no dropped. Cassel had 2 best, 1 bad (behind the WR), Tyrod had 1 dropped, 1 best, and 2 bad passes, Simms had 0 best, one bad (behind the WR). Advantage: EJ.

 

We then graded them by timing. Cassel had over 66% of his passes coming out before the WR made his break. EJ was close behind at 60%. Simms was third in this factor with one of his passes being thrown late. Tyrod was last, with three passes of poor timing, two late and one early. Advantage: Cassel, with EJ close behind.

 

Session five: EJ was first with the ones today. The line was Glenn-Incognito-Wood-Miller-Kujo. Some highlights were an EJ long throw down the sidelines, bobbled by Hogan. The pass was in the right place but 7-11 mishandled it. Simms threw on the move to Andre Davis with perfect timing. Davis got both feet down before going out of bounds. Watkins made Gilmore look stupid on a sick move, then Darby returned the favor, making Woods catch an incompletion.

 

We both felt that Darby is a clear winner out there. However, he'll need to keep asking the refs there at camp "Was that holding?" or we'll be dealing with it in games. It's right on the border of pass interference. HE showed good stuff against Justin Brown later, preventing a sure long pass.

 

Brooks seems to get hurt on every play. He challenged Caleb Holley and came up rubing his shoulder. Later, we noticed him do it two more times.

 

Dez Lewis showed some chutzpah going up with Aaron Williams on a successful deep pattern. I like him better today compared with yesterday's 2 drops.

 

Cockrell got an INT on the next play against Hogan, who was better yesterday.

 

Marcus Thigpen is having an insane camp, catching passes and hopefully his coaches' eyes. He deked Robey on a slant, giving him lots of space for the catch.

 

The WRs are being instructed to shrug off and remove the hands of the DBs if they contact them beyond the five yards. Tobais Palmer did just that, shrugging off Duke Williams and making the catch.

 

Sammy made one of his routes too complicated. There is a thread of this throughout this report. I don't think it's anything to worry about just yet.

 

Cassel's best pass of the day was a nice long pass to Andre Davis. Corey Graham was in coverage, but I didn't notice if he was S or CB on the play.

 

EJ's best play was a long one to Woods with Brooks all over him like a cheap suit.

 

Gilmore drew pass interference against Hogan on the next play. About 5 minutes later, he drew PI again.

 

EJ's worst play came on his next possession after his best play (inconsistency?), overthrowing a wide-open Caleb Holley who had gotten over the top of Rod Sweeting. He followed it up with a nice pass to Goodwin, who actually caught it despite lots of contact, but failed to make a football move before it came out. Could have been PI.

 

Duke Williams was awkwardly covering Marcus Easley, who was 2 for 3 on the day.

 

Darby had more torulbe against Harvin than Watkins. Harvin got great separation and made the easy catch.

 

Dez Lewis beat Ron Brooks and Ron looked injured again, then Cassel threw a completion to Deonte Thompson, and another to Andre Davis. Talk about WR depth.

 

Tyrod had his best work next, making a completion over Gilmore, then a nice route by Woods vs Duke Williams. We received word about now that John Miller had gone to the trainers' tent, but he was back within 10 minutes.Cyril Richardson was in for Joh Miller while he was out.

 

Session 6: 11 on 11:

Cassel was first and passed to Watkins. Darby was right with him and got the PBU, but Watkins gestured pass interference (it wasn't called by the refs). Cassel then handed off to McCoy for a bunch of yards (Side note: this man-gap blocking will be better for the type of OL that we have, moreso than zone blocking). Cassel then overthrew Harvin, who had gained 7 yards of space between himself and the defender--he's gonna be good. Randell Johnson (remember the name; he's one of my favorites) blew up the next play from an OUTSIDE linebacker position.

 

EJ was second. He threw a spot pass to Harvin, but Harvin wasn't there. Harvin made the next catch, then EJ overthrew Watkins, but he was rushed by Stefan Charles, who's looking good in relief. EJ then had MarQueis Gray drop a ball, then EJ overthrew Hogan. Darby ran stride by stride with the 4.27-speed Goodwin on a bomb, and Goodwin couldn't make the catch (yet again), and remained kneeling for a minute. This 1 for 6 stretch was EJ's darkest hour.

 

Session 7: 7-on-7:

Highlights here were

EJ's nice throw to Hogan and Woods (with Gilmore defending),

Tyrod Taylor's long throws to MarQueis Gray, Easley, and a magnificent one to Caleb Holley,

Cassel's out-pattern to Gragg, and his dumpoff pass to FredEx after 2 reads (side note: I see going through progressions the most with Cassel; this was his 3rd read, clear as day).

 

Lowlights were

EJ overthrowing an outlet pass in the flat to Karlos Williams (especially with Tyrod executing the same play perfectly on the next play) and overthrowing a pass down the middle to the equipment manager;

Tyrod holding the ball too long instead of passing it to Woods,

Session 8: 11 on 11 again.

Darby again is all over his man but Deonte Thompson made my Play of the Day with a circus catch from Cassel. Cassel throws next to Harvin who's making GillyLock a joke. Preston Brown asserts himself on defense on Cassel's next throw. Then cassel had a defining moment. He looked to Watkins, turned quickly and threw to a wide-open Woods, again picking on Gilmore.

 

Simms is up next. He fires a good shot at Andre Davis, who makes a great catch. Simms hits Justin Brown over the middle, as Brown has carved lots of room in there. Darby is getting stretched out on the sideline as the session ends. Hughes is also getting stretched, and Mario Williams is pulling his toes up behind him, then rotating the toe outwards and touching the ground behind him Try that this afternoon.

 

Tyrod goes next. Kyle Williams blows up Cordy on the first play. Tyrod bounces it to Goodwin over the middle (which doesn't count). Manny Lawson blows up the next play, a run. Preston Brown and MAnny Lawson are in there, and Darby and Gilmore are the corners. Tyrod completes one to Easley for about four.

 

Cassel throws a 20-yard completion to Woods defended by Cockrell. He hads it to Felton on the next play, and he takes it to the house. O'Leary just picked up a defender like a doll and threw him to the side. Rod Sweeting logs a PBU to end it for Cassel.

 

EJ throws to Gragg, who again drops it, but Ladler had excellent coverage. Karlos shows one of his tough inside 1-cut runs, and we marvel at his balance. EJ throws to Deonte thompson on an out pattern, and it was one of his best throws today, but Deonte Thompson is going to make this squad one way or another. The next play looks the same at first, but McCoy gets the handoff on an opposite "Wham" play. Ty notes that they're running many plays off the same initial look, and some are runs, some are screens, some are downfield, some are dumpoffs. Defenses are not going to be able to key on the look.

 

Simms comes in and overthrows Deonte on his first play, sets up a good screen but Cockrell gets the runner, then a Bryce Brown screen is very successful. Brown has moves and speed, and is built well--can we get a fourth rounder for him? Ah, well.

 

Tyrod throws to Percy, and he's wide open. Percy takes it to the house for the exercise. On the next play, he takes off (prematurely?) and runs for 15 yards. He's so shifty.

 

Cassel throws to a wide-open Percy Harvin who'd lined up in the slot, then hands off to Karlos for 5, Meeks is dancing to the music as the offense calls the play. It's Cassel to Harvin again, then Bryce Brown wih another nice zig-zaggy run.

 

EJ fakes to Karlos, then bootlegs the other way for 10 yards. EJ executes 5 different plays, all with the same look. It occurs to me this is what the whole extra 11 on 11 has been about.

 

Simms waits too long and overhtrows Woods just to get rid of it due to the pressure.

 

The practice comes to an end, with players being cheered as they leave, some staying to sign balls thrown to them, some being interviewed. But two scenes catch my eye: O'Leary, a likely member of the Final Fifty Three is over on the sidelines working with Bradham on releasing from the line of scrimmage, trying to get by Bradham. Kupper and Campbell, two guards whose only chance is PS, are out in the middle of the field practicing moves. I love this game; no matter your place on the ladder, you can always climb higher. See you tomorrow.

 

Weren't you moving to Boise?

 

Sounds like cassel did the best ... barely.

 

Do the players hate EJ, they keep dropping the ball on him?

 

O'Leary is the man, hopefully we finally get that top TE pass catcher.

Thanks astro. Better than sex. What r ur impressions of shady, does he really stand out as elite among men?

 

Sorry for your loss

Ranks, Rastro! I drew the ire of Ty Dunne on Twitter, I believe, when I questioned his early comment that EJ was horrible yesterday. He didn't know I was relying on your report!

 

Absolutely love the multiple plays out of similar looks -- this offense is going to keep defenses off balance regardless of who is behind C.

 

 

Greg is reading my mind, Id run every play out of the same formation with a guy in motion, except for certain situations.

[BringBackFergy]

Awesome. Thanks for this report. Hope to see another one on Sunday.

[Bleed Bills Blue]

Well done. Little details you notice really illuminate. Hope to hear your observations on how individual players improve on their mistakes/bad tendencies as camp progresses.

[mead107]

Fantastic job. Keep up the good work.

[Beerball]

Thank you 'stro

[MattM]

Great stuff, as always!

[WhitewalkerInPhilly]

Hey Astro, seeing Karlos Williams, and knowing Freddy's contract is over after this year, do you think we're seeing his replacement?

[Manther]

 

If I'm the Bills, I tell WGR to cut the 24/7 "EJ sucks" crap and start being fair or expect to have the plug pulled on player and coaches interviews.

 

If EJ is indeed showing the most promise of the three in camp (let's also all remember that this is a brand new offense and they are going against the NFL's #1 defense) and WGR is still trashing him then I'm reconsidering my business relationship with them. I get that they can have their opinions, but if the opinions are trumped by what's actually happening on the field then I have all the right to terminate all interviews with them.

Agree 100% AND I would especially tell Mike and the Bulldog that they will be losing their jobs soon if they don't change. Also, Mike and the Bulldog are terrible to their callers! Just terrible!

[1billsfan]

Agree 100% AND I would especially tell Mike and the Bulldog that they will be losing their jobs soon if they don't change. Also, Mike and the Bulldog are terrible to their callers! Just terrible!

 

I just don’t get the point of trashing EJ right now. If EJ isn’t looking good in a week or two then they can have at it (even though I’m not writing him off after two weeks). But we’re talking about day one and two of training camp, trying to get timing with WRs down, a new offense, going against the #1 defense. Shouldn’t it be assumed that EJ and all the QBs will struggle early on? I mean, look at what our defense did against Peyton Manning and Aaron Rogers last year. Can they cut a little bit of slack in the early going? No, these idiots demand to see instant success…LOL

I think that if Bills fans listened to other stations like Philly’s Fanatic (which I listen to a lot) or WFAN then they would see just how simpleton the thought processes are at WGR where they say one thing as if it is the greatest thought ever and then repeat it a thousand times. If I’m the Bills I tell them they need to step up their game because the Bills are going to be a great team and they don’t need to be dragged down by a bunch of idiots at WGR.

Edited August 2, 2015 by 1billsfan

[EmotionallyUnstable]

Thanks a bunch. Love reading these

[Coach Tuesday]

 

 

I just don’t get the point of trashing EJ right now. If EJ isn’t looking good in a week or two then they can have at it (even though I’m not writing him off after two weeks). But we’re talking about day one and two of training camp, trying to get timing with WRs down, a new offense, going against the #1 defense. Shouldn’t it be assumed that EJ and all the QBs will struggle early on? I mean, look at what our defense did against Peyton Manning and Aaron Rogers last year. Can they cut a little bit of slack in the early going? No, these idiots demand to see instant success…LOL

I think that if Bills fans listened to other stations like Philly’s Fanatic (which I listen to a lot) or WFAN then they would see just how simpleton the thought processes are at WGR where they say one thing as if it is the greatest thought ever and then repeat it a thousand times. If I’m the Bills I tell them they need to step up their game because the Bills are going to be a great team and they don’t need to be dragged down by a bunch of idiots at WGR.

 

 

I agree. Roman is still installing the offense and learning about the strengths and weaknesses of these QBs. Folks have unrealistic expectations for what things should look like right now - fueled by an irresponsible and inept local sports media.