AstroNotes7 : Bills Camp Wednesday August 10

[Astrobot]

78 degrees when I left for camp, VERY cloudy and humid, iffy whether practice will be curtailed by thundershowers --the same kind we had from 3:00-4:00 in the morning. Even fewer people in the stands today than yesterday, so I'm thinking they're staying away due to weather, jobs, vacations, and the Ragland update. A shout-out to @CJChristiansen3 for coming over and saying hello!

 

The team took the shortest calisthenics to date. I won't second-guess the trainers --or maybe I should... Sammy, Woods, and Goods are on the other field doing their own drill with the WR coach. Gilmore and Aaron Williams are off doing their own exercises. The OL are on the third field, doing their own exercises. The QB's are on that field, too, doing sidestep deep knee bends. Blake Annen continues to add his own twist to each of the exercises. We can debate whether this is proper training discipline, good individualization of exercise regimen, or the cause of so many injuries.

 

Only Bush and Powell are back for punts. That's likely your duo for preseason. No Salas until much later.

 

Jim Kelly gets the biggest applause of the whole day as he walks in with his daughters and nieces, five of them. They're taking pictures of each other with the team taking a break in the background. The LB's and CB's head for the third field.

 

The first drill is throws to the running backs. They do this motioning out of the backfield, and it puts that side of the defense in a stressful position: Do I bite on the motion (think Shady or Reggie) and reveal that we're in man coverage, or slide out a bit and try to look like we're in zone? Meanwhile, you have 1-2 WR's also on that side of the field, the possible TE from the strong side coming across, Goodwin slanting OVER THE MIDDLE. I love this offense.

 

During positional drills, the OL worked on blocking sled, then adding movement to hitting the pad of a coach at the second level. Kugler's a bit wild and off-base with his 2nd-level blocks, but I really have to compliment the OT's we have Lucas gets it, and handles himself well in space. But Renfrow and Martin are worth keeping on the practice squad, as well.

Some observations about who's paired up during positional drills:

-Kugler is 3rd team Center. Kain Colter and Salas ran with the 3's for this drill..

-On one blocking sled, The OC and OG's: Wood, Groy, Lalk, Cyril, Kugler, and John Miller.

-On the other sled, The OT's plus Velasco: Kujo, Mills, Velasco, Lucas, Renfrow, and Martin.

The TE's are running around a tackling dummy and trying to catch a pass as soon as they clear the dummy. IT isn't working well. Only O'Leary was able to catch it moving to his Left. Moving clockwise around the dummy to their right, all of the TE's caught it. Clay and O'Leary have very nice hands-catches of the ball. Jimmay Mundine caught it and immediately turned upfield. He needs good tape, as he's in a horse race with four favorites, Clay, Annen, Dray, and Gragg.

 

The WR's have Watkins back today. They are running dig routes where they fake the out route and come back OVER THE MIDDLE. Colter has the most trouble; Watkins, Goods, and Woods have the least difficulty.

 

The TE's get Tyrod for a few minutes, to work on downfield throws. All of the TE's rounded off their route; nothing crisp about them. Tyrod moved onto the WR's who ran routes in tandem, with TT throwing the underneath and the downfield WR becoming a blocker in front. G-Ro is talking to Gragg and Clay, gesturing and pointing. He's wearing a white Bills shirt today, with blue shorts and the familiar blue bucket hat.

 

Tyrod's back with the WR's throwing 30 yarders. Watkins isn't running full steam, and TT overthrows him. Goods puts out a double move and Tyrod hits him perfectly down the right sideline. I wasn't impressed with the effort Little showed on his next opportunity; he missed a make-able ball.

 

Time for some red zone work from the ten-yard line. Sammy makes a nice snare of the ball running diagonally into the end zone. Tyrod overthrows Woods, then throws strikes to Dez and Salas. Boykin misses on TT's last throw. Cardale comes in second, and overthrows Goodwin and overthrows Little. CJones connects with Hankerson for the redzone TD. EJ has defenders now, and Annen's the target. IK Enemkpali gets a nice PBU, which is important because we need IK to show coverage skills in training camp just to keep him. Wilder does a good job on the next Cardale pass, then Cardale overthrows Powell.

 

By now, EJ is at the left end of the grass field, and Cardale's down with Tyrod at the other end. This was something we saw last year, with the vet (Cassel) at one end with the new guy (Tyrod). It makes sense. EJ's likely to play two quarters, and Tyrod and Cardale will likely get one quarter each vs the Colts. Felton goes along and gives a hand slap to each of the offensive linemen. Jim Kelly is talking with Murph on the sidelines.

 

The only notable thing in Session 4 that I saw was that Kouandjio lined up at RT for a stretch of plays. We're likely cross-training for the possibility of Cordy's return and for the possibility of injury to Mills. Seantrel Henderson, off next to Cordy on the sidelines, still looks skinny, so he won't be an option. Groy seems to be the first OG in if Miller needs a breather.

 

WR's, CB's, and S's join for Session 5. Tyrod's the thrower. Dez Lewis is first up against Gilmore, and Gilmore wants a contract. You can guess who wins. Walter Powell, a guy I love to root for, wins against Darby who falls down on the play. Goodwin's up against Corey White --a mismatch--except Tyrod overthrows him. Salas catches one against Nickell Robey.

 

EJ comes in, and has accuracy issues. Sterling Moore is on Boykin, and EJ can't get it to Boykin. Little can't get to EJ's throw against Mario Butler, who's a guy we'd hate to have to cut. Sterling Moore awkwardly has an interference call against Kain Colter but the ref doesn't throw his flag. Finally, Goodwin gives EJ his first reception vs Jonathan Dowling.

 

Tyrod returns and is throwing to Woods against Stephon "I'll play the year out" Gilmore. Woods overworks his man and doesn't attend to the ball, incomplete. Sammy "I can't believe I haven't been cut yet" Seamster gets Powell, and Powell takes SS downtown for a TD. Dez Lewis against Corey White is another mismatch; Dez makes him pay as he's wide open for the pass from Tyrod. Salas lays out and dives for a throw Tyrod overshot, but misses; Salas and Little are letting a slot slip through their fingers. Jarrett Boykin catches Tyrod's next ball for a long gain. After a Mario Butler pass break-up, Sterling Moore very awkwardly pushes Greg Little (his second awkward play in 2 paragraphs), but Little comes away with the catch. Goodwin, going against Jonathan Dowling, shows a double move, giving Goods all the space in the world to reel in Tyrod's touchdown throw. Not to be outdone, the feisty Powell replicates the 2-move on Sammy Seamster and lopes into the end zone. This time Woods doesn't overplay Gilmore, works his route instead, a curl route netting the separation he needs for the reception. Hankerson is unable to replicate the separation woods gets, and the ball falls incomplete. Salas tries a subtle pushoff on Corey White and doesn't get called for it, making the catch on a slant. Cardale's up but doesn't get a lot of reps. He throws an incompletion before Dez shows a sweet double move on Nickell Robey; the ball is right where it needs to be for a long gain. Kain Colter gets the lucky draw of Sterling Moore, makes a double move on him for the completion.

 

 

In 11 on 11 in Session 6, the sun is out. It didn't rain. The aluminum bleachers start firing up like a Char-Broil. A snow cone, the nearest stand next to the bleachers, starts to make money. Nothing sells like artificially-colored corn syrup over ice on a sultry day. Rob Ryan must be hating life, dressing all in blue today. He's standing next to Dennis Thurman, the ball is on the 20. All players go back to their regular positions, with Sammy, Woods and Goods your wide-outs, although Dez comes in early and often. A collision between Watkins and Gilmore causes the bleachers to fall silent, but both bounce up, and the bleachers sigh in relief. Tyrod shows roll-out skills, hitting Shady for 5. Tyrod moves again, this time hitting Watkins in the flat. The OL is keeping a clean pocket for the most part; kudos to Felton on several plays for its tidiness. Tyrod is sacked by a corner and safety blitz from Gilmore and Robert Blanton. Tyrod puts trips left, Goodwin on the far side, Shady in the backfield. Great pursuit by Hughes. Little, continuing with his bad day has the ball go through his hands, with Hawthorne right on him. Kyle Williams is on the sidelines, talking, teaching with Lorenzo Alexander. I saw this later on, as well, as Kyle gave Douzable some tips.

 

EJ hits Boom Herron, left uncovered out in the flat; it's good for 20 yards. Wilder wildly attempts to block Bryson Albright, and it's not pretty. Count it as a sack for the blue team. EJ's in shotgun, clapping, which means hike any time now, Velasco. The ball falls incomplete to a player with his number covered up by his raised jersey. That'll teach you.

 

Cardale does the same clapping motion, throws too high for Gragg, but on the next play, Kain Colter gets Cardale's pass despite really tight coverage by Randell Johnson, who seems like a plausible backup to Zach Brown. Randell has been a favorite; he just needs teaching time and a consistent defensive play scheme. He stands next to Spikes on the sideline--they're the same size and build.

 

Meeks gets a PBU on a 30-yarder intended for the TE, then Kouandjio handles IK to allow a long bomb. Little continues his bad day diving desperately to reach a 40 yard bomb. Due to the excellent communication of our defense (hello, Jeremy White) the offense is flagged for time violation. Kouandjio pancakes IK with 316 pounds of downward pressure. He's making the case for Cordy's backup. EJ comes in and completes a 15-yard ball to Greg Little, who must be relieved. EJ throws another 15-yarder OVER THE MIDDLE to Powell. EJ overthrows Gragg, which would have been a 25 yarder OVER THE MIDDLE. Hankerson catches a quick 10 yarder, and the clock is running. Douzable and Bryson Albright (good day for him) combine for a sack on EJ. In his defense, EJ made 3 different looks before being tagged. The D brings the house with Striker, Hawthorne, Albright, Randell, and Douzable, but EJ passes it to Powell but it's just over his head. Blame Powell that he's not 7' tall.

 

Cardale's in, and it's still the 2-minute drill. Maruis Lucas stands out, showing strength and anchoring at LT for the 3rd team. Cardale gets it to Hankerson for 15 yards, then throws a quick one to O'Leary for 5 more yards. We see Martin in at LT now, and he has skills too, worth a PS nod. He had to switch off blocking a second man during one play, and handled it with aplomb. Groy at OG next to him should also get credit. They both had to be communicating well pre-snap.

 

I didn't stay around for the FG practice at the end. Carp's a done deal there.

 

Go Bills!

~Astro

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Edited August 10, 2016 by Astrobot

[The Wiz]

Adding my thoughts here since it's the thread to follow. Sorry again I missed you Astro, missed your post in the other thread.

 

 

Got to camp a little late today due to buses not knowing which school was which so didn't get to my seat until about 10:20. Missed out on warmup and such but was there in time to start watching QB/WR portion.

 

TT looked pretty good from what I saw. One thing I noticed about his longer passes (10+ yards), he tends lead the receiver by a good yard. Knowing that it's camp I'm not sure if it's expected but pretty much every receiver had another gear ready to go and get it running full speed. Some passes were high and wide but all the receivers were able to speed up to the ball.

 

EDIT: Just want to clarify on TT. I don't believe he is misfiring but putting the ball in a place that only the receiver can make a play on it.

 

EJ and Jones looked fine in this session. The one thing that stands out is part of what I mentioned above. While TT led the receivers more, EJ and Jones were either right in the gut or a little behind the receiver. Makes me think TT is leading them intentionally. All and all, not a bad session.

 

1 on 1 were a different story. TT clearly was the most accurate of the 3.

 

Goodwin is looking more and more like the receiver we want him to be and that's coming from a guy who still doesn't think he has it. One pass he juked the DB about 3 times before pulling about 10 yards away from him. I think this was the only pass EJ completed in the 1 on 1's. Another receiver to keep an eye/ear about is Powell. When I saw him in camp a week ago I didn't think much but he looked good today. He and Salas are looking like the 4th and 5th receivers IMO. Lewis is still in the mix as well. I think the 3 of them are going to have to show something in preseason to separate themselves from one another. Little is looking like the receiver he was in CLE. Had two go off his hands.

 

Two minute drill was a sad thing to watch today. Each QB had 2 different series (1 from the 20 with 2 minutes and 1 from the 35 with 1:20). I don't think any one of them moved the ball more than 10 yards and each had a sack in the first series.

 

Special teams was up after that and I had enough sweat on me for one day.

 

If anyone is looking for more info I can try to give you some feedback. I was trying to keep track of most of the 2nd/3rd stringers as best as possible. And Astro, please feel free to correct whatever I may have seen/not seen through my rosy colored glasses.

Edited August 10, 2016 by The Wiz

[WhitewalkerInPhilly]

'Ranks buddy!

 

Astro, if you have time can I pick your brain buddy? I know from what I hear from reporter tweets the offense looked rough today, but I've been following what board members visiting camp have been saying.

 

From those sources, I've been gleaning that Tyrod (who was pretty darn good last year) has been making at least incremental progress and using the middle of the field. Sammy looks healthy and like an elite WR. Woods looks healthy and is playing hungry in a contract year. Goodwin, Dez, Little and Salas are looking surprisingly good.

 

Might the Bills have a sneakily good pass game, especially if they can use the run to set up play action?

[Jerry Jabber]

Thanks again Astro and The Wiz.

[The Wiz]

Thanks again Astro and The Wiz.

My memory of camp is a microcosm of Astro's notes but did the best from what I could remember.

[eball]

Ranks, Rastro, and thanks, Wiz!

[EmotionallyUnstable]

Thanks stro, thanks wiz. Great to hear all the thoughts

[Chandler#81]

Great work fellas! Thank you!

[CountryCletus]

Astro- You're the man!!! Do you voice record these notes or take a laptop with you??

[eball]

Hard to believe, only six camp practices left.

[Prickly Pete]

Thx Astro!

 

Tyrod has to get the 2-minute offense going, it's crippling if a team can't score quickly at the end of games. They sucked at it last season, and many said "well, he didn't have a full camp". No excuse this season.

Edited August 10, 2016 by HoF Watkins

[John from Riverside]

Thx Astro!

 

Tyrod has to get the 2-minute offense going, it's crippling if a team can't score quickly at the end of games. They sucked at it last season, and many said "well, he didn't have a full camp". No excuse this season.

They have actually had days in camp where they have been pretty good at it.

 

Today was a down day for the offense I think

[Prickly Pete]

They have actually had days in camp where they have been pretty good at it.

 

Today was a down day for the offense I think

That's good to hear.

 

I should add that Tyrod might not even be the main culprit, and that Roman could be the root of the problem. When I read that all 3 of the QB's struggled at the 2-minute (it seemed to be EJM's biggest strength, under Marrone), it makes me at least question Roman's approach.

 

Regardless of where the blame lay, it's crucial that it improves.

[bacarri and coke]

Astro- You're the man!!! Do you voice record these notes or take a laptop with you??

Neither he gets the tapes from the Patriots video guy.Much easier than taking notes..I kid I kid.Thanks again ASTRO I look forward to your notes every day and I get all excited and grab snacks and take my time reading and then I get all sad when I see it's the last paragraph...and I'm not even kidding

[BADOLBILZ]

Kain Colter gets Cardale's pass despite really tight coverage by Randell Johnson, who seems like a plausible backup to Zach Brown. Randell has been a favorite; he just needs teaching time and a consistent defensive play scheme. He stands next to Spikes on the sideline--they're the same size and build.

 

 

~Astro

-

 

 

If Randell Johnson could translate his physical presence into a position........beast.

Edited August 11, 2016 by #BADOL

[Fixxxer]

Thanks Astro and Wiz.

 

Astro or Wiz

Is Cujo getting better? (based on the IK pancacke) Do you guys see both Cujo and Cyrill Richardson making the team this year?

 

It is safe to say that Goodwin has turned the page on his "olympic" dreams and has his mind focused only in football now.

[Astrobot]

Adding my thoughts here since it's the thread to follow. Sorry again I missed you Astro, missed your post in the other thread.

 

 

Got to camp a little late today due to buses not knowing which school was which so didn't get to my seat until about 10:20. Missed out on warmup and such but was there in time to start watching QB/WR portion.

 

TT looked pretty good from what I saw. One thing I noticed about his longer passes (10+ yards), he tends lead the receiver by a good yard. Knowing that it's camp I'm not sure if it's expected but pretty much every receiver had another gear ready to go and get it running full speed. Some passes were high and wide but all the receivers were able to speed up to the ball.

 

EDIT: Just want to clarify on TT. I don't believe he is misfiring but putting the ball in a place that only the receiver can make a play on it.

 

EJ and Jones looked fine in this session. The one thing that stands out is part of what I mentioned above. While TT led the receivers more, EJ and Jones were either right in the gut or a little behind the receiver. Makes me think TT is leading them intentionally. All and all, not a bad session.

 

1 on 1 were a different story. TT clearly was the most accurate of the 3.

 

Goodwin is looking more and more like the receiver we want him to be and that's coming from a guy who still doesn't think he has it. One pass he juked the DB about 3 times before pulling about 10 yards away from him. I think this was the only pass EJ completed in the 1 on 1's. Another receiver to keep an eye/ear about is Powell. When I saw him in camp a week ago I didn't think much but he looked good today. He and Salas are looking like the 4th and 5th receivers IMO. Lewis is still in the mix as well. I think the 3 of them are going to have to show something in preseason to separate themselves from one another. Little is looking like the receiver he was in CLE. Had two go off his hands.

 

Two minute drill was a sad thing to watch today. Each QB had 2 different series (1 from the 20 with 2 minutes and 1 from the 35 with 1:20). I don't think any one of them moved the ball more than 10 yards and each had a sack in the first series.

 

Special teams was up after that and I had enough sweat on me for one day.

 

If anyone is looking for more info I can try to give you some feedback. I was trying to keep track of most of the 2nd/3rd stringers as best as possible. And Astro, please feel free to correct whatever I may have seen/not seen through my rosy colored glasses.

It was perfectly accurate. I'll be out there M-T-W next week. And yes, Powell is the guy nobody thinks will make the 53, but will. I said the same thing about Deonte Thompson, and he's lighting it up in Bears camp.

Thanks Astro and Wiz.

 

Astro or Wiz

Is Cujo getting better? (based on the IK pancacke) Do you guys see both Cujo and Cyrill Richardson making the team this year?

 

It is safe to say that Goodwin has turned the page on his "olympic" dreams and has his mind focused only in football now.

Kujo's looking like the rust is shaking off and he's got strength and some technique. He was mano-e-mano with our EDGE rushers. Having Cordy out may be a blessing in disguise, as we'll have a chance to give Kujo experience in preseason.

 

Cyril Richardson isn't running with the ones; they put Groy in instead of him. Underperforming, but still may make the 2nd-string.

Astro- You're the man!!! Do you voice record these notes or take a laptop with you??

I'm 67. Clipboard, pen, and invented shorthand.

Thx Astro!

 

Tyrod has to get the 2-minute offense going, it's crippling if a team can't score quickly at the end of games. They sucked at it last season, and many said "well, he didn't have a full camp". No excuse this season.

At one stretch, Tyrod had 4 TD plays out of 5 downs. That's with various WR and TE groups, straight-ahead blocking, and nobody running at full torque. We're good.