rockpile Posted August 4, 2005 Share Posted August 4, 2005 The first thing I would like to say is that every camp report is valuable. At one point today, there were defensive drills and two different offensive drills on the grass field, while Lindell and Steve Baker were kicking 40 yard FGs off a tee on the turf field. Sometimes I was taking notes and missed a play. There is so much going on, every report has some different angle or observation to make. A good spot to view the action on all three fields (in the afternoon, anyway) is the top of the grass field bleachers. It also prevents fans standing in front of you at the fence, and players blocking the view on full team 11/11 drills. Today’s File Dump: Afternoon temperature was almost 90 and I believe the humidity was about the same. Attendance was good; the bleachers were full and the fences were lined with people. A man at one of the bus stops said they were running an easy 2500 a day by bus. To me, it was probably too hot to be on the turf. Monday I was standing next to the turf and the wind blowing across the field was like the heat from a furnace. The grass fields are immaculate. The thick well trimmed grass, with alternate shades of green every 5 yards is classy. OK enough of setting the mood. FA Steve Baker was kicking off from his own 35 yard line to Shaud Williams, QB Tory Woodbury, Roscoe Parrish, Lee ReShard, Terrence McGee, and Jonathan Smith. All kicks were caught – no dropsies today. Kicks were consistently 60-65 yards, but not great hang time. Baker seems like he could be a Lindell clone. Kevin Thomas is in uniform, but no pads. What is his status? On one receivers drill, Parrish had the ball overthrown and on the wrong side; he turned around and opened the jets and one handed a nice catch, which drew some applause. They did one on one pass blocking which was kind of cool: Fletcher beat McGahee TKO beat McGahee Neufeld beat Fletcher Campbell beat Crowell twice – one was a takedown WWF style Joe Burns got beat and a coach went ballistic “you got your ass kicked two days in a row now – TWO days in a row!” RB Lionel Gates made some great catches today; he also has nice moves – Mr. ZigZag. He also has this spin move I wish he could teach our DE’s. The duos of Gandy and Gause and Gandy and Bennie Anderson were clicking well this afternoon. Gandy held off Schobel long enough for JP the thread the needle to Evans. Mike Williams opened a big hole for McGahee, resulting in a big gain. Duke Preston did a good job at center for Holcomb. The running backs and tight ends saw a lot of action behind QB Woodbury. He might just be a better #3 QB than Shane Matthews. OK, I have praised JP in the past, today I am going to rip on him a little. He was hot and cold and got worse as the practice continued. He made some great passes, and ran a couple of designed QB runs. In fact, Gandy and Anderson opened a huge hole allowing JP to scramble untouched down the sidelines. Later he was overthrowing players and bobbling the ball. At one point he “whiffed”; his arm made the throwing motion while the ball just hung in the air and fell to the turf. When he was on the sidelines he looked exhausted. To be fair, the heat index was probably close to 100 degrees on the field. So I will give him the benefit of the doubt. We are not doomed. After practice he stayed and signed autographs, which was nice for the fans. Others who stayed for autographs on the fence: McGahee, Shaud Williams, Gates, Goldsberry, Cieslak, and some others I would have to look up, but this is already too long! I will be back to camp Monday through Wednesday next week. I want to hear reports on the GB scrimmage! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beerball Posted August 4, 2005 Share Posted August 4, 2005 Thanks Rock, can't get enough info from camp. The guys and gals who have posted their reports are helping the outoftowners get through the dog days. Thomas is PUP I believe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Like A Mofo Posted August 4, 2005 Share Posted August 4, 2005 The duos of Gandy and Gause and Gandy and Bennie Anderson were clicking well this afternoon. Lets hope we hear more of this as we go along... Excellent report Rockpile, thanks for the info!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rico Posted August 4, 2005 Share Posted August 4, 2005 Great report, thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AKC Posted August 4, 2005 Share Posted August 4, 2005 Thanks Rock- Gates sounds like he'll end up our pre-season phenom with lots of yards against second string Ds. The jump will be from there to being a game day producer-something few of the pre-season phenoms ever do. Sounds like his hands would make him valuable if he can make the step up. As the level of competition heats up I hope we hear that he's breaking some tackles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zona Posted August 4, 2005 Share Posted August 4, 2005 Thanks Rockpile. Good to here level-headed observations from a long time devotee. Keep it up, please.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rubes Posted August 4, 2005 Share Posted August 4, 2005 Not too long! Not too long! Keep going... Thanks, though... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
34-78-83 Posted August 4, 2005 Share Posted August 4, 2005 Thanks Rock! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike32282 Posted August 4, 2005 Share Posted August 4, 2005 Awesome report, man! Thanks for coming through and making me feel like I was there, when I couldn't make it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dennis in NC Posted August 4, 2005 Share Posted August 4, 2005 The duos of Gandy and Gause and Gandy and Bennie Anderson were clicking well this afternoon. 397826[/snapback] Wow, what a great report! Did you mean the Gandy and Giesinger duo? The 6th Rd OG, not the UDFA DE Gause. Your reports can NOT be too long! It's like eating ice cream on a hot hot day! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockpile Posted August 4, 2005 Author Share Posted August 4, 2005 Wow, what a great report! Did you mean the Gandy and Giesinger duo? The 6th Rd OG, not the UDFA DE Gause. Your reports can NOT be too long! It's like eating ice cream on a hot hot day! 397937[/snapback] It was a mixup translating my scribbles I use a messy shorthand, only I would understand. 66/69 Gandy and Bennie Anderson were the pair. At one point, 66/69 matched up against 77/63 Tim Anderson and Gause and opened a hole I could have gained yardage through. Good catch! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockpile Posted August 4, 2005 Author Share Posted August 4, 2005 Awesome report, man! Thanks for coming through and making me feel like I was there, when I couldn't make it. 397935[/snapback] I was wondering where you were.! I was counting on you for pictures! What camera are you using? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike32282 Posted August 4, 2005 Share Posted August 4, 2005 I was wondering where you were.! I was counting on you for pictures! What camera are you using? 397951[/snapback] Don't tell anyone on BillsZone. They'd kick my ass. After I got home from the morning session, I had some stuff to do, my allergy shots, get to the store, and a couple other things, and then when I came home I figured I would take a little nap, because I hadn't been asleep for over 24 hrs by then. I went to lay down and forgot to set my alarm. The next thing I know, it was 5:45pm and I was just waking up. I guess the 4 hours of sleep a day was finally starting to get to me. But now I have the whole weekend to catch up. I'll be able to get back to posting on the boards again too. I'm using a Kodak DX6490, 10x optical, 4 MP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Jack Posted August 4, 2005 Share Posted August 4, 2005 The next thing I know, it was 5:45pm and I was just waking up. I guess the 4 hours of sleep a day was finally starting to get to me. But now I have the whole weekend to catch up. I'll be able to get back to posting on the boards again too. 397957[/snapback] It wouldn't be training camp, unless you missed one session because of sleep. Seems like that'll become a betting game next season. "What practice will Mike miss because he was sleeping." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike32282 Posted August 4, 2005 Share Posted August 4, 2005 It wouldn't be training camp, unless you missed one session because of sleep. Seems like that'll become a betting game next season. "What practice will Mike miss because he was sleeping." 397966[/snapback] ROFLMAO! :lol: And I was doing so good too. Here's what it was...I work overnights at Wegmans 11pm-8am. I went to work on Monday - Tuesday and then came home, went to sleep for about 5 1/2 hours, woke up around 2:15pm and then went to camp. I got home and posted my report and uploaded the photos. Then I went to work. When I got home, it was about 8am on Wednesday and it was my night off, so i figured i could make the double session. I got there late Wednesday morning, and then came home around 11:30am. I had some errands and stuff to do, plus i had to get my allergy shots before the 2nd session. So I did that stuff and then figured I could take a brief nap. I forgot to set my alarm, so that nap turned into a 5 hour sleep. I woke up around 5:30pm and missed camp. I guess trying to do the whole week of overnights and these sessions can get to you after a while. Don't worry though. I won't miss anymore due to sleep. now to get this back on topic. Great job with the report, Rockpile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nanker Posted August 4, 2005 Share Posted August 4, 2005 Thanks Rockpile. You, Mike and Astrobot have been doing a great job with the reports and clips. It's very much appreciated by very many! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockpile Posted August 4, 2005 Author Share Posted August 4, 2005 I'm using a Kodak DX6490, 10x optical, 4 MP. 397957[/snapback] I have been looking at that and the Kodak Z740, 5mp and 10X optical zoom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flomoe Posted August 4, 2005 Share Posted August 4, 2005 Thanks for all the reports Rock. They aren't long at all and I wish they were longer. I, along with all the other out-of-towners will take what we can get though. Keep up the great work and don't fall asleep and miss a practice like Mike, j/k. Thanks for all the reports guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MACinPittsford Posted August 4, 2005 Share Posted August 4, 2005 Just a few observations of my own to add regarding Wednesday p.m. practice: 1. Roscoe is amazing. On one 12-15 yard pass play over the middle, he made one quick move to get a couple yards of separation and then another move to get maybe 4 yards of separation. I think this guy is going to be open all day long, especially if he matches up with a 3rd CB or safety. I don't know whether he's the fastest Bill in a straight line, but he has the quickest moves I've seen in awhile. 2. Campbell looked good, especially blocking. 3. Willis looked very good hitting the holes. His heart is not in his blocking, although maybe he was taking it easy in the heat. He also sometimes leaves the ground to catch passes that he could just catch in stride. 4. Defensively, Spikes, Fletcher and Clements are on another level altogether. Spikes and Fletcher were doing whatever they wanted in blitzing drills. Clements is like glue on the receivers. Stamer also looked good -- very physical and flying to the ball. 5. Didn't really get to see a lot of line play -- O or D -- from my vantage point. 6. I second the view on JP -- not a very good practice. He tended to make small bobbles and get into his drops just a fraction late, and, as a result, his timing was off. On passes over the middle, the receivers were already out of their breaks on numerous occasions and waiting for the ball. (JP did have the arm strength to thread the needle.) On outs and deep patterns, he seemed to try to make up for that fraction of a second by putting a little more on the ball and had a number of overthrows. But it's the first week of camp and JP's essentially a rookie, so I expect his timing to get a lot better. He's getting a lot of reps. He has the arm. In passing drills, his ball seemed to get to receivers twice as fast as throws from the other QB's. 7. The team is calling a lot of pass plays for backs and tight ends. I expect this to be a big part of the offense early in the season. 8. Don't expect many touchbacks from our place kicker. He is what he is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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