My Training Camp Report for Saturday, July 25th

[sven233]

Hey everyone! Well, as always I attended the first day of Training Camp and I just thought I would share some thoughts and observations with you.

 

Since it was the first day of Camp, I was not expecting a whole lot as usually they use the first day getting re-adjusted to football after being off for a while. Well, basically that is what happened. I wish I had something big and fantastic for everyone to chew on, but there were not really any major surprises. However, there were some interesting details that I thought I would mention. Now, you will probably get much of the same info from sports writers, but I thought I should mention a few things because sometimes the sportswriters have their own agenda:

 

1. Perhaps the most interesting thing I saw today was not really about any particular player, but rather about the operation of the offense in general. Even being the first set of practices of Camp, the Offense rarely, if ever, huddled at all! They pretty much ran the no huddle offense for every set of plays they ran in 7-7 and 11-11 drills. Hand signals and checks were used at the LOS all day to get player in the right play. While we all knew that the no huddle offense was going to be used somewhat this season, if today is any indication, it actually may be a bigger part of the offense than we all expected. It looked pretty good for the most part.

 

2. Of course, as expected, the story of the day was TO. He was the last player out of the locker room in the morning session and received a huge ovation from all in attendance as he took the field. All TV cameras were pointed in his direction all day and he did not disappoint in any way. He was very smooth in his route running and caught everything that came his way, including a 65 yard bomb on a perfectly thrown ball from Edwards in the afternoon session. He was just as advertised and was probably the best player on the field today. One thing I did notice is that they used him in a lot of crossing routes which he completed effectively. What else can be said......he was great.

 

3. With Owens on the field, most eyes were on him. However, Evans had a real nice day today as well. He was getting wide open on hitch routes and in-routes all day. With all of the attentions on Owens, I look for a huge year out of Lee. He looked great today as well. Did have 1 drop, but that happens. He was very solid, though. Him and TO will create huge mismatches at times. It was fun to watch.

 

4. Shawn Nelson was absent in the morning practice, but did come out part way through the afternoon practice. Unfortunately, he did not see a lot of work in drills because of the late arrival, but in the drills he did participate in, he looked smooth. He was split out a lot as we thought would happen.

 

5. Donte Whitner worked both at Strong and Free Safety. While he did like up at Free a little more during drills, he did see time at both. We'll have to see if that changes at all when Byrd comes into Camp. He had a pretty solid day including a few pass breakups and a pick.

 

6. Youboty had a very good day. While he did get burned by TO on that long TD, he had several breakups and also had a pick or 2. He did drop a sure INT in the afternoon, but he was good.

 

7. POZ is just a BIG MAN. The guys is ripped and looks like a truck out there. He had a great day with a pick that would have been returned for a TD.

 

8. The Bills did a TON of Special Teams work today. I think they did more Special Teams work than offense and defense! HA! New techniques were implemented today to combat the new rule changes. But yeah, a lot of work done here today.

 

9. Other than the offense running the no huddle almost 100% of the time, there was really only 1 other thing that stood out. The offensive line. And they stood out NOT IN A GOOD WAY. They allowed 4-5 would-be sacks today and were getting schooled by the D-Line and blitzes that were sent. During the morning practice they looked pretty good, but in the afternoon, they were getting to the QBs on a regular basis and the O-Line did not have a good session. Wood and Levitre should easily make the starting lineup if today was any indication. The O-Line was bad in the afternoon especially.

 

10. We may be desperately looking for a backup QB that can play sooner rather than later. Outside of Edwards, who had a pretty good day, the other QBs in camp were TERRIBLE!!!!! Fitz and GH couldn't hit the broadside of a barn today. They were terrible. I hope it was just a bad day, but they looked completely out of place. I am more concerned now about the backup QB position than I originally thought I was. Trent did look good, throwing only a couple of bad balls, but the backups were awful.

 

 

There is probably a lot I forgot to mention, so if you have any specific questions, I will do my best to help. Overall, it was a decent set of practices for the first day. The offense looked great at times and bad at others. But, today I saw potential there that I have not seen in several years. Hopefully they will be better as time goes along, but today was a good start. Fun time.

 

Finally, I did take a few pictures at Camp today and I have placed them on my Facebook page. If you want to take a look at this gallery, you can see the pictures at this link:

 

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2027...mp;l=8b5dbb13dc

 

ENJOY!

[Omar Little]

Wow, great job. Thanks for the excellent write-up & pics.

[Tommy]

Thanks a lot man. I won't be able to make it to camp this year, so it'll be nice to have some fan input to read.

[NewEra]

9. Other than the offense running the no huddle almost 100% of the time, there was really only 1 other thing that stood out. The offensive line. And they stood out NOT IN A GOOD WAY. They allowed 4-5 would-be sacks today and were getting schooled by the D-Line and blitzes that were sent. During the morning practice they looked pretty good, but in the afternoon, they were getting to the QBs on a regular basis and the O-Line did not have a good session. Wood and Levitre should easily make the starting lineup if today was any indication. The O-Line was bad in the afternoon especially.

 

10. We may be desperately looking for a backup QB that can play sooner rather than later. Outside of Edwards, who had a pretty good day, the other QBs in camp were TERRIBLE!!!!! Fitz and GH couldn't hit the broadside of a barn today. They were terrible. I hope it was just a bad day, but they looked completely out of place. I am more concerned now about the backup QB position than I originally thought I was. Trent did look good, throwing only a couple of bad balls, but the backups were awful.

 

 

that sums up our season. We may have great weapons, but we can't utilize them unless we can block...and trent stays healthy. I just don't see both of those things happening....but I can't wait to see if we can!!

 

Go Bills!!!

[The Dean]

sven, great report and some good pics, as well.

 

Thanks so much for sharing.

[The Dean]

sven, who is wearing #18?

 

Thanks.

[FluffHead]

Steve Phillips!?!?! I didn't know you were a Bills fan! I love baseball tonight. You can come by my tailgate anytime you want!

[Cugalabanza]

Thank you, Sven! Awesome report. Stuff like this is just what I need for my Bills withdrawal.

[Kettle Creek Football]

Wow, great job. Thanks for the excellent write-up & pics.

I 2nd that!

[Steely Dan]

Thanks dat was awesome!

 

I only have one bone to pick with your reporting;

 

2. Of course, as expected, the story of the day was TO. He was the last player out of the locker room in the morning session and received a huge ovation from all in attendance as he took the field. All TV cameras were pointed in his direction all day and he did not disappoint in any way. He was very smooth in his route running and caught everything that came his way, including a 65 yard bomb on a perfectly thrown ball from Edwards in the afternoon session. He was just as advertised and was probably the best player on the field today. One thing I did notice is that they used him in a lot of crossing routes which he completed effectively. What else can be said......he was great.

 

That's impossible. All of the "experts" here say TE has a weak arm. You must have hallucinated that. Just sayin.

[Joma]

9. Other than the offense running the no huddle almost 100% of the time, there was really only 1 other thing that stood out. The offensive line. And they stood out NOT IN A GOOD WAY. They allowed 4-5 would-be sacks today and were getting schooled by the D-Line and blitzes that were sent. During the morning practice they looked pretty good, but in the afternoon, they were getting to the QBs on a regular basis and the O-Line did not have a good session. Wood and Levitre should easily make the starting lineup if today was any indication. The O-Line was bad in the afternoon especially.

 

One would hope the D-line is much improved or this REALLY spells bad news, worse than even expected. Was there a specific area it was worse, up the middle vs the edges...what I'm kinda getting at is how did Walker look?

[The Dean]

That's impossible. All of the "experts" here say TE has a weak arm. You must have hallucinated that. Just sayin.

 

 

Not that I agree with those who think Trent's arm is "weak", but football experts know that arm strength isn't really about throwing the bomb. It would be more impressive to those who think he has arm strength issues, to see him throw a strong accurate deep out pattern, with no loft.

 

Just sayin.

[Jerry Jabber]

Great report & thanks for the pics. It's encouraging to hear that our offensive weapons look sharp. I just hope Wood & Levitre will be the difference makers on the O-Line, if not, then we'll have a lot to worry about.

[sven233]

sven, who is wearing #18?

 

Thanks.

 

CJ Hawthorne was wearing #18. He did not participate due to injury.

[The Dean]

CJ Hawthorne was wearing #18. He did not participate due to injury.

 

 

Thanks, sven.. You da man.

[sven233]

One would hope the D-line is much improved or this REALLY spells bad news, worse than even expected. Was there a specific area it was worse, up the middle vs the edges...what I'm kinda getting at is how did Walker look?

 

Well, it seemed to be a mix to me. I watched Walker get beat badly once. Otherwise he seemed to be OK. While he is not fleet of foot, when he does get in position, he does force the DEs to make a decision as to what way they want to go....whether they want to continue around the outside or cut inside just because he is such a big man. However, the time he got beaten badly, it was a speed rush on the outside. Other than that particular play, I thought he was fine.

 

Butler was average. I saw him get beat a couple of time....once outside and once inside. I am willing to cut him some slack since he is still getting re-adjusted to being on the outside, but he did get beat as well.

 

As for the guards, they were beaten a couple of time, but mainly when blitzes were called. It looked to me that they missed their assignments a couple of time because they would take the DE cutting inside of the tackle and leave the blitzing LB or S free up the middle. It was more mental than anything else.

 

One thing I did notice, however, was that there was little push in the run game from the G spots. I really think this is where guys like Wood and Levitre will help this line be better. I really hope the get into Camp soon because I just have no faith in the guys that are in there right now. They are just not good enough right now. Hope that helps.

[Mike in Syracuse]

So if the DL looks good we're doomed because our OL is terrible? If the OL looks good we're doomed because our DL can't put pressure on the QB? Jesus relax they didn't even have pads on today.

 

Gonna be a long season with all the chicken little's on this board.

[San Jose Bills Fan]

Great stuff Sven, thanks for posting.

 

Just hope Belichick doesn't get his hands on your report. In this age where teams are getting more paranoid and secretive about everything, it's amazing how many photos, video, and written accounts we get to see from Bills camp on just the first day.

 

For better or worse our team really caters to its fans.

[zazie]

Great stuff Sven, thanks for posting.

 

Just hope Belichick doesn't get his hands on your report. In this age where teams are getting more paranoid and secretive about everything, it's amazing how many photos, video, and written accounts we get to see from Bills camp on just the first day.

 

For better or worse our team really caters to its fans.

You think Belechick really even NEEDS to cheat against DJ?

[Steely Dan]

Not that I agree with those who think Trent's arm is "weak", but football experts know that arm strength isn't really about throwing the bomb. It would be more impressive to those who think he has arm strength issues, to see him throw a strong accurate deep out pattern, with no loft.

 

Just sayin.

 

I agree. I was making a sarcastic remark about TE's detractors. I know you understood that but it was more for the Negative Nellies.

 

CJ Hawthorne was wearing #18. He did not participate due to injury.

 

Damn, I was hoping Manning would be #18 for us!!

 

 

So if the DL looks good we're doomed because our OL is terrible? If the OL looks good we're doomed because our DL can't put pressure on the QB? Jesus relax they didn't even have pads on today.

 

Gonna be a long season with all the chicken little's on this board.

 

Ya think?

 

 

Great stuff Sven, thanks for posting.

 

Just hope Belichick doesn't get his hands on your report. In this age where teams are getting more paranoid and secretive about everything, it's amazing how many photos, video, and written accounts we get to see from Bills camp on just the first day.

 

For better or worse our team really caters to its fans.

 

Believe me I'm sure Bellichicken had a navy seal sneak into the Bills dorm and grab a playbook, copy it, and get it back before anyone was the wiser!!!