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madness
08-07-2007, 10:44 AM
It's nice to see the different view points.


Just got back from night practice, so I wanted to just let everyone know what was going on in general before CB breaks things down later...

-- McCargo Practiced...he looked pretty good out there. He was getting some good penetration in the running game. He did look like he was in pain a little bit but not too bad

-- Hargrove was out there...he was his usual self happy and energetic. Didn't see him in on too many plays but he was aggressive throughout practice.

-- WHitner did not practice...not too sure why but I'm sure we'll find out soon

-- DiGorgia practiced again and looked good. He had another interception. K. Thomas also had an interception. Overall, the defense outplayed the offense today IMO.

-- Marshawn Lynch is an absolute stud. This guy is the shiftiest runner the Bills have had since Thurman, without a doubt.

-- Jason Webster was out there. He covered Evans most of the day and did a decent job, although Evans did have a redzone score on him late in practice.

-- Kyle Williams had an excellent practice. He was in the backfield quite often tonight

-- I really like our linebacking core. They are QUICK, and they have range on the field. Poz is a freak and Crowell and Ellison were all over the field tonight. I honestly think our LBs will be better this year even w/o LFB and TKO.

That's all for now

http://boards.buffalobills.com/showthread.php?t=4366


I took the family to last nights practice. Me, the Mrs. and my 3 daughters, along with my daughters friend. Thought I'd share some of the observations.

We got there early to grab a bite to eat. My kids loved the "free stuff" in the Bills pavillion. Granted it's pretzels and soda pop and some stickers from a vendor - but it kept them occupied and gave them the business side view of the practice. I took advantage and got my picture taken with one of the Jills.

Entering the practice area we grabbed a quick bite - couple of dogs and a slice o' za before heading to the seats. General admission so you grab what you can. I was at the 35 yard line closer to the south end of the field. We sat around 5 rows from the top - I wanted a full view of the field.

The Bills were out early - stretching out on there own. No pads of yet. They do group to there respective positions. The linebackers were right in front of us. Got to say it - as anybody else who has seen him - Poz looks good. He has that linebackers build to him. Next to Digiogio (sp?) he looks bigger and has a better cut or body definition to him. I'm looking forward to see him really get a chance to hit someone on Friday. Also about the linebackers there was one who was about a foot taller than the rest. I think it was Angelo Crowell, if so that dude is tall. I could be mistaken about the who - but when standing next to Poz he was a clear head taller than him.

We should have the most fit defensive line in the NFL. Our DL coach works the snot out of them guys. After warmups, stretching and the like the team broke into a quick 11 on 11 drill sans pads. I was watching the remaining d-line folks work out in the endzone. Koller had them working from stances, on swim moves, with a simulated lineman wearing pads. Those guys worked all night. No rest for those guys. Wherever they were on the field they were doing some type of drill. If those guys are undersized by NFL standards they will be the most physically fit bunch in the NFL. One caveat though is Tim Anderson. He looks like Ted Washington past his prime. He's got a gut on him you can't miss. I don't know if he has fattened up for the NT spot but he looks - well - fat. Also I don't know if it is his 'thing' but he is always the last one to do a drill with the coaches. Just an observation.

The first 11 on 11 of the night found Fred Jackson in the backfield. Got to say he didn't look that bad. Made some nice cuts - some decent moves, but he wasn't mistake free. One time he picked up a blitzing LB, and another time he missed where JP would have gotten creamed. I think Fred has potential but still is a work in progress.

I took some time to watch the WR's. The diffirence between Evans and the rest is the fact that prior to the delivery/arrival of the ball he gets great seperation from the defense. People say he always looks open, but I watched and saw there is good coverage on him - its just that he gets that half yard seperation from the d that allows him to catch the ball cleanly. Rosco is fast and made some nice catches. Quiet nice for Pearless. Reed caught one nice ball and made a great effort on a poorly thrown ball that would have need a review to see if it was inbounds. Regarding WR there was one of the rookies - Brown I think - that dropped a couple of balls thrown his way. One during red zone work. Doesn't look too promising for that rook.

Our RB situation looks decent. The A-Train can still bring it. On a red zone play watched him make one really good move and turn it up field. Scrimmage or not that would have been a big gain. Lynch looks good. I would describe him as shifty. When it looked like a D had a line on him, all of a sudden he wasn't there. Elusive, with speed. He's not perfect though. During a drill with LBs and RBs they had a 'protect the simulated QB' drill and Lynch whiffed twice in a row. Hope it was an aberration but JP will need him to block on occasion. I also liked the movement with Fred Jackson. Wasn't impressed with anyone else (that is nothing stands out). There was one play where Shaud Williams got past the initial d line and got bumped by Poz. Knocked him on his butt. It was innocent enough but I like Poz's instinct on that play and would really like to see him hit someone full speed.

The night belonged to the defense. There were a number of touch sacks and there was a blatant holding on Williams that would have resulted in a crushing sack otherwise. Even Hargrove got in the mix and made a good, hustling move down the line to kill a sweep run play that got strung out too far. Between the linemen and the LB there was a lot of movement out there. During one of the 2 minute segments Ko Simpson came on a blitz and touched JP. In reality he would have creamed him - blind side with no pickup.

Our DB's and safeties are the real deal. Well at least last night. Granted Evans gets his catches but Magee made a great play on him and dropped the pick. Webster is solid - always in position. Whitiner and Simpson come up nicely on run support. There were only two plays I thought would have gone over 20 yards on the ground - one by Lynch and the one by A-Train. Digiogio made a teriffic interception that he would have returned for 6.

TEs, the only one worth mentioning last night was Everett. For the most part they were blocking. The QB's didn't check down to the TE's much last night. Everett did sneak down a seam and caught a pass that was a little high and behind him, in stride, that would have been a big gain. I had to double-check my program cuz I didn't think it was him, but it was. Only knock I have on Everett is that on plays not designed for him or to his side - it appears the he likes to take the play off. I had my binoculars on and watched him for about 5 plays in a row (including the catch) and when the play is to the other side it's like he is on cruise control and not running hard. Don't know if the coaches picked up on this - but I did.

Special Teams is worth mentioning. John Welding made a nice play as a gunner that would've pinned the team down. He shed the dual team nicely and got a clean shot at the return man. It was nice to see the field goal team out there doing some work. Lindell made a 50 yarder that would have cleared 60-62 yards easily with a slight cross breeze blowing. One item of note was a field goal attempt was blocked. I thought it was Ashton Yabouty who got it, but I'm not sure. He came around the corner, laid out, and knocked it out of midair. Nice move, great effort.

I could ramble on about JP and the QB's but won't It was a decent night for them - some good throws and a couple of ducks. It is clear on the field and in the practice that JP IS the guy.

Marv Levy was there and got a cheer from the crowd. One of the guys working there said the other night practices had more spectators but it still was a decent crowd. Regarding tickets for the night practice - if you don't have them chances are you can find an extra or two at the gate. There were people there with extras that were just handing them out to people in need of their training camp fix.

At the conclusion of practice my kids ran down for autographs. They all got a Poz one. Very polite kid, with a slight 'aw-shucks' personality that makes you like him and root for him. One of my kids got a Hargrove autograph as well. I was a little disappointed that most of the guys headed for the tunnel (so to speak). Any of them that stuck around to sign gets a http://boards.buffalobills.com/images/smilies/thumbsup.giffrom me. Interesting to note JP and Lynch stayed after practice to work out on their own (not together but individually). It was a great night for the practice. I am sooooo ready for the games to begin.

http://boards.buffalobills.com/showthread.php?t=4409



Numbers of the Day: 7, 52, 83, 85

Quarterbacks: J.P. Losman continues to show everyone why he is the man in Buffalo. With multiple crisp, accurate passes, sometimes in between defenders, Losman had a pretty good night, in my opinion. The only bad play that stuck out in my mind by Losman was an interception to K. Thomas during a two-minute drill session. The interception effectively ended the drive, most likely winning a game for the defensive team. JP also had an interception to Digi, which in my mind, should have been called for defensive pass interference because Digi kind of knocked the receiver out of the way before the ball got there to pick it off. Trent Edwards is making a statement, “I’m coming for you, Nall.” Edwards looked much better than Nall did as Nall mis-handled a snap that led to a broken running play. Edwards had some nice, tight throws.

Running Backs: Marshawn Lynch and Fred Jackson had the best nights. Lynch was spectacular during practice making a couple of run plays that in a live setting looked like a good 10 plus yards. Fred Jackson looks great as a receiver coming out of the backfield, and he had a nice run to the right side that gained at least 8 yards. On one particular red-zone play, Fred Jackson made a spectacular catch along the right sideline in the end-zone, dragging his feet. The defensive players immediately were signaling no catch, but it looked good to me. Dwayne Wright and Anthony Thomas seemed to have tough nights, but both showed good power. Shaud Williams goes down the easiest of anybody, but he shows good quickness. Props to Lynch for having a great practice, staying after practice to run sprints with Melvin Fowler, and then staying after that to sign autographs… one of which I got!! Whoo-hoo!!

Wide Recievers: The play that stood out the most to me was by Scott Mayle… and not for a good reason. On one play, Trent Edwards made a very quick throw reacting to a large amount of pressure closing in, and it hit Mayle right in the numbers… on the back… because he wasn’t paying attention. That got one of the coaches yelling so loud… “What the Hell are you doing?” The yelling drew some “oohs” from the crowd. There were some nice plays turned in by the receivers as well. Evans seemed his usual self and had, by my count, 5 or 6 catches that averaged about 12 yards per catch (not counting the YAC because it’s not live). Josh reed had a couple of spectacular catches diving in traffic. Those catches drew applause.

Tight Ends: Robert Royal was a steal of a pick-up last year. He is a big target who can make the catches look easy. He had a few nice catches on the night, and he shows power in the blocking game. Kevin Everett showed up again, making a nice catch up the middle for about 15-20 yards on the catch. I am starting to get real excited about Everett, as he is showing good progress. Brad Cieslak had a slow night, but he made one grab, I believe.

O-line: This unit looks great. Although there were a few “sacks” given up during pass protection, the run blocking looks dominant at the line. Peters/Dockery look great on the left side, and Walker makes whoever is next to him look good. There were a few instances where a D-lineman broke protection on running plays and blew the play up for a loss, but overall, this line is looking to be much better than last years.

D-line: Kyle Williams is a monster… he was in on three plays that were either losses or no gains. I can’t believe the Bills got this guy in the 5th stinkin round!!! McCargo had a nice play on the night, and it is nice to see him back in action. The defensive ends were effective in creating pressure during the two-minute drill, getting a sack on Trent Edwards to make the play 3rd and 15. I am not as worried as many people think I should be about this unit. I think the d-line will pan out ok this year.

Linebackers: Digiorgio is back, and he doesn’t even look like he missed any time. He made a nice interception, which could have been questionable because of the contact with the receiver, but he showed up on quite a few plays on the night. Poz looked like he had good command of the huddle, and seemed to know his play-calls very well. I can’t wait to see these two on Friday night… IMO the better overall performer on Friday night will be getting the majority of reps in practice until the Falcons preseason game. Keith Ellison continues to show good instincts, and great speed. I can’t believe we got him in the 6th round!! Last year’s day two was amazing… a 4th round starting safety, a 5th round starting DT and a 6th round starting OLB… doesn’t get much better than that. Angelo Crowell had a great play on a running play, and had a would-be “sack” during 11-on-11. It looks to me like the Bills plan on blitzing Crowell quite a bit this year… only time will tell. Overall, this unit had a good night, with Poz showing good power, and Digi having good ball skills. Can’t wait to see the game situations on Friday.

Corners: Terrence McGee almost had an interception in front of Lee Evans, which would have ended the three-minute drill for Losman before it even started. K. Thomas did, however, hold onto his ball to end the two-minute drill. Jabari Greer had a blocked field goal kick… he got in there so deep that it went off his chest… and not just the tips of his hands. He’s a very, very quick guy. Ashton Youboty is definitely not shy about contact, as he showed power of his own by standing up a lowered, full speed Dwayne Wright on a running play.

Safeties: Whitner was out of practice, but Leonard filled right in. George Wilson is a hitter, as is John Wendling. The most memorable night for me was turned in by John Wendling. He had a couple of decent plays in the 11-on-11 segment, as well as a great play during punt scrimmage. George Wilson might have found himself a spot on the team for this year, that is if the Bills want to keep 5 safeties. Whitner, Simpson, Wendling, Leonard, and Wilson.

Special Teams: Rian Lindell looked good kicking field goals as he almost hit the guy in the lift on a 40 yard field goal. It would have been good it looked like from 60 yards. Brian Moorman was not at practice, so I did not get to witness his punting prowess up close.

After: after the last stretch and team huddle, a few people stayed to work on a few things. I noticed Trent Edwards, Ashton Youboty, Marshawn Lynch, and Melvin Fowler, along with a couple of others whom I couldn’t recognize without their jerseys on(UDFA’s most likely).
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http://boards.buffalobills.com/showthread.php?p=61706#post61706

Philagape
08-07-2007, 11:22 AM
My main observations:

-- Reed was by far JP's top target. He's the guy JP looks for when he gets in trouble.
-- Except for a couple plays, I didn't see much penetration from the DTs. All the RBs had little trouble getting through, and JP had safe haven in the pocket as the ends came off the edges. McCargo had the best play of the night for the unit when he met Wright in the backfield but was invisible besides that.
-- Lynch is a beast. A lot of speed and quickness, and he doesn't fart around; he hits the hole/turns the corner quickly.
-- Nall showed nothing, and Edwards was OK except for a couple miscommunications, expected for a rookie. Showed zip and accuracy.
-- While the starters were in, I'd give the edge to the offense. When the backups were in, D was better.