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"After a down day, the offense came back and made a few more plays than they did Tuesday, but as is customary this time of year the defense continued to carry the better of the play in Wednesday's team workout.
Red zone was a focus for the offense and defense during the majority of team work. Unfortunately during the first series rookie fullback Mike Viti
went down with what appeared to be a lower left leg injury. He left the field early and did not return. Viti had just made a reception in the left flat and his leg was inadvertently rolled up on by a pursuing defender as he fell over the sideline. Not long after tight end Tim Massaquoi left practice early with an undisclosed injury as well.
Offensive notes
With Roscoe Parrish back after missing Tuesday's practice, he and Josh Reed got the majority of first team reps at wideout. James Hardy was mixed in behind them at times.
As for highlights Fred Jackson had a good looking run around the left corner as the offensive line did a nice job sealing the edge as he went in for a touchdown. Fullback Jonathan Evans also had a touchdown reception as Trent Edwards hit him coming out of the backfield in a goal-to-go situation.
Steve Johnson pulled in a touchdown reception from Gibran Hamdan during red zone work on a post pattern in the back of the end zone. Teyo Johnson had a nice catch and turn upfield in the flat from Matt Baker.
During two-minute drill work Reed set the offense up first-and-goal with the offensive play of the day. Reed made a difficult catch deep down the right sideline as Edwards put the perfect touch on the throw dropping it over Terrence McGee, who had good coverage on the play. Reed jumped just a hair higher than McGee to pull the ball in for a 30-yard gain.
Unfortunately the offense was unsuccessful punching the ball into the end zone on four straight attempts. Derek Schouman made a catch in the right flat for a short gain on first and goal. On second and goal Edwards rolled out but had to throw it away. On third and goal his pass was incomplete, and the result was the same on fourth and goal.
That being said the offense is throwing a lot of different variations out on the field in terms of formation and pre-snap shifts and motions. Edwards believes if they can execute properly it will serve to make Buffalo's offense more unpredictable.
"It just depends on the play and depends on the package and depends on the style of offense we want to run and we're working on that right now," said Edwards. "There's no telling whether or not we'll do that this year or not. But the fact that we have the ability to do that and we know where we're going with those formations and shifts it's going to provide a lot of different looks for the defense." ....
....Defensive notes
On Tuesday it was Jabari Greer that shined. Wednesday it was rookie free agent linebacker Jon Banks. Playing mostly middle linebacker in the OTA setting Banks (6'1 ½", 233) got his day off to a good start with a pass breakup during red zone work on a throw over the middle by Hamdan.
A few plays later Banks picked off a pass in the end zone off Matt Baker. Later in the practice Banks pulled in a second interception on a deflection. Reggie Corner deflected the pass away from the intended receiver, and Banks caught the loose ball returning it in the other direction.
But the defensive play of the day goes to Paul Posluszny. During 11-on-11 red zone work, Posluszny after settling into his drop, timed his jump perfectly at the goal line, and snared an Edwards pass intended for James Hardy in the back of the end zone with one hand for the interception. It was an acrobatic play.
Not long after John McCargo flashed as he got great penetration and blew up an outside run play. The back was forced to turn the run play back inside where there was nowhere to run...."
I thought I would highlight a few parts of this story for the "the sky is falling" crowd who have made it sound like the offense did absolutely nothing in these red zone drills and are already in full "panic mode".
While the offense obviously struggled at times, I would like to point out that, according to this article, the first team offense scored twice and the second and third team offense scored once each during the drills.
And, one of the times that they were stopped was when Posluzny made "the play of the day", an acrobatic, one-handed, leaping interception. Sounds to me like the defense made a heck of a play there to stop the offense.
It also sounds like the offense is working on trying to incorporate some new things into what they are doing--variations and options that they haven't necessarily had in their arsenal before and are trying out. Good. We've all complained about how predictable the offense has been and adding some new variations/options to the red zone package can only help in the long run. And, this is the time to start practicing that kind of stuff.
But, when you are trying some new things, the execution isn't always going to be all that good, let alone perfect, at the beginning. Still, you've got to start somewhere. And, I'd much rather hear that the Bills are trying to do some different things than that they are not trying to add some new variations to what they did last year--anyone who wants to see the Bills run the same offense in the red zone that they ran last year, please raise your hand!
It's good to hear that the defense is getting off to a pretty good start in these OTAs and that some of the young back-ups are making some plays. I have no doubt that Bobby April will be able to get enough out of the back-ups that he uses to make the Special Teams good once again, but it would be a big help if the Bills can replace some of the ST aces that they lost, like Wire, Stamer, Aiken and Haggan, with some young players who can contribute as much or more on defense or offense as they can on STs.
I know that there isn't much to talk about at this time of year and, as a result, that every move that takes place in the OTAs is going to be closely scrutinized for any signs of how the team is doing. But, realistically, it helps to keep in mind that it's still just May and the team is working out in just shorts and helmets, doing drills and running different play packages--including new things that they want to experiment with or add for the first time--in preparation for the beginning of training camp.
These are practices, not even preseason games. This is where players work on trying new things that the coaches want them to do and where the coaches try different combinations of players together--sometimes combinations of players that will never be on the field together in a real game! (they had Corey Mace playing with the first team at DT and DE on Wed., does anyone seriously think that Mace will start at either position on Opening Day of the regular season?). It is serious work, but it is still practice and, while it is important to practice well (practice well, play well), this is the time and place to make mistakes (and learn how to correct them) so that the team does not make them when the games begin and actually start to count.
So, please, let's not start to panic here when one player or unit has an "off" day in these OTAs (when a coach calls out a player or unit, as Schonert did after Tuesday's practice, it can be serious, but it can also be that he is trying to get their attention and let them know that he's not going to tolerate any slacking off--Good for him IMHO!). It's May. These are practices. This is when coaches and players try to do different things to see what they are take forward with them and concentrate on once TC begins and what they won't. It is also a time when, sometimes, a lot more is going on in the classroom (which you never hear about) than during the on-field sessions. And, it is when the coaches try to set a tone and let the players know what their expectations are and what their demands on them will be going forward all the way through the season.
It is interesting to know what the coaches are trying and how the players look at this stage, but there is still a long way to go until the first preseason game, let alone Opening Day. And, a lot of things can and will change between now and then.
Red zone was a focus for the offense and defense during the majority of team work. Unfortunately during the first series rookie fullback Mike Viti
went down with what appeared to be a lower left leg injury. He left the field early and did not return. Viti had just made a reception in the left flat and his leg was inadvertently rolled up on by a pursuing defender as he fell over the sideline. Not long after tight end Tim Massaquoi left practice early with an undisclosed injury as well. Offensive notes
With Roscoe Parrish
back after missing Tuesday's practice, he and Josh Reed got the majority of first team reps at wideout. James Hardy was mixed in behind them at times.As for highlights Fred Jackson
had a good looking run around the left corner as the offensive line did a nice job sealing the edge as he went in for a touchdown. Fullback Jonathan Evans also had a touchdown reception as Trent Edwards hit him coming out of the backfield in a goal-to-go situation.Steve Johnson
pulled in a touchdown reception from Gibran Hamdan during red zone work on a post pattern in the back of the end zone. Teyo Johnson had a nice catch and turn upfield in the flat from Matt Baker. During two-minute drill work Reed set the offense up first-and-goal with the offensive play of the day. Reed made a difficult catch deep down the right sideline as Edwards put the perfect touch on the throw dropping it over Terrence McGee
, who had good coverage on the play. Reed jumped just a hair higher than McGee to pull the ball in for a 30-yard gain. Unfortunately the offense was unsuccessful punching the ball into the end zone on four straight attempts. Derek Schouman
made a catch in the right flat for a short gain on first and goal. On second and goal Edwards rolled out but had to throw it away. On third and goal his pass was incomplete, and the result was the same on fourth and goal.That being said the offense is throwing a lot of different variations out on the field in terms of formation and pre-snap shifts and motions. Edwards believes if they can execute properly it will serve to make Buffalo's offense more unpredictable.
"It just depends on the play and depends on the package and depends on the style of offense we want to run and we're working on that right now," said Edwards. "There's no telling whether or not we'll do that this year or not. But the fact that we have the ability to do that and we know where we're going with those formations and shifts it's going to provide a lot of different looks for the defense." ....
....Defensive notes
On Tuesday it was Jabari Greer
that shined. Wednesday it was rookie free agent linebacker Jon Banks. Playing mostly middle linebacker in the OTA setting Banks (6'1 ½", 233) got his day off to a good start with a pass breakup during red zone work on a throw over the middle by Hamdan.A few plays later Banks picked off a pass in the end zone off Matt Baker. Later in the practice Banks pulled in a second interception on a deflection. Reggie Corner
deflected the pass away from the intended receiver, and Banks caught the loose ball returning it in the other direction.But the defensive play of the day goes to Paul Posluszny
. During 11-on-11 red zone work, Posluszny after settling into his drop, timed his jump perfectly at the goal line, and snared an Edwards pass intended for James Hardy in the back of the end zone with one hand for the interception. It was an acrobatic play.Not long after John McCargo
flashed as he got great penetration and blew up an outside run play. The back was forced to turn the run play back inside where there was nowhere to run...."
I thought I would highlight a few parts of this story for the "the sky is falling" crowd who have made it sound like the offense did absolutely nothing in these red zone drills and are already in full "panic mode".
While the offense obviously struggled at times, I would like to point out that, according to this article, the first team offense scored twice and the second and third team offense scored once each during the drills.
And, one of the times that they were stopped was when Posluzny made "the play of the day", an acrobatic, one-handed, leaping interception. Sounds to me like the defense made a heck of a play there to stop the offense.
It also sounds like the offense is working on trying to incorporate some new things into what they are doing--variations and options that they haven't necessarily had in their arsenal before and are trying out. Good. We've all complained about how predictable the offense has been and adding some new variations/options to the red zone package can only help in the long run. And, this is the time to start practicing that kind of stuff.
But, when you are trying some new things, the execution isn't always going to be all that good, let alone perfect, at the beginning. Still, you've got to start somewhere. And, I'd much rather hear that the Bills are trying to do some different things than that they are not trying to add some new variations to what they did last year--anyone who wants to see the Bills run the same offense in the red zone that they ran last year, please raise your hand!
It's good to hear that the defense is getting off to a pretty good start in these OTAs and that some of the young back-ups are making some plays. I have no doubt that Bobby April will be able to get enough out of the back-ups that he uses to make the Special Teams good once again, but it would be a big help if the Bills can replace some of the ST aces that they lost, like Wire, Stamer, Aiken and Haggan, with some young players who can contribute as much or more on defense or offense as they can on STs.
I know that there isn't much to talk about at this time of year and, as a result, that every move that takes place in the OTAs is going to be closely scrutinized for any signs of how the team is doing. But, realistically, it helps to keep in mind that it's still just May and the team is working out in just shorts and helmets, doing drills and running different play packages--including new things that they want to experiment with or add for the first time--in preparation for the beginning of training camp.
These are practices, not even preseason games. This is where players work on trying new things that the coaches want them to do and where the coaches try different combinations of players together--sometimes combinations of players that will never be on the field together in a real game! (they had Corey Mace playing with the first team at DT and DE on Wed., does anyone seriously think that Mace will start at either position on Opening Day of the regular season?). It is serious work, but it is still practice and, while it is important to practice well (practice well, play well), this is the time and place to make mistakes (and learn how to correct them) so that the team does not make them when the games begin and actually start to count.
So, please, let's not start to panic here when one player or unit has an "off" day in these OTAs (when a coach calls out a player or unit, as Schonert did after Tuesday's practice, it can be serious, but it can also be that he is trying to get their attention and let them know that he's not going to tolerate any slacking off--Good for him IMHO!). It's May. These are practices. This is when coaches and players try to do different things to see what they are take forward with them and concentrate on once TC begins and what they won't. It is also a time when, sometimes, a lot more is going on in the classroom (which you never hear about) than during the on-field sessions. And, it is when the coaches try to set a tone and let the players know what their expectations are and what their demands on them will be going forward all the way through the season.
It is interesting to know what the coaches are trying and how the players look at this stage, but there is still a long way to go until the first preseason game, let alone Opening Day. And, a lot of things can and will change between now and then.
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