OTA News: Week 3

[madness]

Bills practicing in the stadium

By Chris Brown - Posted June 2nd, 2009
For the first time during their voluntary OTAs, the Bills are practicing outside. The players will be starting their third week of OTA workouts in Ralph Wilson Stadium.
All the previous OTA practices were inside the Bills Fieldhouse.

[madness]

Re: OTA News: Week 3

McKelvin, McGee not participating

By Chris Brown - Posted June 2nd, 2009
Leodis McKelvin and Terrence McGee are not participating as week 3 of OTAs begins.
Josh Reed and Aaron Schobel are the only absentees.
Lee Evans, Chris Kelsay, Langston Walker and Dominic Rhodes are back.

[madness]

Re: OTA News: Week 3

Shawn Nelson not in attendance

By Chris Brown - Posted June 2nd, 2009
Rookie TE Shawn Nelson is not in attendance for Tuesday’s voluntary OTA. We’ll provide an update if possible on Nelson on the home page.

[madness]

Re: OTA News: Week 3

Martial arts help

The Bills have a martial arts expert working with their players - particularly their defensive linemen - this week.He is Joe Kim, and he runs a tae kwon do school in the Cleveland, Ohio, area. Kim has competed at the Olympic level and worked in coaching tae kwon do athletes for 15 years at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. The Bills are the sixth NFL team he has worked with since 1991. New Bills defensive line coach Bob Sanders used Kim when Sanders was an assistant coach in Miami from 2001 to 2004. Then Sanders brought Kim to Green Bay the past several years. (Sanders was defensive coordinator for the Packers the past three years.)
"What I do is I try to bring my martial arts background and I try to figure out how can hand-to-hand fighting and leverage and footwork improve their pass rush or football skills," Kim said.
Kim got his start working as a consultant to NFL teams in Cleveland when Bill Belichick, then coach of the Browns, began using him. Kim spent a lof of time with the BIlls' defensive linemen in Tuesday's practice. It seems like a real good idea. Kim will be in Buffalo all this week.
---Mark Gaughan

[madness]

Re: OTA News: Week 3

Tuesday's OTA

The Bills ran a sharp-looking no huddle series late in Tuesday's 90-minute voluntary practice held inside Ralph Wilson Stadium. Quarterback Trent Edwards hit five crisp-looking passes on the seven-play series. Two out-routes to Lee Evans were right on time, and the drive ended with a completed slant route to Terrell Owens. Ryan Fitzpatrick took most but not all of the snaps as the second quarterback. Safety George Wilson caught a deflection-interception off Fitzpatrick in 7-on-7 work, and rookie cornerback Ellis Lankster picked off an underthrown Fitzpatrick pass on a seam route for Felton Huggins in 11-on-11 play. Rookie Aaron Maybin had a would-be sack and a pressure in the second half of the practice. Trent Edwards hit Derek Fine in perfect time on a post route in the end zone. The veteran guards, Kirk Chambers and Seth McKinney, still were running with the first teamers, ahead of rookie draft picks Erik Wood and Andy Levitre.
---Mark Gaughan

[Oaf]

Re: OTA News: Week 3

Good to see Lankster continuing to make plays plus Maybin and Fine doing well. Not great to see Wood/Levitre not getting 1st team reps yet.

[The Spaz]

Re: OTA News: Week 3

Can't be Maybin has been "brutal"...

[mayotm]

Re: OTA News: Week 3

Good to see Lankster continuing to make plays plus Maybin and Fine doing well. Not great to see Wood/Levitre not getting 1st team reps yet.

It's not really unusual to see rookies start off as second teamers. Especially before the pads have even been put on. The coaching staff wants to make them earn starting positions.

[madness]

Re: OTA News: Week 3

Can't be Maybin has been "brutal"...

[yordad]

Re: OTA News: Week 3

Good to see Lankster continuing to make plays plus Maybin and Fine doing well. Not great to see Wood/Levitre not getting 1st team reps yet.

Yeah, what's up with that Lankster? I've heard his name as many times as anyone. I know it is only OTAs, but the cream always rises to the top. I'll keep an eye out in preseason.

[madness]

Re: OTA News: Week 3

Organized Team Activity: Day 8

Chris Brown, Lead Journalist
Posted Jun 2, 2009



The defensive unit performed admirably up front as the third week of OTAs commenced Tuesday. Buffalo’s defensive linemen were consistently getting pressure on the quarterbacks flushing them from the pocket during team work.
On the day the defensive front unofficially had four ‘would be’ sacks and three pressures as Buffalo’s quarterbacks were forced to scramble on more than a handful of occasions.
Defensive line coach Bob Sanders has been focusing a lot on hand technique with respect to pass rush with his linemen, and took it up another notch bringing in Joe Kim, a Tae Kwan Do expert that has worked with six NFL teams over the past 18 years.
“Since 1991 I’ve been working with NFL teams,” said Kim. “What I try to do is bring my martial art background and I try to figure out how the hand-to-hand fighting, the leverage and the footwork can help their pass rush skills now.”
Kim has worked with the likes of Bill Belichick, Jim Bates and Nick Saban. Sanders began working with Kim in Miami and later Green Bay, and made the short drive up from his home base of Cleveland to tutor Buffalo’s players.
“We’ve watched every sack in the NFL over the past two years this offseason and 90 percent of the sacks in the league are off counter moves,” said Kyle Williams. “So it’s really helped us to stay busy and taught us how to counter off an initial move.”
Kim affirms that the Bills players are hungry to learn his techniques, which is no surprise knowing Buffalo has ranked 29th in the league in sacks over the past two seasons. And there appeared to be an improvement just in the first practice Tuesday alone.
Taming the Wildcat
Buffalo’s defense got a respectable amount of reps in against the ‘Wildcat’ formation that Miami made so popular last season. The coaching staff realizes they’re likely to see more of it within their division and possibly elsewhere. Donte Whitner feels exposure to it in the practice setting will be important.
“We know that this is a copycat league, and we know that Miami got off to a fast start last year with the Wildcat catching some teams off guard and it got the momentum rolling for their season,” said Whitner. “Obviously they drafted Pat White and it doesn’t take to a rocket scientist to know that they’re going to use him in the Wildcat and they’re going to add a lot more wrinkles to the Wildcat. And he’s a dangerous guy, and that formation is dangerous if you don’t stop it early.
“If you continue to just let them pound away with it and get big plays and feel good with it they’ll use it the entire game and you don’t want them to do that.”
Whitner is glad the coaching staff is keeping their approach to defending the Wildcat formation fresh in the players’ minds. He feels getting reps against it once a week will help keep Buffalo’s defenders ready for it.
Sound machine
For the first time during OTAs the Bills practiced outside in Ralph Wilson Stadium. That allowed the coaching staff to take advantage of the stadium’s audio system as they blared loud music down onto the field to challenge the offense’s ability to communicate.
Overall they fared well with just one snap count issue.
Back working
Back in the fold for practice Tuesday after missing last Friday’s practice were Lee Evans, Chris Kelsay, Roscoe Parrish, Dominic Rhodes and Langston Walker.
Back from injury and participating in practice were rookie sixth-round pick Cary Harris, Derek Schouman and Kyle Ward.
Nelson added to absentee list
Bills fourth-round pick Shawn Nelson was absent for his first voluntary OTA practice Tuesday. Head coach Dick Jauron is expected to provide an update at week’s end.
Also absent were Josh Reed and Aaron Schobel.
Highlights
Defensively, pass pressure was supplied by Aaron Maybin, who disrupted Gibran Hamdan’s progressions twice in the same series, flushing him from the pocket on the second such play.
Chris Kelsay had a ‘would be’ sack on Trent Edwards in 11-on-11 work.
Three plays later Kyle Williams knifed into the backfield and got to Edwards before the pass was thrown.
Linebacker Alvin Bowen also had a sack and defensive end Jermaine McGhee had a quarterback pressure forcing Ryan Fitzpatrick to throw sooner than he wanted. And Copeland Bryan had a ‘would be’ sack as well.
George Wilson however, was the defensive playmaker with a pass breakup early in 7-on-7 followed by an interception four plays later on a pass tipped by Marcus Buggs during red zone work.
Seventh-round pick Ellis Lankster continues to make plays as he had an interception 11-on-11.
Tight ends Derek Fine and Derek Schouman scored touchdowns on back-to-back plays with both pulling in touchdown receptions.
Steve Johnson made a good looking catch over the middle during the red zone period as well, and had four receptions on the day.
Run plays were more of a focus for the offense so there were fewer opportunities for Buffalo’s receiving corps as Lee Evans and Terrell
Owens combined for five catches in the practice.
During the two minute drill portion of practice the offense needed a field goal and had one timeout at their disposal. Trent Edwards led the first unit into safe field goal range with time still left on the clock.
Notable roles
Veterans Kirk Chambers and Seth McKinney continue to hold down the starting roles at the two guard positions on the offensive line. Rookies Andy Levitre and Eric Wood are still being rotated in however, a good portion of the time.
Roscoe Parrish spelled Josh Reed in the slot with the first unit, but also lined up wide on occasion. Steve Johnson was also sprinkled in for some first team reps in four wide formations.
Reggie Corner and Drayton Florence were the starting cornerbacks with the first defensive unit with Leodis McKelvin and Terrence McGee still spectating due to injury. Kyle Ward came on to play on the outside in nickel package with the first unit when Corner moved into the slot.
The second team cornerbacks were sixth-round pick Cary Harris and the seventh-rounder Lankster.
Fifth-round pick Nic Harris continues to get snaps with the second unit and is also seeing reps with the second team nickel.
Free agent signed Marvin Philip got reps at center with the second team offense. Brandon Rodd a 2008 practice squad player for Buffalo last season had been seeing more of those reps previously, though the staff may just be rotating them at this point...

http://www.buffalobills.com/news/article-1/organized-team-activity-day-8/279d4a71-faeb-4a06-b80b-6189562502d5

[elltrain22]

Re: OTA News: Week 3

would like to see Wood and/or Levitre getting 1st team reps, but this early on, thats probably to be expected. I am fully confident both of these guys will help this team out alot this year.

[justasportsfan]

Re: OTA News: Week 3

Martial arts help

The Bills have a martial arts expert working with their players - particularly their defensive linemen - this week.He is Joe Kim, and he runs a tae kwon do school in the Cleveland, Ohio, area. Kim has competed at the Olympic level and worked in coaching tae kwon do athletes for 15 years at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. The Bills are the sixth NFL team he has worked with since 1991. New Bills defensive line coach Bob Sanders used Kim when Sanders was an assistant coach in Miami from 2001 to 2004. Then Sanders brought Kim to Green Bay the past several years. (Sanders was defensive coordinator for the Packers the past three years.)
"What I do is I try to bring my martial arts background and I try to figure out how can hand-to-hand fighting and leverage and footwork improve their pass rush or football skills," Kim said.
Kim got his start working as a consultant to NFL teams in Cleveland when Bill Belichick, then coach of the Browns, began using him. Kim spent a lof of time with the BIlls' defensive linemen in Tuesday's practice. It seems like a real good idea. Kim will be in Buffalo all this week.
---Mark Gaughan

tae kwondo with hand-to-hand? Sanders needs to research further.

[The Spaz]

Re: OTA News: Week 3

tae kwondo with hand-to-hand? Sanders needs to research further.

I guess all the other clubs Kim have worked for are wrong too then...lol

[justasportsfan]

Re: OTA News: Week 3

I guess all the other clubs Kim have worked for are wrong too then...lol

not saying that but tkd is known for footwork and I can understand if thats their focus but their hand work is known to be horrible. Maybe he's incorporating some other style for the hand work but I'm sure it's not tkd.