BillsZone Training Camp Report: 7/29/2010

[Michael82]

http://www.billszone.com/mtimages/2010/Photo041b.jpg


Buffalo Bills Training Camp Gallery - Thursday, July 29, 2010 (http://s159.photobucket.com/albums/t138/Mikey82_photos/Buffalo%20Bills%20Training%20Camp%202010/7-29-2010%20Afternoon%20Practice/)
It's Here! The Buffalo Bills Training Camp is finally here! Although you couldn't tell that by looking at the stands. It seemed like a lot of fans stayed away and it definitely felt different from last year when Terrell Owens brought some excitement to St. John Fisher. The atmosphere was quiet and it was one of the smallest crowds in a while. Seems like the overall fan doesn't have anything to get excited about. It will be interesting to see how the night practice attendance is. There was one difference that was a positive though. For the first time in many years, the Bills came out onto the field on Day 1 wearing full pads. This was something new and it makes me excited about the rest of camp. Hopefully we go back to hearing the smacking of pads and the hard hitting, fast paced tempo we used to have before the Jauron Era.


http://www.billszone.com/mtlog/archives/2010/07/29/billszone_training_camp_report_7292010.php

[Michael82]

Seeing how the Zone Galleries are down, all my photos will now be on my Photobucket account. Here's a slideshow of the photos from camp on Day 1....

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[tampabay25690]

The thing I see in the pics is that our defense lines up all over the place and thats great to see......
STroud was inside, outside, OLB were down and up.....
Its good to see a bit of change for once on our defense...
We look BIGGER as well on the D....

[Michael82]

The thing I see in the pics is that our defense lines up all over the place and thats great to see......
STroud was inside, outside, OLB were down and up.....
Its good to see a bit of change for once on our defense...
We look BIGGER as well on the D....

Good catch! We are definitely bigger on defense. They look bigger and tougher. :up:

[ZAZusmc03]

Good to hear they are putting knee braces on all O lineman. I guess I never noticed before, But I thought at most colleges and NFL teams they did that anyways.

[DraftBoy]

3. Watch out for Joique Bell. That kid is impressive and shows great burst. I was enjoying watching every time he carried the ball. He's very explosive and broke quite a few runs. If CJ Spiller wants to hold out, fine. But I wouldn't hold out too long if I were him. There's a lot of good competition at RB.

:db: :dance:

[Michael82]

:db: :dance:

I knew you would like that one. mysticsoto and I were both discussing that you might have more people joining you with your mancrush on him.

[ddaryl]

Good catch! We are definitely bigger on defense. They look bigger and tougher. :up:


bigger is better..... God how I hated the 4-3

give me 4 LB's with a little more girth

[DraftBoy]

I knew you would like that one. mysticsoto and I were both discussing that you might have more people joining you with your mancrush on him.

He's a guy with deceptive speed, great vision and he runs hard. I think you illustrated all those traits in your article.

He's going to get plenty of reps with Spiller not in camp and that's good for him. Was his 18 yard run the longest of the day for any RB?

[Michael82]

He's a guy with deceptive speed, great vision and he runs hard. I think you illustrated all those traits in your article.

He's going to get plenty of reps with Spiller not in camp and that's good for him. Was his 18 yard run the longest of the day for any RB?

His 18-yard run was probably longer than that. But I shortened some by saying that they would be stopped by that time but the defensive players gave up. He broke quite a few runs and headed straight for the end zone each time.

[Michael82]

Oh and this is to the rest of you....if any of you have anything in particular you want me to keep an eye on, please let me know.

[ddaryl]

Oh and this is to the rest of you....if any of you have anything in particular you want me to keep an eye on, please let me know.

all I know is I will be keeping an eye out for that Zuit Suit your wearing in your Avatarr....

you make a great pimp...

[mysticsoto]

I was in training camp yesterday for the Opener. Since Mikey has done such a great job in his article I won't write one reiterating what he already said. I will include little tidbits that I had written down here instead:

- The Bills were out early practicing (before 3 PM) and the DL started by working gap assignments. The 1st string D lined up against the 2nd string D and it was being made sure that each person knew where they were supposed to be. I think this is a worry for some (the transition for 4-3 to 3-4) so it was good to see that off the bat, they are ensuring to place emphasis on working on that transition.

- As Mikey said, the stretches and exercises were done within each unit. Personally, I think this is a good thing - builds cohesion between players.

- Special Teams got more work/time than I thought they might. Despite this team's prowess on the field, they are not getting overlooked or underworked.

- Much to Draftboy's delight, Joique Bell was great. He made some nice cut and runs that might have broke it to the endzone - and he did this several times. On one, he delivered a big crack on Dominique Harris! I looked his stats up, 5'11", 220 lbs - not too shabby, but he sure looks and plays bigger than that on the field.

- Maybin got lots of play time. I think they are really trying to give him a chance to show something. I still think he needs to gain some weight though.

- I thought Chris Ellis looked good. He certainly seemed comfortable in the 3-4 lineup.

- Mikey mentioned this already, but I think it bears repeating...Hangartner could NOT get bullrushed by Stroud. In each and every time of the 3 tries, Stroud was shutdown. I thought this was a weak point of Hangartners last year (as well as Levitre's) and he just might have addressed it in the offseason. On that note, Christian Gaddis handled the bull rush well also. He might be stepping it up trying to secure a backup Center spot.

- Levitre had one slow block that might have ended up rushing the quarterback to throw and 1 good block, so he still might need to work on him skillset and strength. I need to see more of him 1st.

- Eric Wood is back and looked fine. I couldn't believe it. I never thought he'd be back in time for Training Camp, much less already in pads and working with the rest of the team. He was one of the 1st ones out on the field and looked just as solid as before.

- Marshawn Lynch had some nice runs where he cut or otherwise broke tackles rather easily and would have had some long runs. And like Mikey said, there seems to be a new attitude about him - perhaps a 'don't count me out' type of attitude. We are loaded at Running Back and with surprise injuries occurring all the time for *any* team, it's not going to surprise me one bit to have *ANY* of our running backs traded at any point. We can certainly afford it and if we can get something nice in return, the Front Office shouldn't hesitate!

- The only other thing I had is echoing what Mikey said about small crowds and the quietness. I know Gailey mentioned something to the effect of the team not being sexy during the offseason, but this opener had one of the smallest and quietest crowds I've seen. There were oohs and ahs for Marshawn Lynch's couple of runs and for some of the runs Joique Bell had. But other than that, silence.

- In a way that was good. The Oline drills were close to me and I could hear what the coaches were saying. Another point Mikey made that I'd like to emphasize was the teaching. It happened right on the field. If a linemen made a mistake that allowed a potential sack to go thru, right then and there, he was shown what he did wrong, how he could have corrected it, and then they would repeat the drill with the same play to allow the lineman to test his correction and get it down. I thought that was one of the better changes I've noticed as compared to the Jauron era coaching.


That's all I had. Next week I'll attend again and make a report. I'm also trying to get into the VIP area for the night practices...If I can get my contact (friend of a friend) to come through for me. If not, I'll happily sit on the sidelines and record what I see from there...

[HHURRICANE]

Mikey you make this place rock!! I look forward to this every year and I sincerely "thank you" for the articles and updates at camp. i always read your camp stuff first!!

As a side note Aaron Maybin is most likely going to be an issue. I was a workout warrior in HS and college and there is only so much mass you can put on a frame. The guy is too skinny, which was my problem.

I think we are potentially looking at one of the worst picks in a long time because at least picks like McCargo and Williams could at least get on the field.

I see Maybin contributing nothing at this point. Hope I'm wrong.

[dannyek71]

I boldly predict Roscoe will look amazing in camp once again.

[OpIv37]

Jason Watkins will probably be a camp cut because he was beat by John McCargo.

:rofl:

I got a kick out of that one, Mikey.

[OpIv37]

- In a way that was good. The Oline drills were close to me and I could hear what the coaches were saying. Another point Mikey made that I'd like to emphasize was the teaching. It happened right on the field. If a linemen made a mistake that allowed a potential sack to go thru, right then and there, he was shown what he did wrong, how he could have corrected it, and then they would repeat the drill with the same play to allow the lineman to test his correction and get it down. I thought that was one of the better changes I've noticed as compared to the Jauron era coaching.



Really?

I mean, who would have thought that a coach showing a player a technique then allowing him to practice it would be a novel concept?

I don't know if it's just PR from the team or sour grapes, but the more I hear about Jauron, the more epic his level of incompetence becomes.

[justasportsfan]

thanks MIkey and keep up the good work.

[theanswer74]

I boldly predict Roscoe will look amazing in camp once again.
That seems to be the common excuse when a player someone doesn't like looks good.

Roscoe Parrish has never had the opportunity he is getting this year. Hopefully he can have a productive season.

[BidsJr]

Thanks for the write up Mikey!

Did the QB's try and stretch the field at all?

[TigerJ]

I think it's really fascinating that there are easily noticed and tangible changes in the way coaching is done between the Jauron era and Gailey's staff. We may get as much of an answer as we'll ever get to the question, "How much of a difference can coaching make?" I hope it makes a huge difference, because the pundits out in media land are pretty much unanimous in the assessment that the Bills are going to suck and will be lucky to win 4 or 5 games. That assessment is due, I think, to the fact that the Bills did not address QB or left tackle with major acquisitions and are attempting a defensive scheme change with a lot of holdovers from the 4-3 Tampa 2 era. If the coaching during the Jauron era was that bad, Gailey's staff is as good as we hope, and coaching techniques can make a significant difference, maybe we'll all be pleasantly surprised this season.

[justasportsfan]

could the small crowd be because it was at 3 pm which is why I couldn't make it myself?

[OpIv37]

That seems to be the common excuse when a player someone doesn't like looks good.

Roscoe Parrish has never had the opportunity he is getting this year. Hopefully he can have a productive season.

excuse?

Every year Roscoe looks good in camp, and every year he looks like **** on the field. And he's had plenty of opportunities. He's had chances to return punts, but he tries to catch the ball on the run or fields it inside the 10 or loses yards trying to get around the corner as often as he breaks one for a big touchdown. He's had opportunities as a WR but never seems to be open because he runs ****ty routes.

The reason some of us don't like certain players is because we are fans who want the team to win, and those players are holding the team back with lackluster performances. The only "excuse" is that Parrish hasn't had an opportunity, because that's simply not true.

[mysticsoto]

could the small crowd be because it was at 3 pm which is why I couldn't make it myself?

I don't see why that would be the reason. Normally it's been 2-4 PM or morning hours. I thought 3-5:30 PM was actually better b'cse people could go in to work early and leave early - rather than be forced to take a half day off.

[mayotm]

Mikey you make this place rock!! I look forward to this every year and I sincerely "thank you" for the articles and updates at camp. i always read your camp stuff first!!

As a side note Aaron Maybin is most likely going to be an issue. I was a workout warrior in HS and college and there is only so much mass you can put on a frame. The guy is too skinny, which was my problem.

I think we are potentially looking at one of the worst picks in a long time because at least picks like McCargo and Williams could at least get on the field.

I see Maybin contributing nothing at this point. Hope I'm wrong.HH, I'm sure you were a real beast back in the day. Hell, you probably still are.

[justasportsfan]

I don't see why that would be the reason. Normally it's been 2-4 PM or morning hours. I thought 3-5:30 PM was actually better b'cse people could go in to work early and leave early - rather than be forced to take a half day off.
it's been raining a lot too.

[mysticsoto]

it's been raining a lot too.

Huh? It was a beautiful sunny day with a high of 78 degrees and not a cloud in the sky. People couldn't have wished for a better day. I parked in East Rochester and walked there...

[dannyek71]

That seems to be the common excuse when a player someone doesn't like looks good.

Roscoe Parrish has never had the opportunity he is getting this year. Hopefully he can have a productive season.

Have you ever been to camp? Roscoe looks like a stud every year.


If you've ever played ball in HS, college etc... You always have those few guys who look great before you start hitting. Roscoe is one of those guys.

[psubills62]

I think it's really fascinating that there are easily noticed and tangible changes in the way coaching is done between the Jauron era and Gailey's staff. We may get as much of an answer as we'll ever get to the question, "How much of a difference can coaching make?" I hope it makes a huge difference, because the pundits out in media land are pretty much unanimous in the assessment that the Bills are going to suck and will be lucky to win 4 or 5 games. That assessment is due, I think, to the fact that the Bills did not address QB or left tackle with major acquisitions and are attempting a defensive scheme change with a lot of holdovers from the 4-3 Tampa 2 era. If the coaching during the Jauron era was that bad, Gailey's staff is as good as we hope, and coaching techniques can make a significant difference, maybe we'll all be pleasantly surprised this season.

I don't think we'll get an answer to that right away though. Most of these guys are players the coaches need to develop, and several will take more than a year. I think the signs of improvements in coaching will show in how we improve year to year. Jauron made it look easy to tread water and seemingly not help the team improve at all year to year. If Gailey can develop some of these young players and show that we have an identity and direction on both sides of the ball, that will be a vast improvement.

[ServoBillieves]

Great pics, great article as usual mikey muhboy.

A few questions... Why was Lindell at WR? Obviously a trick ST play but found that interesting. Also, how hampered does Derek Schouman seem if at all?

I don't know about anyone else, but it's damn nice to see 70 and 80 back on offense. I also will echo noticing that the players just look bigger. I cannot wait til the season to see a beefy D-Line with 4 smaller guys backing it up rather than vice-versa.

Why must I believe in this team...

[justasportsfan]

Huh? It was a beautiful sunny day with a high of 78 degrees and not a cloud in the sky. People couldn't have wished for a better day. I parked in East Rochester and walked there...

Forecast has been inconsistent. It's been very hard to predict.

[Michael82]

I was in training camp yesterday for the Opener. Since Mikey has done such a great job in his article I won't write one reiterating what he already said. I will include little tidbits that I had written down here instead:

- The Bills were out early practicing (before 3 PM) and the DL started by working gap assignments. The 1st string D lined up against the 2nd string D and it was being made sure that each person knew where they were supposed to be. I think this is a worry for some (the transition for 4-3 to 3-4) so it was good to see that off the bat, they are ensuring to place emphasis on working on that transition.

- As Mikey said, the stretches and exercises were done within each unit. Personally, I think this is a good thing - builds cohesion between players.

- Special Teams got more work/time than I thought they might. Despite this team's prowess on the field, they are not getting overlooked or underworked.

- Much to Draftboy's delight, Joique Bell was great. He made some nice cut and runs that might have broke it to the endzone - and he did this several times. On one, he delivered a big crack on Dominique Harris! I looked his stats up, 5'11", 220 lbs - not too shabby, but he sure looks and plays bigger than that on the field.

- Maybin got lots of play time. I think they are really trying to give him a chance to show something. I still think he needs to gain some weight though.

- I thought Chris Ellis looked good. He certainly seemed comfortable in the 3-4 lineup.

- Mikey mentioned this already, but I think it bears repeating...Hangartner could NOT get bullrushed by Stroud. In each and every time of the 3 tries, Stroud was shutdown. I thought this was a weak point of Hangartners last year (as well as Levitre's) and he just might have addressed it in the offseason. On that note, Christian Gaddis handled the bull rush well also. He might be stepping it up trying to secure a backup Center spot.

- Levitre had one slow block that might have ended up rushing the quarterback to throw and 1 good block, so he still might need to work on him skillset and strength. I need to see more of him 1st.

- Eric Wood is back and looked fine. I couldn't believe it. I never thought he'd be back in time for Training Camp, much less already in pads and working with the rest of the team. He was one of the 1st ones out on the field and looked just as solid as before.

- Marshawn Lynch had some nice runs where he cut or otherwise broke tackles rather easily and would have had some long runs. And like Mikey said, there seems to be a new attitude about him - perhaps a 'don't count me out' type of attitude. We are loaded at Running Back and with surprise injuries occurring all the time for *any* team, it's not going to surprise me one bit to have *ANY* of our running backs traded at any point. We can certainly afford it and if we can get something nice in return, the Front Office shouldn't hesitate!

- The only other thing I had is echoing what Mikey said about small crowds and the quietness. I know Gailey mentioned something to the effect of the team not being sexy during the offseason, but this opener had one of the smallest and quietest crowds I've seen. There were oohs and ahs for Marshawn Lynch's couple of runs and for some of the runs Joique Bell had. But other than that, silence.

- In a way that was good. The Oline drills were close to me and I could hear what the coaches were saying. Another point Mikey made that I'd like to emphasize was the teaching. It happened right on the field. If a linemen made a mistake that allowed a potential sack to go thru, right then and there, he was shown what he did wrong, how he could have corrected it, and then they would repeat the drill with the same play to allow the lineman to test his correction and get it down. I thought that was one of the better changes I've noticed as compared to the Jauron era coaching.


That's all I had. Next week I'll attend again and make a report. I'm also trying to get into the VIP area for the night practices...If I can get my contact (friend of a friend) to come through for me. If not, I'll happily sit on the sidelines and record what I see from there...

Great job, man! :up: BTW, it was nice to see ya again. hopefully we can enjoy another practice or two at camp together. :up:

[Michael82]

Great pics, great article as usual mikey muhboy.

A few questions... Why was Lindell at WR? Obviously a trick ST play but found that interesting. Also, how hampered does Derek Schouman seem if at all?

I don't know about anyone else, but it's damn nice to see 70 and 80 back on offense. I also will echo noticing that the players just look bigger. I cannot wait til the season to see a beefy D-Line with 4 smaller guys backing it up rather than vice-versa.

Why must I believe in this team...

Lindell and Moorman were used as bodies, while the WRs were practicing with both Brian Brohm and Ryan Fitzpatrick for the running drills.

Schouman looked good and was used a lot. I didn't notice a limp from him when he went to the fence to sign autographs.

[Michael82]

BUMP if you missed this one...