Training Camp News: Week 2

[madness]

Time to play catch up...

Batten out

By Chris Brown - Posted August 2, 2010 – 8:31 am
Rookie OLB Danny Batten won’t be practicing this morning.
Batten right arm is in a sling after suffering an apparent shoulder injury.
On his way out to practice this morning Batten said he’d be alright.
Head coach Chan Gailey is scheduled to address the media following the night practice.

[madness]

Re: Training Camp News: Week 2

Buddy to talk after practice

By Chris Brown - Posted August 2, 2010 – 9:43 am
Bills GM Buddy Nix will address the media after practice on the Aaron Schobel situation which you can read about on the home page of Buffalobills.com.
Moving forward without Schobel means one of three things. He can either be released, traded or retire. We’ll have what Nix has to say for you as soon as possible.

[madness]

Re: Training Camp News: Week 2

Non participants

By Chris Brown - Posted August 2, 2010 – 9:59 am
The players not participating this morning is as follows.
Danny Batten, John Destin, Kawika Mitchell, Keith Ellison, Cordaro Howard, Ed Wang, Demetrius Bell, Spencer Johnson, Marcus Stroud.

[madness]

Re: Training Camp News: Week 2

Nix makes it clear on Schobel

By Chris Brown - Posted August 2, 2010 – 10:42 am
Bills GM Buddy Nix made it clear regarding Aaron Schobel’s career with the Bills. It’s over.
“He will remain on our Reserve/Did Not Report list until he makes a decision about what he wants to do, whether it’s retire or if he might want to play somewhere else,” said Nix.
If Schobel does want to play elsewhere, the Bills will then begin to explore trade options. It’s clear the Bills will not outright release him.

[madness]

Re: Training Camp News: Week 2

Bills react to Schobel parting

By Chris Brown - Posted August 2, 2010 – 12:48 pm
Some Bills players commented after practice this morning about the team’s decision to not have Aaron Schobel as a member of the roster in 2010.
DT Kyle Williams, one of Schobel’s two closest friends on the team understood it was a business decision by the club and admits he’ll miss him as a friend and teammate.
“Well, like Schobel’s always said, that’s the teams prerogative,” said Williams. ”They wanted to move forward without him. He was OK with that. He saw that and he wanted to take his time with it, and they made their play. That’s what we’re going to work with and we’re going to play without him this year.
“I know this is a business and things tend to happen that you don’t expect. Like I said, we all know Schobel is a good player. There’s a lot of teams that would love to have him, but we don’t so we have to live with that.”
Meanwhile Aaron Maybin, who now carries the burden of picking up where Schobel left off as the linchpin on which the team’s pass rush hangs said he is ready to take on that responsibility, but realizes he has a long way to go to effectively fill those shoes.
“I believe that I am,” Maybin said. ”Like I’ve been saying from day one, I have yet to prove myself in this league. I tell everybody that, and everybody on this team knows that and they know how hard I’m working and how bad I want this team to win and how bad I want to be a major contributor to that.
“So with this happening, it just means that it’s time for me to step it up and it’s time for me to really put myself in that position and that role for this team.”

[dannyek71]

Re: Training Camp News: Week 2

Time to play catch up...

Batten out

By Chris Brown - Posted August 2, 2010 – 8:31 am
Rookie OLB Danny Batten won’t be practicing this morning.
Batten right arm is in a sling after suffering an apparent shoulder injury.
On his way out to practice this morning Batten said he’d be alright.
Head coach Chan Gailey is scheduled to address the media following the night practice.

I saw him hurt it yesterday. When he went down on it, I first thought he broke/dislocated it because of how he immediately winced and how he fell on it. But then he got up pretty quickly and I forgot about it.

[madness]

Re: Training Camp News: Week 2

Bills defensive end Schobel interested in Texans
If the Buffalo Bills end up releasing veteran defensive end Aaron Schobel, and he decides he wants to play for a 10th season, expect him to place the Texans at the top of his list of teams he wants to play for.
chron.com/John McClain | Posted at 03:37 PM

[madness]

Re: Training Camp News: Week 2

Where Schobel money could go

By Chris Brown - Posted August 2, 2010 – 2:42 pm
For now Aaron Schobel’s contract is still on the books, but once he either retires or is moved via trade, there will be a good chunk of change with which to help the team in terms of personnel.
I believe some of that money will go to some young veterans whose contracts are up after this season. Chief among them is Paul Posluszny. Others include Donte Whitner, Ashton Youboty, George Wilson, Trent Edwards, Brian Brohm and long snapper Garrison Sanborn.
Obviously, the quarterback situation will have to definitively be resolved before determining who might be re-signed long term. By no means am I saying all these guys are going to be re-signed, but those kinds of decisions will have to be made, and the money will be there to pay who they want to pay.
The point is that in rebuilding this roster a good portion of that money from the Schobel contract is likely to go into reinvesting in the young vets whose contracts are up.

[justasportsfan]

Re: Training Camp News: Week 2

Practice Notes - Day 5

arguably his best practice in camp.

Brian Brohm, who got the reps with the second unit Monday morning, put together one of his better series in terms of consistency. In 7-on-7 his six-play series began with a throw to the flat that was deftly caught by Marcus Easley who showed strong hands in pulling in the reception despite tight coverage along the near sideline.

On the next play he hit Lee Evans for a short gain in traffic. That was followed by a completion to Huggins. Then he fired a bullet over the middle to Evans, who had gained good separation on the play. That was followed by a 35-yard strike down the near sideline to a streaking Chad Jackson.

The series was capped by a completion to Naaman Roosevelt on the far side of the field.

http://www.buffalobills.com/news/article-3/Practice-Notes---Day-5/b91bc33c-6df7-49c9-b2e0-b8dfda2641cb

[madness]

Re: Training Camp News: Week 2

Bills bid Schobel goodbye

Aug 2, 2010 10:38:39 AM / Comment
The Bills announced this morning they are moving on without Aaron Schobel. Presumably they will release him.
"I think they made the right decision," Schobel said. "Honestly, I'm a little bit relieved. I understand where they are coming from. I would have done the same exact thing if I were them.

"They know it's a one-year deal with me," Schobel added. "They know that I'm not going to be part of their long-term plan.''

Schobel said he still does not know if he's going to play this year.

"I've changed my mind 10 times in the past week. I don't know. I was going to call Buddy (Nix) today. This saves me a call."

Schobel was going to call Nix today because he was still on the fence.
More from Nix later after the morning practice.
--- Mark Gaughan

[madness]

Re: Training Camp News: Week 2

Buddy Nix on Schobel

Aug 2, 2010 12:25:24 PM / Comment
Here's what Bills General Manager Buddy Nix said about the decision to play this season without Aaron Schobel, regardless of whether the defensive end decides he wants to play football this year:
"We’re trying to get tour team ready to play this year, and we just thought it was time to move forward. We’re really working some good players at that position, which really didn’t have anything to do with it. But we’re working to get ready to play in 2010. We think this is what we need to do."
Have you explored a trade of him? "Not at all to this point."
So what happens now? "He will stay on the reserve did not report list until he makes a decision on whether he’s retiring or if he might want to play somewhere else."
You have young players like Aaron Maybin and you need to find out if they can play. Did you think Schobel's return would ****** their development? "I don’t care about getting into that. You can figure that out. He’s not going to be here. Hopefully those guys will step up."
Was his salary a factor in the decision? "No."
You left the door very open to him on Thursday, what about that? "The decision up until camp was that he could still report and had not told us whether he was retiring or would report. It was a point that when he didn’t show up, we’d gone as far as we could go."
Did you think he'd missed too much preparation and time with the team? "Obviously he’s missed some learning. But the bottom line is we’ve got guys that have worked hard. They’ve done everything they can, everything we’ve asked them to do. We’re thinking about them. Every decision we make will be based on what’s best for this team."
Schobel was due to earn $6.025 million in base salary. He could have collected a $2 million roster bonus in March simply by showing up at the Bills' headquarters and passing a physical. But Schobel opted not to show up to collect that bonus.
If Schobel decides in the next couple weeks he wants to play in 2010, the expectation is the Bills will release him. The Bills have no leverage in a trade and would not be able to get even a late-round pick for him, because every team knows he's not playing in Buffalo and the Bills would release him rather than put him on the team.
We'll have to see if Schobel decides to play or not.
There is no doubt that Houston Texans defensive line coach Bill Kollar, the former D-line coach in Buffalo, wants Schobel.
Based on today's conversation with Schobel, I'm not sure what he's going to do. I would be surprised if he decides he's going to play in time to report to some team's training camp. He lives about an hour east of Houston. My guess is he will go to the Texas sometime late in preseason.
---Mark Gaughan

[madness]

Re: Training Camp News: Week 2

Camp Confidential: Buffalo Bills
Of any preseason prediction I can make, the one I'm most confident in is that the Buffalo Bills will finish fourth in the AFC East. That slot would be neither general manager Buddy Nix's nor head coach Chan Gailey's fault. The problems they inherited have set the course for 2010.
ESPN/Tim Graham | Posted at 04:10 PM

[madness]

Re: Training Camp News: Week 2

Meeting in the middle

Chris Brown
Posted August 2, 2010 – 3:06 pm
Tags: C.J. Spiller
With the picks right before and right after C.J. Spiller signed, meeting in the middle wouldn’t be unusual, or would it?
With Oakland’s Rolando McClain signed for a reported 5 years and $40 million with $23 million guaranteed, and Jacksonville’s Tyson Alualu now done with a 5-year deal worth a reported $28 million and $17.5 million guaranteed, there’s a middle ground for Spiller at pick nine overall.
It would be a five-year deal worth $34 million and $20.25 million guaranteed. Something tells me though if it were that simple, Spiller would be at camp by now.

[better days]

Re: Training Camp News: Week 2

Buddy Nix on Schobel

Aug 2, 2010 12:25:24 PM / Comment
Here's what Bills General Manager Buddy Nix said about the decision to play this season without Aaron Schobel, regardless of whether the defensive end decides he wants to play football this year:
"We’re trying to get tour team ready to play this year, and we just thought it was time to move forward. We’re really working some good players at that position, which really didn’t have anything to do with it. But we’re working to get ready to play in 2010. We think this is what we need to do."
Have you explored a trade of him? "Not at all to this point."
So what happens now? "He will stay on the reserve did not report list until he makes a decision on whether he’s retiring or if he might want to play somewhere else."
You have young players like Aaron Maybin and you need to find out if they can play. Did you think Schobel's return would ****** their development? "I don’t care about getting into that. You can figure that out. He’s not going to be here. Hopefully those guys will step up."
Was his salary a factor in the decision? "No."
You left the door very open to him on Thursday, what about that? "The decision up until camp was that he could still report and had not told us whether he was retiring or would report. It was a point that when he didn’t show up, we’d gone as far as we could go."
Did you think he'd missed too much preparation and time with the team? "Obviously he’s missed some learning. But the bottom line is we’ve got guys that have worked hard. They’ve done everything they can, everything we’ve asked them to do. We’re thinking about them. Every decision we make will be based on what’s best for this team."
Schobel was due to earn $6.025 million in base salary. He could have collected a $2 million roster bonus in March simply by showing up at the Bills' headquarters and passing a physical. But Schobel opted not to show up to collect that bonus.
If Schobel decides in the next couple weeks he wants to play in 2010, the expectation is the Bills will release him. The Bills have no leverage in a trade and would not be able to get even a late-round pick for him, because every team knows he's not playing in Buffalo and the Bills would release him rather than put him on the team.
We'll have to see if Schobel decides to play or not.
There is no doubt that Houston Texans defensive line coach Bill Kollar, the former D-line coach in Buffalo, wants Schobel.
Based on today's conversation with Schobel, I'm not sure what he's going to do. I would be surprised if he decides he's going to play in time to report to some team's training camp. He lives about an hour east of Houston. My guess is he will go to the Texas sometime late in preseason.
---Mark Gaughan

I don't know why people expect the Bills to release Schobel. Nix said he will stay on did not report until he makes a decision on retiring or playing for another team.

That does not sound like they plan to release him to me. It sounds like if he wants to play he will have to agree to a trade from the Bills.

[Philagape]

Re: Training Camp News: Week 2

"I've changed my mind 10 times in the past week. I don't know."

Good for the Bills to make this clown's decision for him. Good riddance.