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Buffalo Bills Training Camp Report: 7/30/2013
Buffalo Bills Training Camp Gallery - Tuesday, July 30, 2013
Tuesday was the first day the Buffalo Bills players were in pads. So some contact was to be expected. The fans that were actually there got to hear quite a few pops from the players hitting each other and it felt even more like real football. It's going to be interesting to see what happens to the attendance this year though. Morning sessions are usually never that busy and today was no exception. The bleachers were about half full. But the fans that were there got to enjoy a spirited practice.
Now, I'll be honest, due to my job I showed up a little late. I missed the passing drills and probably one 11-on-11 series. But I have learned that the first half hour is usually all the individual drills, so I don't think I missed much. Either way, if you are thinking about heading to one of the morning practices, you can easily arrive at 9am and still get to catch a lot of action. Once I arrived, the team was finishing up some 11-on-11 drills, so I used the time to get set up and take some photos. The team then took about 10 minutes or so to work on special teams. They worked on field goals and also kickoffs. Rookie kicker Dustin Hopkins was booming all his kickoffs and sent quite a few of them thru the back of the end zone. The returners that I saw were Leodis McKelvin, TJ Graham and Marquise Goodwin. It's a little early to judge special teams, but I thought Hopkins easily beat Lindell in this round for kickoffs. As for the field goals, they were both pretty close. Both kickers tried field goals from 35-55 yards. Rian Lindell was 4-6, missing two of the longest ones (both from 50+ yards). On the other hand, Hopkins was 4-7, but his missed field goals were in the 40-45 yard range.
Following the special teams work, the team worked on 7-on-7 passing drills. Kevin Kolb started it off with a 5-yard pass to Lee Smith. However on the next play, Kolb overthrew TJ Graham. He then connected with Stevie Johnson for 6-yards. EJ Manuel came in next and hit Brad Smith, who dropped the ball. He then went right back to him and Smith caught an 8-yard pass. On the last play of the series, Manuel decided to tuck the ball and run and gained about 5-yards. Jeff Tuel came onto the field next and had no one open, so he ran with it, gaining a few yards. He then threw a short pass to Da'Rick Rogers who showed nice speed, gaining about 20-yards of RAC. Kevin Kolb then returned and hit CJ Spiller for 3-yards. He then found Chris Hogan for a short gain, after TJ Heath popped him. On the final play of the series, Kolb overthrew Hogan. EJ Manuel then came back in and worked with the starters. He first found Robert Woods for 7-yards. Then he followed it with 2 straight completions to Stevie Johnson, one for 8-yards and the second for about 12-yards. Jeff Tuel then came back onto the field for a final time and was almost intercepted by Jumal Rolle, but he couldn't quite get his hands on the ball. On the final play of the drill, Tuel connected with Brandon Kaufman for 18-yards..... CLICK FOR MORE:
I didn't notice that one. I love it!
John Kryk @JohnKryk 
& 
too!!
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