SB Nation - Shaine Smith

Bills part ways with six players, sign TE DeVree

Brian Galliford — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 15:29:37 -0000

The Buffalo Bills have officially announced that they have parted ways with six players as well as signed one to reach the NFL's league-mandated roster maximum of 75 players.

The team has waived OT Chris Denman and WR Shaine Smith, as well as placed three players - TE Travis McCall, CB Lydell Sargeant and DT Marcus Smith - on the waived/injured list. LB Solomon Elimimian was released.

WR James Hardy remains on the Active PUP list.

The Bills also signed free agent TE Tyson DeVree, an undrafted free agent in 2008 that spent training camp with the New England Patriots. The 6'6", 245-pound DeVree spent most of the season on the practice squad.

Buffalo now has 75 players on its active roster, including Hardy. The team will take the field for their final pre-season contest on Thursday, and then the Bills must trim the roster to 53 by 4:00 PM on Saturday, September 5.

2009 Bills Training Camp is officially in the books

MattRichWarren — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 16:45:09 -0000

This morning was the final day of 2009 Buffalo Bills training camp at St. John Fisher College in Pittsford. I was in attendance today - as I was for a dozen practices this year - as the moving vans arrived and the team headed back to Orchard Park for the remainder of the pre-season. Due to the copious amounts of rain yesterday, my phone was not operational for Twitter updates this morning, so I am going to change up and give you a timeline of the typical practice after the jump with my notes from today.

I arrived early thanks to a friend who attends SJF. She gave me her parking pass and I rolled into the parking lot instead of taking the blasted shuttles. That was pretty sweet.

9:30 - 9:40 Special Teams - Punt Team
Bobby April led the punt team through some work on blocking, then on getting off their blocks; meanwhile, the gunners worked at the other end of the field. As has been a continuous trend, Ryan Neill got all first team work with Garrison Sanborn squarely behind him. Working at gunner (in no particular order) were Justin Jenkins, Reggie Corner, Ashton Youboty, Felton Huggins, Jairus Byrd, Shaine Smith, Lydell Sargeant, John Wendling, and Ko Simpson. Easily the most vocal player during this work was Marcus Stroud, standing on the sideline.

9:40 - 9:49 Walk Through vs. Scout Teams
The first team offense was without Terrell Owens again today; Owens has been officially ruled out of Saturday's pre-season contest in Green Bay. Josh Reed took his reps on the outside. Bryan Scott continued to practice following his injury and alternated moving up in the box with Donte Whitner during the exercise.

9:49 - 9:55 Warm up and Stretch
Easily the most boring thing to watch in practice, it's also the best to see who is participating. QB Matt Baker was stretching, but didn't throw a pass all day, instead standing and watching in a ball cap. WR James Hardy joined Owens in the training room, and defensive tackles Corey Mace and Marcus Smith watched from the sidelines. TE Shawn Nelson was late arriving on the field, but eventually joined the team during team work. Everyone else was participating fully.

9:55 - 10:11 Position Work
At this point in the practice, the team broke up into their position groups: DL, LB, DB, OL, TE, WR, RB, QB and ST (kickers, punters and long snappers). Without pads on, the OL and DL were working on footwork and hand techniques on opposite ends of the field. The RB and QB groups started together working on hand-offs before the RB group went to work on footwork and cuts. LBs were working on gap assignments, and DBs were focusing on backpedaling and ball skills. TEs were focusing on blocking and when to move off onto the blitzing linebacker. The WRs were catching passes after breaking off routes, but the most interesting part was that a coach was smacking them with a pad when the ball was in the air. Essentially the guys had to keep their focus even though they were being hit as the ball arrived. Then the WRs and QBs got together and worked on pass routes before the TEs and RBs were mixed in as well.

10:11 - 10:19 7on 7, OL vs. DL
While the offensive and defensive linemen did some one on one work, the first team offense and defense worked in the passing shell. It was around this time that people were figuring out that T.O. was just not going to show up. Many were sad. It would have been nice for him to at least come out and wave or something. Skill players with the first team offense were Lee Evans, Derek Fine, Josh Reed (in for Owens) and Shawn Nelson in the slot. He moved in tight on a couple plays as well before Roscoe Parrish replaced him. Roscoe and Nelson's reps were split pretty evenly as the "third WR" option. Good to see the big guy getting some first team reps. As an aside, it's pretty clear that Derek Schouman and Derek Fine are 1A and 1B and will rotate with Nelson. We officially have a three-headed monster at TE.

Trent Edwards was hitting guys in stride today and not one throw hit the ground during position work or 7 on 7. He was working the ball down the field, hitting Evans and Reed for gains on 15-20 yards. Ryan Fitzpatrick also looked good, completing good passes before throwing a 30+ yard bomb to Justin Jenkins. It was a gorgeous arching pass right over the top of the defender. Even Gibran Hamdan got in on the act, threading the ball between two defenders for a 25-yard pickup to C.J. Hawthorne.

10:19 - 10:31 Special Teams - Kick Return
Bobby April had the front six on one side of the field and his back five on the other. The starters for the front line were George WIlson, Jon Corto, John Wendling, Marcus Buggs and Justin Jenkins (L to R facing the kicker), with Shawn Nelson about ten yards behind Wendling. They were working on picking up their guys based on what the kick team does. The wedge (April used the term) portion was Leodis McKelvin returning with Xavier Omon five yards in front of him, and Spencer Johnson five yards in front of Omon. The Dereks were about five yards further up splitting the field in thirds. When the ball was kicked deep, the Dereks stood about three yards apart and Johnson came between them about two yards back. They also worked on short kicks and getting communication down so they know who is going to catch it.

10:32 - 10:38 11 on 11
The first full-team work of the day again highlighted the offense as they continued to practice without pads. James Hardy made his way onto the field prior to the team work, walking out and talking with teammates. Bryan Scott had a simulated stop in the backfield on a Roscoe reverse, the second of those I witnessed today. Jairus Byrd had a nice pass breakup on a Gibran Hamdan throw working with the third team. Answering some questions, the second team center was Brandon Rodd and Seth McKinney, running second team guard, slid over to the pivot with the third team. Watching more position battles, Chris Ellis is clearly getting more reps than Copeland Bryan, who ran third team today. Ellis has been seeing second team reps while Aaron Maybin continues his holdout.

10:38 - 10:54 Walk Through vs. Coaches
A staple of the end of practice is a walk through against a team of coaches simulating a defense. It's not interesting to watch, but the fans were getting anxious and began chanting. At one point between plays, Eric Wood and Langston Walker raised their arms in the air exhorting the chants to continue and get louder. The first team offense was working against the coaches, but on the other side of the field, it was the second and third team defense getting the reps against the ghost team.

10:54 - 10:58 Stretching and Team Huddle

10:59 Position Meetings and Break
DB, OL, LB, and TE met with their position coaches briefly while the rest of the team made their way towards the locker room for the final time this year. After practice, Fitzpatrick signed autographs and Walker and Butler threw their gloves into the stands.

***

Best Development of the Day
Only one Trent Edwards pass hit the ground all day. It was a yard overthrown to Lee Evans on the sideline about 18 yards off the line of scrimmage.

Worst Development of the Day
The moving vans were moving stuff from the sidelines and locker room during the entire practice. I still have at least one camp story to tell and you should see that later this week, but for now, the only time we'll see the Bills is when they play the Packers this weekend.

Owens highlights growing Bills injury list

Brian Galliford — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 13:00:14 -0000

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The big news out of Buffalo this morning is, of course, the toe injury of Buffalo Bills WR Terrell Owens. After spraining his toe at an undisclosed point in the Bills' 21-18 loss to the Tennessee Titans in the Hall of Fame Game, Owens missed the Bills' Tuesday walk-through as well as their evening practice. Head Coach Dick Jauron described Owens as "day to day," and would not speculate on whether or not the star receiver will play in this Saturday's pre-season contest against the Chicago Bears.

Unfortunately for Buffalo, Owens isn't the only player injured. Fellow WR Steve Johnson, who returned to practice late last week after a rib injury sidelined him, re-injured the rib when he got tangled up with rookie CB Cary Harris in a drill on Tuesday. Harris landed on Johnson to re-aggravate the injury; from what Johnson told BuffaloBills.com last night, he will likely miss practices for the rest of this week as well as his second straight pre-season game.

Injuries seem to be a constant issue in Buffalo, and it's for that reason that the Bills have had to sign six street free agents over the past few weeks. C Christian Gaddis is the latest, joining WR Shaine Smith, DE Ataefiok Etukeren, DT Derrick Jones, DT Corey Mace and S Antwain Spann as players that have joined the Bills since training camp opened on July 25. However, one injured player did return to the field last night - and as he's a key figure on a revamped offensive line, Brad Butler's return is an important one.

Keeping track of the O-Line
Butler participated fully for the first time since injuring his back early last week, and looked good as he re-assumed his spot as the starting right tackle. It's still unclear if he'll play this Saturday - the coaches and trainers will likely wait to see how his back responds to a full practice load - but for now, the return is good news. Meanwhile, Butler's understudy, Demetrius Bell - who has impressed this pre-season - took reps with the second unit at left tackle.

With Butler back in the fold, Buffalo's entire offensive line is once again healthy. The more they play together this pre-season, the better.

Linebacker dinged, too
Arguably the most impressive Bills linebacker in the Hall of Fame Game was undrafted rookie free agent Ashlee Palmer. It would figure, therefore, that Palmer suffered a severe ankle sprain in the game and could be looking at missing a significant chunk of practice time. Alvin Bowen took his reps with the second unit on the weak side (as well as a few reps on the strong side with the third unit).

Meanwhile, BuffaloBills.com reports that Pat Thomas and Marcus Buggs continue to flip-flop with the second and third units at middle linebacker. Buggs started with the second unit against the Titans; it's therefore logical that Thomas is gearing up to get those reps against the Bears. This is one of the more unique battles going on at the moment; no matter the winner, both of these guys have excellent opportunities to make the final roster.

More lineup changes to note
Aaron Schobel continues to get a lighter work load, but rather than Ryan Denney taking his first-team reps last night - as usually happens - Chris Ellis took those reps, and took advantage of the opportunity by registering two would-be sacks on Trent Edwards, cleanly beating Langston Walker on both plays. That's what we like to hear. Now we just need to see it in a game.

RB Xavier Omon, who impressed against the Titans, was injured in practice and missed some reps. The injury is not considered serious, but Bruce Hall gladly took his reps.

With Owens and Johnson missing time, Josh Reed, Roscoe Parrish and Justin Jenkins shot up the depth chart. Jenkins has had a strong camp and pre-season, and other than an ugly pass interference call against Tennessee, has impressed. Ponder for a moment, however, the prospect of the Bills playing any meaningful games without Owens. Who wouldn't mind if T.O. sat out the rest of the pre-season? We're not advocating it. It's just a thought.

CB Ashton Youboty continues to sit with a lingering groin injury. Three cornerbacks with whom Youboty is jockeying for time - Drayton Florence, Reggie Corner and Ellis Lankster - continue to reap the benefits of his sitting out.

Wednesday
Buffalo has a practice scheduled for the early afternoon on Wednesday. It is doubtful that players such as Owens, Johnson and Palmer will practice. Butler should continue to work; it will also be interesting to see if Youboty returns to action.

Linemen dropping like flies at Bills camp

Brian Galliford — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 22:59:43 -0000

Heading into the Hall of Fame pre-season game this Sunday in Canton, Ohio, the Buffalo Bills have been dealing with several issues along their defensive line. Aaron Maybin is a holdout. Copeland Bryan is injured. Undrafted rookie free agents Ventrell Jenkins and David Lindquist are gone (Lindquist for personal reasons). On Friday, two more players left practice early, as both Spencer Johnson and John McCargo left the field within a five-minute period.

There's a reason that the Bills have acquired linemen Derrick Jones and Ataefiok Etukeren over the past two days - they barely have enough bodies to get through a pre-season game as it is. If Johnson and McCargo can't go on Sunday, Buffalo's second-team defensive tackles will be Jones and Corey Mace. Yikes.

Other than the walking wounded (RB Dominic Rhodes left early as well, by the way), the Bills seem eager to play another team and lay the lumber against a living, breathing opponent. That will happen in a little over two days' time. For now, we'll recap the day's events at St. John Fisher just as we did yesterday - with a few player observations. Those appear after the jump.

QB Trent Edwards. He looked much better today than he did last night. His throws were crisp, and he looked far more decisive. He did throw an interception to rookie Ellis Lankster, but had a few nice connections with Terrell Owens and a terrific 20-yard seam route to Derek Schouman. Edwards and the starters will get a series or two on Sunday; let's hope the offense can make use of those live reps. Look for Trent to call his own plays as well.

RB Marshawn Lynch. He looked as good as he usually does in practice, but that's not why I'm mentioning him here. The dude walked right past me; he was literally inches away. The added weight everyone is talking about is legitimate. He's a specimen. You couldn't pay me enough to try to tackle that guy. We're going to miss him in Weeks 1-3.

WR Steve Johnson. Johnson has been essentially a full participant at practice for the past two days after missing a bunch of practices with a rib injury. He looked very solid out on the field today; Ryan Fitzpatrick, Gibran Hamdan and Matt Baker look for Johnson a lot. Even with Roscoe Parrish on the team, I'll go out on a limb and guess that Johnson will be the primary backup to each of Lee Evans, Terrell Owens and Josh Reed.

WR Shaine Smith. This guy is freakishly skinny. But he can play. He's very long and has some good speed; you'll see him run some deep routes on Sunday. He has a chance to stick in some capacity (likely the practice squad).

TE Derek Schouman. I've been impressed with Schouman. He's the best tight end on the field by a considerable margin.

The offensive line. These guys sucked today. Chris Kelsay blew up Demetrius Bell (who once again took first-team reps at right tackle) on a continuous basis. Derrick Jones, of all people, made Geoff Hangartner look like a tackling dummy. Jermaine McGhee looked like the second coming of Jevon Kearse. It really was brutal; the run game wasn't any better. My guess is that it'll be like this for a while - they'll be dominant at times, and awful the rest of the time. They've got the right players; all of them have their moments. Gel time is so crucial.

Chris Ellis. I paid pretty close attention to him today; there could literally be a million reasons why, but the guy looked like he was going half-speed through every drill. Bob Sanders got on his case more than once. Somebody needs to remind Ellis that the Bills are four-deep at end - Aaron Schobel, Kelsay, Ryan Denney and Aaron Maybin aren't going anywhere - and there's no guarantee the team will keep five ends. No sense of urgency on his part; he looks like he either is resigned to his fate, or believes that there's no chance he'll get cut.

John McCargo. Before he limped off the field, nobody was busting tail harder than McCargo (though Kyle Williams, who was the best player on the field today, certainly gave him a run for his money). 97 looks like he's in great shape, and he's moving very well. Here's hoping he recovers quickly, because he looked like he's primed for a big season today.

Kawika Mitchell. I like watching Kawika practice. He moves well out there. You can tell that the rest of the linebackers - Paul Posluszny in particular - mimic his every move. He's an underrated player, but more importantly, he's an outstanding influence on some talented young players.

Leodis McKelvin. I've seen him live dozens of times, and I'm still floored by his athleticism. He is an astonishing, unique athlete. He looked much better in coverage today than he has over the past couple of weeks.

Ellis Lankster. More praise for the rookie seventh-round pick. While Ashton Youboty watched in sweats, Lankster calmly stepped in front of an Edwards dart and took it the other way. We might even be talking about Lankster as a fifth corner behind Terrence McGee, McKelvin, Drayton Florence and Reggie Corner before long. Seriously.

That's all for this week's camp practice recaps. I can take questions if you have them; saw a lot more today than I did last night, as I was able to move around much more. Tomorrow is all about the Hall of Fame. Hang in there for 48 hours, folks - we're thisclose to seeing the 2009 Buffalo Bills suit up.

Bills practice recap, 8/6: Rumblings goes camping

Brian Galliford — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 03:19:46 -0000

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Every year, I make at least one trip to St. John Fisher College in Pittsford to take in a Buffalo Bills training camp practice. No matter how long I do this, I'm always amazed at two things the first time I go each year: just how awesome the atmosphere is, and just how boring the practices are.

Rather than give you our normal breakdown, I'm instead going to use this post as an opportunity to get some things off of my chest. I've just got a few observations about some players to throw out there; as it was a short practice (the Bills are quite dinged up at the moment, particularly on defense), there wasn't much in the way of highlights.

QB Trent Edwards. Trent looked a little off to me tonight. He still seems a little hesitant to make the throws, and on more than one occasion the ball wasn't in a spot where the receiver could make the catch. He did have a perfect strike to Terrell Owens that Owens could only get one hand on; there was good coverage on the play. If there's a negative about Trent, it's that he's still trying to hit the perfect play (at least in practice). He'll thrive if he's assertive in picking up the sure yardage. The positives: he looks extremely comfortable running the no-huddle, and he looks quite calm in the pocket. His feet aren't as happy as they have been the past couple of seasons. He's making all the right reads. It was nice to see him working with Alex Van Pelt for an extra 20 minutes after practice as well. Trent just needs to play.

WR Justin Jenkins. Jenkins turned in the play of the night when he tipped a Gibran Hamdan throw over double coverage from Reggie Corner and George Wilson to himself for a long scoring play. He also hauled in a long throw from Hamdan over Terrence McGee earlier in the session. I realize that he's buried on the depth chart and working against bodies (as opposed to players), but the guy looks like a Pro Bowl receiver out there. He's a very smooth athlete with good hands. Buffalo's coaching staff is going to have a hard time cutting this guy.

TE Derek Schouman. This guy is lining up everywhere. On the line, in the slot, in the backfield - he's all over the place. What's more, he's the only tight end to get reps in all three places with the first unit. Derek Fine and Shawn Nelson get a lot of work in all three areas as well, but it's clear that Schouman is going to be the starting tight end, with Nelson getting specialized packages. Fine might have a hard time finding playing time, at least initially.

LT Langston Walker. Walker looked fantastic tonight. The guy is a monster pass blocker. He's agile, and he's so big that if he gets an arm on you, you're done rushing the passer now, thank you very much. The only area where he might struggle is with speed rushers; the Bills don't exactly have a lot of those at the moment. We'll see how that goes when the time comes; in the meantime, breathe easy. He looks good.

C Geoff Hangartner. I wasn't a fan of the snap he put over Edwards' head, but I liked the way Hangartner blocked tonight. He's not an overwhelming power guy, but boy, can he move. Expect to see him do a lot of pulling this year.

OG Eric Wood. If Marshawn Lynch is willing to part with his "Beast Mode" moniker for the duration of his suspension, I'll nominate Wood as the recipient for those three games. This guy is nasty.

DE Aaron Schobel. I didn't see as much of him as I'd have liked to, considering the shortage of defensive linemen and the short practice, but Schobel looked quick tonight. He's moving very well. The foot doesn't look like it's anywhere near a problem. We'll need him to be productive early in the season.

DE Chris Ellis. Copeland Bryan being sidelined is about the worst thing that could have happened to Ellis, because he's got no competition right now, and he's playing like it. He looks very comfortable and ordinary out there. Nothing about his game stands out much - he's tough, he's got some speed, but he's handled a lot as well. I was not impressed - but again, it was just one practice.

DT John McCargo. Easily Buffalo's most active defensive lineman tonight. Worked his butt off. Tipped a pass at the line, and was very tough to block in one-on-one drills. That's very promising news indeed; the Bills need all the run-stuffing they can get.

LB Pat Thomas. I'm going to try to get a closer look at Thomas tomorrow, but the little I saw of him tonight, I liked. He's a fine athlete. He came up with a blocked punt tonight, and continues to run with the second unit defense at middle linebacker. The fact that he's played in NFL games skyrockets his value to this team, and makes him a lock for the final roster. I just want to see more.

CB Ellis Lankster. This guy is fun to watch. He's got a little Antoine Winfield in him in that he's not a big guy, but he's nicely built and can really play. He looked great in coverage and also looked excellent in punt drills (he did not see any action in the return game). It's going to be tough to cut him. He's really impressive.

CB Cary Harris. I saw Harris attempt to jam Shaine Smith tonight and whiff by a country mile. I also saw an extremely raw athlete with loads of potential. A virtual lock for the practice squad.

P Brian Moorman. I just thought it was awesome that he lined up as a kick returner with the scout team return unit. He did not, however, touch the ball. I wanted him to, though.

It was a short practice and I've only got two eyes, so that's about all I've got information-wise for you. I'll be back at camp tomorrow, so if there are any players you'd like me to keep an eye on, mention them in a comment and I'll keep a list. There were some things that I liked tonight, and some I didn't. Pretty typical of a training camp practice. Looking forward to tomorrow.

Recapping week one of Buffalo Bills training camp

Brian Galliford — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 16:30:09 -0000

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The Buffalo Bills are now nine practices deep into 2009 training camp, and after eight full days of hard work, the entire team is getting Sunday off to rest and recuperate. The pads go back on on Monday as the team prepares for its first pre-season game of the year, which takes place a week from today in the Hall of Fame Game.

A lot has happened to this point - in terms of players performing (or not), in terms of lineup surprises, and in terms of who is not in camp. We were fortunate to have representation at camp seven days, and have recaps here for those in the reviewing mood: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, Day 5, Day 6, Day 7. (You'll have to rely on bigger-name sources for Day 8 coverage; we'll be back camping next week.)

This post is not intended to recap every significant development; you'd be reading for the rest of the afternoon if that was the case. Instead, we'll focus on each position after the jump, giving you some of our general impressions based on what we've seen and heard, with a specific focus on the big story lines for the Bills heading into the regular season.

Quarterback. Trent Edwards is looking pretty comfortable. Not all of his throws have been pretty - defensive backs have made a lot of plays on his passes, actually - but the encouraging sign is that he's making many more big plays himself. He and Terrell Owens have quickly established a good on-field rapport, though, as with Edwards and any other player, the rest of the relationship is a work in progress. Trent's also looking more comfortable making his reads and with his footwork. Signs are encouraging. Meanwhile, steady improvement has been the name of the game for backup Ryan Fitzpatrick. He was awful when camp opened, but has leveled off to the point where we don't have to have nightmares about our backup QB situation every night.

Running Back. Marshawn Lynch looks great. He is his usual explosive (in the short area), difficult-to-tackle self. Fred Jackson has been pulling off his best Swiss Army knife impression, running the Wildcat and catching passes as a receiver in addition to his running back duties. Veteran free agent signee Dominic Rhodes is in great shape, running hard, and looks quick with the ball in his hands. He is easily the best receiver of this group; even when Lynch returns, Rhodes will get playing time.

Fullback. Nothing to see here. The position has been completely eradicated from Buffalo's offense as they transition to the no-huddle, and if Corey McIntyre wants to make the team, he'll have to do it as a specialist.

Wide Receiver. Terrell Owens has been outstanding. The man, quite simply, is a freak. His skills don't look diminished a bit, no matter what the "experts" tell you. As long as he's happy this season, the man will produce. Lee Evans is his usual self. Josh Reed is going to have a monster year, folks, provided Owens and Evans are on the field. He might lead the team in catches. Seriously. Before injuring his ribs, Steve Johnson was off to a great start as well. He's got a bright future. Roscoe Parrish has been running the Wildcat in an effort to find ways to get the ball in his hands offensively. One young receiver has been impressing as well - Shaine Smith might be just a street free agent, but he's been making plays, and is very long and athletic. Keep your eye on him.

Tight End. Derek Schouman currently has the inside track to start over the more talented, yet slightly less polished Derek Fine. Schouman looks quite impressive - he's a reliable short-area receiver, and his blocking has been outstanding thus far in camp. He routinely handles defensive ends with ease. Jonathan Stupar is a similar player, and he's been very solid throughout the first week as well. He might find a way to sneak onto the roster. Shawn Nelson is currently dealing with a foot injury, but his outstanding athleticism is apparent when he's on the field. He's easily got the softest pair of hands of this group, and he's a willing, yet highly unpolished blocker. His impact might not be immediate, but Nelson will be a player in this league.

Offensive Tackle. Outside of quarterback, this area has easily been the biggest worry for the fan base, but Langston Walker and Brad Butler are playing well. Butler has struggled some with bull rushes, but he's still re-learning tackle techniques, so that's to be expected. Once he fixes pad level issues, he'll be fine. These two are known commodities and play consistently, so as long as their shortcomings aren't anything more than physical - and thus far, they haven't been - the Bills should be alright offensively. Demetrius Bell has shown tremendous improvement in his second year; you're going to see him on the field a ton in the pre-season. Jonathan Scott has been solid as well, and has a shot to make the roster.

Offensive Guard. Eric Wood is a freaking monster. He's huge, athlhetic, strong, and tenacious. He's a leader. Buffalo's offensive line has been physically talented over the past few years, but there wasn't any leadership up front. Wood is that player. He might be an offensive captain next year; the kid oozes leadership. Andy Levitre has been impressive as well, though not anywhere near the level Wood has; Levitre is improving, but don't be surprised if he's beaten out for the starting left guard job by Kirk Chambers, a dependable veteran who doesn't make a lot of mistakes. Levitre has some growing up to do. Seth McKinney doesn't stand a chance to beat out Wood at right guard, but he's been solid as well, and he'll be a valuable reserve this season.

Center. Geoff Hangartner, unsurprisingly, has picked up the intricacies of Buffalo's no-huddle offense quickly. There isn't an awful lot to report here, as we've had a tough time keeping an eye on him, but no news isn't necessarily bad news. Brandon Rodd has been getting second-team reps at center; he's a big, thick kid that in all likelihood will end up back on the practice squad. He has some talent.

Defensive End. Chris Kelsay, surprisingly, has been the bright spot. Chalk it up to going up against Butler in practice if you'd like, but Kelsay has recorded numerous sacks and pressures, and his run defense has always been solid (when he's not getting faked out on a misdirection play, that is). Aaron Schobel is showing no ill effects of his Lisfranc foot injury, though he hasn't been particularly effective rushing against Walker in practice. Chris Ellis is looking great as a reserve; his upper body strength has improved tremendously, and he looks pretty quick out on the field. He might be ready to make an impact. Still, Aaron Maybin cannot get here fast enough - this is not an athletic group of people.

Defensive Tackle. Marcus Stroud is Marcus Stroud. Nothing to worry about here - the guy can play. Kyle Williams has been borderline dominant to this point; he might now take the crown as the Bills' best pure run defender. John McCargo was putting together some nice work before a hamstring injury sidelined him. This group isn't particularly deep (Spencer Johnson helps, of course), but all four of these guys can play. If there's a young player to be stashed on the practice squad for depth in the event of an injury, it's David Lindquist.

Outside Linebacker. Kawika Mitchell has looked solid on the weak side, and Keith Ellison has found himself making plays in the backfield on more than one occasion on the strong side. No one has come close to unseating Ellison for his starting job. Nic Harris has flashed some promise as a reserve, but his technique work currently leaves a lot to be desired. Alvin Bowen and Ashlee Palmer are easily the best athletes at this position; they're quite fast, and both have a chance to make the roster as reserves and specialists. Don't count out Jon Corto, either - he's revered by Bobby April, and he's not a bad linebacker, either.

Inside Linebacker. Paul Posluszny has been outstanding against the run, and he looks far more comfortable defending the pass and blitzing than he did a year ago. He's much, much less tentative. Pat Thomas and Marcus Buggs have been splitting second-team reps at the position, with Thomas looking a hair better. We're going to miss John DiGiorgio, however; he's a much more physical defender than either Thomas or Buggs.

Cornerback. Just like with any veteran, you can safely say that Terrence McGee has been his usual self. Not many big plays, but a lot of pass break-ups and few big plays given up. Leodis McKelvin, on the other hand, has been far more up-and-down, and he's spent a lot more time down than up. Owens and Evans are brutalizing this kid. Here's to hoping it doesn't ruin his confidence. On the other hand, he's also made some beautiful plays, including a couple of gorgeous interceptions. Once Leo gets himself consistent, he's going to be quite the ball player. The battle at nickel corner rages on, but only technically - Drayton Florence has distanced himself early from Reggie Corner and Ashton Youboty (and right now, we'd place Corner slightly ahead of Youboty as well, but that should change quickly once the team starts playing games). Ellis Lankster continues to surprise; he's a great athlete.

Free Safety. Donte Whitner has seen every first-team rep here, and that's not likely to change for a long, long time. Buffalo's coaching staff is very anxious to get Jairus Byrd onto the field, but as he's currently on the PUP list recovering from sports hernia surgery, the idea that he'd line up next to Whitner as a starter is borderline absurd. Ko Simpson has been dependable as the second-team safety, though his climb to a roster spot is still an uphill one. Antwain Spann, recently signed from the Patriots, will be watched with interest over the next couple of weeks - he's got some talent, but his role has yet to be clearly defined.

Strong Safety. Bryan Scott has been excellent, recording a few interceptions and taking one back for a score. He's even gotten some reps here and there at linebacker, in the event that the Bills have to deal with a bunch of injuries there. George Wilson has made some nice plays running with the twos at this position. John Wendling appears to be nothing more than a solid run defender and specialist; we still maintain that he, too, should make a move to linebacker.

Specialists. Rian Lindell is Rian Lindell. Brian Moorman is Brian Moorman - but circa a few years ago, when he was awesome, and not last year, when he was just very good. Ryan Neill and Garrison Sanborn will duke it out for the long-snapping duties, but let's be honest, we're not at camp to watch long snappers. We'll chart them both during pre-season games. One last note - Leodis McKelvin has looked absolutely fantastic returning kicks. He's in line for a possible Pro Bowl season in that department.

Veterans rest as Bills complete first week of camp

Brian Galliford — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 21:15:08 -0000

If you traveled to St. John Fisher College on Friday afternoon to get your first glimpse of the 2009 Buffalo Bills and their biggest stars, you likely left Growney Stadium sorely disappointed. After nearly a full week of practice, select veterans were padless spectators; QB Trent Edwards, WR Lee Evans, WR Terrell Owens and CB Terrence McGee were all "healthy scratches," for lack of a better term.

Even with some of the big names resting, there were some interesting notes we jotted down that are worth mentioning - mostly to do with lineup shifting. Our day seven recap is after the jump.

Keeping track of the O-Line
Not an awful lot to report here. Most of the veterans saw lighter workloads, so some of the Bills' younger players were able to get more significant reps. Eric Wood and Andy Levitre, for example, saw an increased amount of reps with the first unit offensive line at right and left guard, respectively. Demetrius Bell also took reps with the first team at right tackle.

We don't suggest reading too much into Bell's apparent ascent up the depth chart, but it's worth noting. The guy gets better and better every day. The Bills may have serious questions along the line, but don't be surprised if Bell answers one of those questions sooner rather than later.

The Bills once again worked on some screen plays, and Eric Wood was asked to be out in front as a lead blocker. As our de facto camp reporter, MattRichWarren, aptly put it, that's a scary proposition for a defensive back.

More Wildcat action
For what we believe was the first time, the Bills worked out of a Wildcat offensive set that featured all three of the team's capable running backs on the field at the same time - Marshawn Lynch, Fred Jackson and Dominic Rhodes. Jackson was the "quarterback" in those situations. When Rhodes was signed earlier this off-season, we openly wondered how the team would keep him happy with his touches once Lynch returned to the lineup. This may be a (small) part of the answer.

Lineup notes
With so much emphasis on situational work and on looking at younger, less proven players, it was a pretty uneventful practice. Rather than bore you with the "Ashlee Palmer tipped a pass" updates, we focused more on where players were lining up.

Obviously, Ryan Fitzpatrick filled in for Edwards with the first unit offense. Peter King's claim that Fitzpatrick has a cannon for an arm is confirmed; he doesn't throw a great ball, but when one flies right, it flies for a while. He had a better day than he normally does. The same can be said for Gibran Hamdan, who took Fitzpatrick's usual spot.

With Owens and Evans on the sideline (along with Steve Johnson and James Hardy), Josh Reed and Roscoe Parrish were the first-team receivers. Reed recorded a pretty touchdown reception on the day. Derek Schouman also had a nice touchdown catch in traffic.

Ryan Denney filled in for Aaron Schobel with the first unit defensive ends; color us disappointed - it would have been quite intriguing indeed to see Chris Ellis get a few snaps there. Ellis worked with Jermaine McGhee - the only other end healthy on the day - with the second unit.

At linebacker, the second unit was once again shaken up. Marcus Buggs held down the fort at middle linebacker, with Ashlee Palmer on the weak side and Nic Harris on the strong side. Pat Thomas, Alvin Bowen and Jon Corto were the third-unit 'backers. Nowhere else on the team is competition more wide open than at linebacker behind the starting trio of Paul Posluszny, Kawika Mitchell and Keith Ellison. Pick any three names, and we will show you an utter lack of surprise if they make the team.

Cary Harris update
Much has been made about the success that seventh-round pick Ellis Lankster has had early in his first NFL training camp. Another corner was selected a round prior to Lankster, and he comes with a USC pedigree - Cary Harris. Noting that we'd heard virtually nothing about him up until today, we watched dejectedly as street free agent receiver Shaine Smith torched Harris for a scoring play in 7-on-7 work. Harris is one of the last corners to rotate through in every drill. His chances of making the roster are virtually naught, though it's likely that if he doesn't, he'll be stashed on the practice squad.

Injury Update
Joining the resting veterans on the sidelines were WR Steve Johnson, WR James Hardy, TE Shawn Nelson, DE Copeland Bryan, DT John McCargo, DT Marcus Smith, DT Ventrell Jenkins and DB Dustin Fox. WR C.J. Hawthorne was elevated from the Active PUP and practiced for the first time today.

The Bills have a morning practice on Saturday; the practice starts at 10 AM. Once it's completed, the Bills will have a long weekend, as they have Sunday off. Then "preparations" begin for next weekend's opening pre-season game, the Hall of Fame game in Canton, Ohio against the Tennessee Titans.