NY Nole

Marty Ball is a joke and I would never want him as the Bills head coach. Talk about conservative -- it would resemble the same offense we have now. He couldn't win with arguably the most talented team in the NFL a few yrs ago in San Diego. How would he be the solution. No thanks.

Here's my take: Dan Snyder is making more than $5 mil and he is paying for...Jim Zorn? Jerry Jones is probably making the most and is paying for.....Bum II?? Before Coughlin won a super bowl he wasn't thought of highly, Jets have an unproven Ryan. The list goes on and on and the trend is to hire younger, unproven coaches like Haley, McDaniels and Morris. Point being, don't get caught up in the name game. Either the guy works out or he doesn't -- it's pretty much dumb luck. I think the most telling sign of how good a head coach is would be the talent he surrounds himself with (assistant coaches). All it takes is 1 good year and you would be singing Jauron's praises if he made the playoffs/and or Super Bowl. At the end of the day it comes down to the players making plays. Ours haven't done that in a while.

We could have deion sanders, champ bailey, ronnie lott and ed reed back there and it wouldn't be any better if the QB's have enough time to enjoy a cocktail before the rush hits them. A better pass rush makes any secondary look that much better. I think we have a decent secondary but they can't cover all day. Speaking of -- has anyone noticed drayton florence in the pre-season. Has he been injured? I thought he was a good signing but now I question if he even makes the team???

Offense: Our formations are much too compact, they do not adequately spread the defenders out. As a result, the defense is closer to the play and we rarely get the ball to an open man with space to run. On numerous possessions, the spacing of our receivers was too closely grouped. Josh Reed was routinely lined up inside or on the field numbers. Comparatively, the Steelers wideouts would line up to the outside of the numbers. I noticed too many plays where opposing corner backs were in on the tackle at the line of scrimmage. While this is to be expected from a corner blitz, the wider spacing would require that much more ground to be made up and would also leave a gaping hole to the outside for a quick pass. Also the wide spacing that the Steelers offense created resulted in many more completions on crossing routes, where the Bills defenders struggled to cover the open area. Defense: The "keep it all in front of you/bend but don't break" defensive scheme is much to passive for my taste. I prefer the Steelers agressive/in your face mentality. The amount of cushion our corners give to opposing wideouts is really questionable. Also, the first step by our linebackers is usually back and not forward to the line of scrimmage (unless an obvious blitz). Even though we may tighten up in the red zone, this philosophy makes it way too easy for opposing teams to move the ball between the 20's. And if we are content to give up 5-7 yds per play, opposing teams will be more than obliged to take it and hold onto the ball for large chunks of the game. If we are hellbent on running a no huddle offense that produces 3 and outs and keeps our defense on the field, we'd better have a healthy supply of oxygen tanks on the sidelines. I'm really hoping the coaches know what they're doing, but quickly losing confidence.

No Injuries.

I re-watched the game to evaluate the OLine. No offense, but this statement is just plain wrong. They had their share of mistakes, but overall actually played a decent game. The turnovers killed the offensive momentum in this game and made everyone look bad. Here are some observations: 1. People need to understand how offensive line play works at the NFL level. Blocking is not about overpowering your man (although it certainly helps if the blocker is capable of physically dominating.) More often, it is a game of leverage and angles. The point is to drive or steer your man out of the play (ie it doesn't matter if Raji blows a blocker off the line if he's not in position to make the play -- which was the case in the second qtr -- Raji ended up on the ground). 2. Green Bay blitzed almost the entire time. They routinely ran corner blitzes and dropped their lineman into coverage. 3. On numerous occasions (including the opening fumble by TE) the line gave more than enough time to get the ball off. It was more on the QB than the line. 4. Run blocking was not exceptional, but it wasn't terrible either. Marshawn simply ran in the wrong hole on at least one occasion. As good a runner as Marshawn is -- his best attribute is not always following his blockers. 5. Both Shawn Nelson and Derek Schouman were liabilities in the blocking game. On passing plays, neither were able to effectively chip their man and on running plays, both whiffed when blocking down on the end. 6. Brad Butler had the worst game of the offensive lineman. Hangartner was one of the best -- routinely getting off the ball on run plays and neutralizing AJ Hawk -- his main responsibility. Bell held his own. Walker got beat on a few plays but was solid. Wood and Levitre played like rookies -- but both improved from the first series to their last.

Surely you jest. In your hypothetical world, however, I would take Shanahan. Denver was stupid for getting rid of him.

and that is the problem with rookie NFL contracts. Why are teams forced to pay top dollar for a can of soup with the label missing. We have no idea how good he`ll be but are already paying him chunky soup money. It is ridiculous. And why didn't any reporters ask what the holdup was. It seems 5yrs 25 mil was the range that everyone outlined weeks ago.

I definitely wanted a pass rusher, just not Maybin. I was partial to Ayers. I absolutely loved the Wood pick and thought for sure we'd grab Everette Brown instead of Byrd. Maybin is dead to me and I hope Ellis develops into a stud pass rusher.

This is about guaranteed money, not overall money. Based on the contracts around him, Maybin should get somewhere between 17.9 mil and 13.5 million. I'm guessing he is asking for something more than that. The Bills could offer a contract for $50 million, but unless Maybin accepts the guaranteed money range, everything else is moot. IMO, the Bills front office is not in the wrong here unless their guaranteed money is not in the right range.

My thoughts exactly. Don't worry though, cause his publicist Lavar Arrington will keep him grounded. Yeah right.

Maybin is Jason Peters all over again. Uggggghhh. Hated the pick on draft day and hate it even more today. To me Eric Wood is the only legit 2009 Bills first round selection. Trade his ass to a willing partner and be done with him.

Brett Favre will have more of an impact for the Vikings because he will have the ball in his hands on every offensive snap. He might have a more negative impact, but he will definitely have more of an impact.

Shouldn't someone at OBD force him to wear the newer style helmet to better protect against concussion. I know it is a fashion thing for most of these guys, but after seeing some of these newer helmet styles, I believe a guy like Trent Edwards (who now has a concussion issue) could greatly benefit and should be forced to pick among the newer styles. He is still sporting the same helmet that he was concussed in a year ago. Just sayin. We need every advantage possible to keep him healthy.

IMO this guy should be a camp cut this year. After watching the tape of last week's games, he was responsible for the pressure on the left side (Walker actually had a solid game at LT) and I saw nothing tonight that makes me think he can throw a block. I would rather have a TE trio of Fine, Nelson and Stupar.

What makes you think Michael Vick would make the Bills a playoff team. The guy hasn't played in 2 years, wasn't a very good B when he was playing and cannot rush the passer or block a defensive end. If I was Dick Jauron, I certainly would not hitch my wagon to Michael Vick.

LS Neil will make the team. Being a Seminoles fan, I like Sanborn but he isn't going to make it. Neil is a very accurate LS and has the chemistry w/ Moorman that Sanborn does not.

Great photos Mac! Roscoe made the catch of the day (behind the back) which you captured perfectly. Keep up the great work.

Thanks for the correction Mike. Those damn camp guides should have a roster update insert or something. Shaine Smith (#87) was in fact the player who I was referring to. Doubt he makes the team in the long run, but he was all hustle out there today and really played well on special teams.

The time he got beat by the defender crossing back in front of him, he was playing LT. I'd say he took 3-4 reps at each tackle spot in the drills. I'd say he fared a bit better at RT. During the 11/11, he played mostly LT -- I lost my vantage point of him when he was at RT. The Bills went exclusively no-huddle during the 11-on-11. Something I almost forgot to mention, Langston Walker was sucking wind at one point in the team session. Seeing that, I almost laughed at the thought of Buffalo using the no-huddle (though I understand that is what training camp is for).

They actually ran 1 specific drill where they would alternate rushing half the line (T-G-C vs. DE, LB, DT). Bell did this drill as both the LT and RT. His first step was very quick and did a good job sending his man wide, but had difficulty when the defender took the inside route. During the 11on11 is when he got beat on a cross back move.

Just got back from this morning's camp, here goes: The Good: 1. T.O. - First impression was this guy is really big. I've never seen him in person before and he is a very tall receiver (dwarfed our DB's). It is easy to see why this guy is a play maker -- because he is so big and conditioned that he can easily beat a jam or fend off a DB for position. I know TO had issues with dropped balls last year, but the guy is catching every thing thrown his way (let's hope this continues when the bullets start flying for real). He made McGee look like an amateur on a goal line route, when he fought off the jam, made a quick move to the outside and grabbed a pass for a touchdown (then he threw the ball into the crowd where it was dropped by a fan). The guy is really making it look easy and I'm glad we got him. 2. Eric Wood - I will go on record and say Wood will be our BEST offensive lineman (he is not far from it right now in my opinion). I spent alot of time watching him (and the rest of the OLine because they were in front of me for the majority of camp). Wood is very big and powerful. When he gets his base set and locks onto a defender -- he wins. He appears to struggle with elite speed (particularly fast stunts around the outside). When matched up on Stroud, he lost a few battles like that and gave up would-be sacks. However, he improved steadily throughout the course of the practice and never got beat by the same move from Stroud again. One play in particular that I remember was when Wood got set, squared his shoulders, locked onto Stroud and stood the big man up (barely losing any ground). This left me in amazement since Stroud is a beast (see below). Wood was in a constant rotation with Seth McKinney for first team reps, which I believe is pointless. If McKinney starts the season as a starting RG, look for Wood to takeover shortly thereafter and end up in many pro bowls in the future. 3. Marcus Stroud - talk about a menacing presence. This guy is picking up right where he left off a year ago. He is quick as hell on stunts and was consistently winning match ups or at the very least creating havoc. The Bad: 1. Both offensive tackles - I have read other TBD camp reports about our tackle play and hoped they were just being overly pessimistic or chalked it up to being so early in camp. I'm here to report things haven't changed much on this front. Hopefully it was just another bad day for Walker and Butler -- but from what I saw today this could be problematic. While both struggled (mightily) I think Butler was the worst. He was consistently beaten by Kelsay and Trent would have been sacked multiple times. Walker, while not brilliant by any stretch, had quicker feet and at least slowed down the edge rushers coming from his side (although 68 would have given up a few sacks today too). Too make matters worse, our backups really didn't fare any better - although I do believe Bell shows alot of promise. Bell was the #2 LT and rotated in at RT behind Jonathan Scott. Bell is athletic for a man his size and has good footwork. His problem appears to be his strength at holding up to bull rushers and anticipating the rush moves. For instance, he excels at getting wide and taking away edge rushers' angles -- but struggled to get in front when they crossed back to the inside. Scott, from what I saw is a big guy with a powerful base, but lacks good footwork and had his share of technical mistakes. Chambers didn't practice. Hold your collective breath Buffalo and hope Kugler works some magic. 2. Ryan Fitzpatrick's arm - I am a fantasy football fan and actually had Houshmanzadeh last year when Palmer went out... I grew to loathe Fitzpatrick. When the Bills signed him, I hoped they secretly transplanted RoboCop's arm on him and kept it on the low down. What I saw at camp doesn't have me believing this was the case. While I will give credit to Fitz for throwing a nice deep pass that was on the money -- he routinely placed the ball on the wrong shoulder making it more difficult for his receivers. His out routes were also not good as the ball seemed to take forever in getting there and I was left imagining the sight of a Patriots DB taking one back to the house after Fitz served him up. For all those Hamdan fans out there, Fitzpatrick is the second best QB on the Bills right now (ie. Hamdan is no better). The Ugly: 1. Keith Ellison - although I really didn't pay too much attention to the LB's, Ellison appears to be a LB in a safety's body. He did nothing to stand out and really does not look the part out there. He looks like an exploitable part of our Defense. Sorry -- don't have any good observations on Harris or Bowen because I really didn't focus on them. That being said -- here's hoping one of them lights it up in pre-season and relegates Ellison to his rightful backup slot. Misc: 1. Levitre had all reps at first team LG. Levitre & Hangman are the 2 smallest lineman but both have great instincts and seem to get to the right spot. Levitre is almost the opposite of Wood in that his footwork is really quick and he rarely gets beat by speed. His problem is that he is not as strong as Wood and cannot simply lock on and drive his guy out. He uses more of a finesse style. Hangman is also smaller -- but seems to have a nasty streak and uses great leverage to fend off his opponent. I like the makings of our interior line and think it could be our strength. 2. The Wildcat made an appearance. Fred Jackson lined up behind center and had Dominic Rhodes/Lynch as the pitchmen. I was surprised that Parrish wasn't in this formation as I think Jackson and Parrish could pose serious matchups in this scheme. 3. Moorman hasn't lost his touch. Still kicks one hell of a punt. Player to watch: Shaine Smith -his real value seemed to be on Special Teams. He partially blocked a punt and generally made some nice special teams plays. He was working on the ST first unit much of the day. Doubt he makes the team as a WR but you never know. sorry for the long post -- will focus more on Defense next time.

Do not believe a thing Sal Maiorana speaks or writes. He is an assclown who has never played the sport in his life. He comes from the "negative nancy" school of journalism and believes he is Rochester's gift to the world. Because Langston said "I didn't have a choice" does not mean he isn't embracing a move to the most prestigious and most highly paid OL position in football. Believe me -- if he does well there, he knows he is in line for a hefty pay raise.

Shhhh! I'm trying to convince people Wilson isn't cheap. Maybe the air-conditioned charter's were all busy for the next 3 weeks.

RTS buses are no longer allowed to be used for shuttles at Bills camp, because the Federal government passed a law that prohibits federally-funded transit systems (like RTS) from providing service to sporting events or other events that would only incidentally serve the general public. The law was intended to ensure that publicly funded transit systems don't infringe on the private charter bus industry Thus, no more air-conditioned rides to St. John Fisher College. It is not because Old Man Wilson is cheap, it is because they are now required to pay for a charter service.