Hplarrm Posted June 22, 2012 Posted June 22, 2012 For me the answer is none really as I will not be impressed until I see the players myself when pre-season practice starts and until I see a few exhibition games or until reports of the first real fights between teammates competing in camp come out (and strong leadership and a recognition thar there is no I in TEAM forces these warriors to make up). However, like many I am quite impressed by how this team which has to actually show folks the money in the CBA finally seems to be doing so in real life and how they are making some pretty dynamic moves which show confidence in Gailey's proven ability to run a productive O even with a flawed QB. However, there are a few what I consider notable reports of individuals which I find impressive at this early stage where I am quite easy to impress. 1. The OL performed pretty well last year despite my initial sense that this group was in way over their heads in terms of talent and the amount of time that would be needed to develop chemistry to compensate was not likely to happen. However, thanks to some impressive play calling and preparation by the team they were able to mount a few impressive comebacks early in last season. Fitzy showed a lot in good quick decision-making and the player quality was good enough to withstand some very bad breaks with injuries lasr year that did impress this watcher but still I entered this season with grave OL doubts. However, the scuttlebutt from the OTAs and what may turn out to be a fortunate injury to Pears which has given Glenn a ton of reps at LT and Hairston retaining starter reps at RT indicates to me there will be good competition with the winner likely being at least satisfactory at LT being a good sign for the OL. A bunch of moving parts will still need to perform and mesh in order for the OL not to be a constant deficit, but so far so good. 2. WR remains a serious unanswered question for this team which simply does not have a reliable or proven #2 WR. Of the possibilities, no one from Jones to Easley has stepped up yet so much remains to be seen. However, the selection of Graham with a far higher pick than many had him going was a real headscratcher when not only did the Bills pick him early but traded value to step up and pick him. The question of how Gailey is going to use the WR resources in his hands remains (and may well not be solved until regular season as much as what we should see in pre-season will be vanilla schemes) but often one gets a sense pretty early of whether a surprise pick was merely a miscalculation of talent and football ability (alot of talk about how a player is a project or work in progress with a particular scary element (speed would be the thing in Graham's case)but also questions get raised early about some problem such as bad hands or the player being stupid. While it remains to be seen how Gailey plans to utilize Graham's talents, the early signs seem to indicate that he is likely to be a useful player right from the start. He and Fitzy seem to be clicking and Graham himself is not overmatched as a true 7rh round talent who somehow lucked into a 3rd round pick might already be starting to show. Much left to be shown before I am truly impressed but I am breathing a sigh of relief that this might be a useful pick in a still to be shown scheme and unit. 3. Its not yet to a point of overt expression of the competition for jobs appearing yet (we will see on field fights between teammates over a few too many head slaps in the trenches once pre-season camp starts and this is a pretty natural and to some degree needed process- winning teams are found not in that they never beat each other up in practice but instead how quickly and well they come together and get over these hard fought competitions that shows a team is becoming a TEAM). Its still too early to get all high and mighty about a DL that on the face of it should force opponents immediately into a max protect mode which takes not only the TE out of the pass pattern as the 4 DL players demand double teams which not only calls for 6 players on the OL but one of your RBs first job is not to get into the pattern but to be ready to do blitz pick-up when Mario or Kyle simply beats the dt with his first step. Yet, there are some initial signs of swagger such as Mario calling Anderson the little guy that bodes well for the great expectations we have for the DL. When one adds in the early reports of Merriman potentially showing some of his old signs from the finally done surgery and his still young age, one has to be impressed even though we have not seen the real deal yet. It is early in the season but I am impressed that this team can even consider the possibility of allocating a roster spot to a strong legged kick-off specialist. I doubt they can do this but if the ST laden draft gives us the freedom to do this, it may well prove to be a combination of a lot of touchbacks AND also saving Lindell's leg for PK duties which might be phenomenal to see. I still do not think this is reality yet but pre- preseason is a time for dreams.
eball Posted June 22, 2012 Posted June 22, 2012 I stopped reading when your first sentence started with "none."
mrags Posted June 22, 2012 Posted June 22, 2012 I stopped reading when your first sentence started with "none." Close to the same for me
Hplarrm Posted June 22, 2012 Author Posted June 22, 2012 I stopped reading when your first sentence started with "none." but then you didn't get to the part where I talked about your momma.
bigc14120 Posted June 22, 2012 Posted June 22, 2012 Actually, I watched the news clip on WGR2 last night about the minicamp. They showed Eric Wood watching the workout in shorts with a horrendous knee brace on. Folks, I am ready for bad news on that front after seeing that clip. Haven't read that anywhere, but that is what I saw. So, we need to watch that situation, and Urbek may well have to deliver at center. Maybe thats why we drafted the big guy from Oregon in the late rounds as well. I hope Wood is back, but he ain't there yet!!!
Mr. WEO Posted June 22, 2012 Posted June 22, 2012 Actually, I watched the news clip on WGR2 last night about the minicamp. They showed Eric Wood watching the workout in shorts with a horrendous knee brace on. Folks, I am ready for bad news on that front after seeing that clip. Haven't read that anywhere, but that is what I saw. So, we need to watch that situation, and Urbek may well have to deliver at center. Maybe thats why we drafted the big guy from Oregon in the late rounds as well. I hope Wood is back, but he ain't there yet!!! Was he wearing a knee brace in that topless photo PTR supplied last week?
TPS Posted June 22, 2012 Posted June 22, 2012 (edited) To sort of answer the non-question via what I've read, since we don't get to see the OTAs, I like that BB.com and/or the BNews had very positive things to say about Moats at LB, Bradham as a LB prospect, and JRogers at CB. From Mark Gaughan's article today: Random views: This is stating the obvious, but Jackson and C.J. Spiller are two of the most impressive-looking players at every Bills practice. … Young Dorin Dickerson, one of Dave Wannstedts top recruits at Pitt, has a legitimate chance to make the team as an H-back. … Rookie Nigel Bradham got quality time with veterans at strong-side linebacker. Hes going to be a top LB backup if he keeps his play up. … The Bills werent lying when they said their linebacker spots are interchangeable. They rotated their linebackers at a dizzying pace throughout the spring. From C. Brown's OTA awards: Most improved: CB Justin Rogers The second-year cornerback looks considerably more comfortable in Buffalos secondary. Lining up at both boundary corner and in the slot in the first team nickel at times, Rogers made his share of plays in defending the pass. Though he missed some time with an injury in OTAs, hes added lean muscle to his frame and appears ready to challenge for a top three corner role. And (from his honorable mention note), Arthur Moats Playing two different linebacker positions in base and subpackages, Moats looked very good in coverage for a LB that played up in college. Edited June 22, 2012 by TPS
Mr. T Posted June 22, 2012 Posted June 22, 2012 but then you didn't get to the part where I talked about your momma. So you are out of school for the summer vacation. What a dick!
Hplarrm Posted June 23, 2012 Author Posted June 23, 2012 So you are out of school for the summer vacation. What a dick! But I'm rubber and you're glue
Ramius Posted June 23, 2012 Posted June 23, 2012 but then you didn't get to the part where I talked about your momma. How's your NewFL working out?
San Jose Bills Fan Posted June 23, 2012 Posted June 23, 2012 The midget trainer Wow this topic is reeking with class…
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