Bills 2024 Training Camp! (related content only please)

[Rocky Landing]

2 hours ago, DaBillsFanSince1973 said:

 

This is a guy that understands the importance of an energized fan base.

[FireChans]

1 hour ago, HappyDays said:

 

Release the Macken!

[Don Otreply]

40 minutes ago, Beck Water said:

 

It's not just a mental hurdle, though that was undoubtedly there.

 

Lay people who haven't gone through it don't realize what an immense insult to the overall physiology heart stoppage followed by CPR/time on a ventilator really is.  Hamlin's ribs were undoubtedly damaged.  Cracked ribs and cartilage take months to heal. 

His lungs had the equivalent of severe, life-threatening pneumonia.  In this antibiotic age, we've lost touch with how long it used to take people who lived to recover from severe pneumonia - it took months, and that's months to just return to normal physical activity, not to restore peak athletic ability.

And he spent months last off season where he was severely limited physically in what he could do leading to de-conditioning of muscle.

 

We "get it" mostly that an athlete returning from an ACL usually needs until his 2nd season post-injury to return to whatever his best form was. 

 

Same for Hamlin.
 

Totally agree, I was having some health issues back in 2017,  turns out I was diagnosed with congestive heart failure, my ejection fraction was 15, spent two weeks in cardiac ICU and another ten days in a step down unit, by the time I got home walking up five steps to get into the house was exhausting, and required a nap afterwards, it took a very long time to be able to do “ normal stuff “  before this happened I was an avid cyclist, for the better part of thirty years, I’m near normal now,  go to the gym lift some weights etc, I can’t imagine how hard it was for Damar to get back to playing pro football, damned amazing frankly,  more power to him!

[Alphadawg7]

10 minutes ago, JerseyBills said:

I've said this before- They're the reason we got rid of Diggs, Mainly Shakir, his final few games were extremely impressive,  can absolutely see him turn into a Cooper Kupp

 

But I heard here he can't catch, has short arms, and is just a role player 😂

[Beck Water]

8 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

Safety is, and remains, my biggest question mark with this team. If Bishop isn't up to speed early they don't have an NFL calibre starter at the position..

 

What is your definition of NFL caliber starter? 

Edwards started the last 5 games of the season and all 4 playoff games for the Chiefs.  Was playing 30-50% of the defensive snaps before that.  He also started 12 of the 13 games he played in for Tampa in 2022

 

Rapp started 48 out of 57 games for the Rams, including playing 95 and 96% of the snaps in 2020-2021.  Rapp also played 100% of the snaps for the Bills in 4 games last season, 3 of them wins against MIA, DAL, and LAC then a 2 pt loss against DEN.  A few games after the JAX game where we lost Milano, what evolved is that Rapp was regularly subbing in for Poyer at safety, while Dodson went out and we

 

It seems peculiar to me to proclaim 2 guys aren't "NFL calibre starters at the position" when in fact they have started, and for very good, in fact championship winning, teams.  

 

You and I might believe (with reason) that they're a big step down from what Poyer and Hyde were in their prime, but that's true of most NFL-caliber safeties in the league; Dr Poyer and Mr Hyde together were a whole far more than the sum of the parts.

 

6 minutes ago, Don Otreply said:

Totally agree, I was having some health issues back in 2017,  turns out I was diagnosed with congestive heart failure, my ejection fraction was 15, spent two weeks in cardiac ICU and another ten days in a step down unit, by the time I got home walking up five steps to get into the house was exhausting, and required a nap afterwards, it took a very long time to be able to do “ normal stuff “  before this happened I was an avid cyclist, for the better part of thirty years, I’m near normal now,  go to the gym lift some weights etc, I can’t imagine how hard it was for Damar to get back to playing pro football, damned amazing frankly,  more power to him!

 

More power to you, too for recovering back to near normal.

[HappyDays]

16 minutes ago, Rocky Landing said:

Dawkins, Edwards, McG, Torrence, Brown is certainly likely. But Kromer always tries multiple combinations throughout TC, and nothing is written in stone.

 

I suspect this year we will not be trying different OL combinations. All of the messaging from the team has been that McGovern is the locked in center. There is no legitimate competition on the roster to David Edwards at LG. The only remote chance of something different was SVPG flat out winning the center job, but instead he is on the 3rd team behind Will Clapp. Short of injury the starting five is locked in IMO. Which is for the best anyways. We have a bunch of new starters all over the roster. Having one position group locked in from day one of training camp creates some level of consistency for the offense.

[Brianmoorman4jesus]

It’s day 1 so i won’t overreact but…. I certainly hope there’s not a world where Hollins can be considered a viable option for significant playing time. The dudes a 6 on an average offense.

[HappyDays]

 

[Jauronimo]

2 hours ago, Buffalo_Stampede said:

Nope. The body control contested catches. No one. Knox can do it, but inconsistent.

Hes so smooth in the air.  Gets those hands up at the last second and extends.  Its a beautiful thing.

[Bleeding Bills Blue]

51 minutes ago, Brianmoorman4jesus said:

It’s day 1 so i won’t overreact but…. I certainly hope there’s not a world where Hollins can be considered a viable option for significant playing time. The dudes a 6 on an average offense.

 

I think that its a camp rotation until it isn't.  I assume they'd like coleman to take the majority of snaps opposite samuel, but he's going to have to work for it.  Hollins and MVS have super bowl rings, are in probably the twilight of their NFL careers, and are coming to try and earn playing time.  I don't think either is going to get these tremendous snap counts at the end of the year.

 

Last year Diggs and Davis each had about 950 snaps, shakir had about 600, sherfield about 400 and hardy about 150.  I assume shakir will trend up to say 800.  Samuel assuming healthy should have 800+.  Still leaves like 1500 snaps - some will go to to kincaid, others will be split amongst depth and some breather plays, and coleman probably takes the majority.  

[NickelCity]

Bishop makes me a little uneasy, but mostly due to the jump from what he did at Utah to what he'll be asked to do in the Bills' defense. I think he's got a long learning curve to get up to speed with how we want to run coverage. 

[YattaOkasan]

4 minutes ago, NickelCity said:

Bishop makes me a little uneasy, but mostly due to the jump from what he did at Utah to what he'll be asked to do in the Bills' defense. I think he's got a long learning curve to get up to speed with how we want to run coverage. 

Something specific about what he did at Utah that concerns you?  Thought i heard they ran a pretty complicated safety system there cause Bishop and Vaki were so good (2nd and 4th round draft picks).

[H2o]

Josh looks like he's in his best shape ever upon arrival to TC this year. Just my 2. 

[FLFan]

2 hours ago, Alphadawg7 said:

 

I think people are jumping to conclusions and assumptions too much off McD's comment.  I think it was just a general comment pertaining to rookies more than anything.  Nothing he said struck me as if he was saying that Bishop has been out of shape at any point.  Could just be that Bishop maybe wasn't around the facility as much and maybe training else where and more that McD didn't know where he was at yet until he gets out there.

 

Nothing about Bishop at any point strikes me as someone who is out of shape or would come in out of shape, so just IMO feel this comment is being made to likely be more than it is.  But who knows, just the way it came across to me is all 

 

I did not take his comments as a specific criticism of Bishop.  It is just very much a one step at a time with rookies for McD.  That is how he likes to bring them along.  He also said a bit later in response to another question that safety, MLB, and QB are the most difficult positions to absorb in terms of the volume and complexity of information that is required to be mastered.  People need to be patient with Bishop.  I think it is highly unlikely he starts Day 1.  

[Beck Water]

2 hours ago, GunnerBill said:

 

Good enough to be more than replacement level NFL starters. Edwards has always been a guy that a team likes having as its first guy in off the bench. Rapp started for most of his Rams career but had zero interest as a starter when he hit FA. The market tells you whether someone is truly considered starting calibre and on this pair it has spoken pretty loud and clear.

 

Similar things were said about Poyer and Hyde when Buffalo signed them.

Poyer had played 48 games for 2 teams and started 10 of them

Hyde had played 63 games for GB and started 33 of them

 

It's true that Rapp had little interest after 2022 with the Rams (which is why the Bills signed him for 1 year, just a bit over vet minimum)   I believe Rapp had interest as a starter after last season - I don't think the Bills offered him 3 years, $10.6M with $4.8 guaranteed because he had no other teams interested and Beane had his "Stupid" hat on.  And he WAS signed for more than vet minimum in 2023, which implies he did have some interest.

Same with Edmunds - Bills didn't offer him $2.8M with $1.6 guaranteed at signing because he had "zero interest" and Beane just loves to toss $$ around

 

In any event, when a player has shown they can start in the league for multiple years, I stand by my take that it's peculiar to label them "not NFL caliber starter".  They have proven they can play in the league and start.  Whether they're good starters, or starters where teams want an upgrade, is another question. 

[Alphadawg7]

3 minutes ago, FLFan said:

I did not take his comments as a specific criticism of Bishop.  It is just very much a one step at a time with rookies for McD.  That is how he likes to bring them along.  He also said a bit later in response to another question that safety, MLB, and QB are the most difficult positions to absorb in terms of the volume and complexity of information that is required to be mastered.  People need to be patient with Bishop.  I think it is highly unlikely he starts Day 1.  

 

Agree with all this...although I wouldn't go so far as say "highly" unlikely he starts Day 1.  I agree the odds favor him starting the season as a backup or in specific packages, but I don't think the guys ahead of him are good enough to where he has little chance to over take them come week 1.  

[Beck Water]

2 hours ago, HappyDays said:

I suspect this year we will not be trying different OL combinations. All of the messaging from the team has been that McGovern is the locked in center. There is no legitimate competition on the roster to David Edwards at LG. The only remote chance of something different was SVPG flat out winning the center job, but instead he is on the 3rd team behind Will Clapp. Short of injury the starting five is locked in IMO. Which is for the best anyways. We have a bunch of new starters all over the roster. Having one position group locked in from day one of training camp creates some level of consistency for the offense.

 

I expect to see some different OL combinations, partly because Kromer likes guys to try playing different spots. 

 

Mostly because someone will inevitably get a little dinged up and TC is not the time for your starters to gut it out.

 

[HappyDays]

 

[billrooter]

6 hours ago, Royale with Cheese said:

Is it crazy to think that maybe Davis becomes our pass catching back and Cook taken off the field on 3rd down passing downs?

Suppose to be a good pass blocker as well something Cook is not, I'd guess we see them both on the field at times on passing downs.

[Let's Go Buffalo]

It was great for today to finally get here. Thanks for the posts everyone, and get well soon (Simon)!