8/3 Camp Observations

[NY Nole]

Just returned from the last camp day before the green bay scrimmage and here are some random thoughts:

 

1. Duke Preston is a Gem. (Currently #2 center and gets work at LG) He caught my eye during a morning drill and I focused on him throughout the pm drills. He has very fluid footwork (by far the best of our rookie class) and the guy always finds someone to put the pads on (whether or not he blocks the right man is for the coaches to determine -- but at least he always takes care of someone). I feel that if he can continue to mature throughout camp and pre-season I would have no problems seeing him inserted into the starting lineup as center (assuming gandy is a wash and teague moves to LT).

 

2. JP will be good -- but it might take some time. To me it doesn't look like the game has slowed down for him yet. He appears to be hesitant in his decision-making (but does go through his progressions nicely). Also, when pressured I noticed that he had a habit of throwing off his back foot -- maybe this was a fluke but I hope when the real bullets fly he steps into his throws more. He does have the strongest arm out of our qb's and throws a nice deep ball.

 

3. Willis looks primed to have a big year. The guy is bigger than I remember and seems to make it look effortless out there. He also had a couple nice blocks on the blitz pickup drills.

 

4. Edwards looks good. He looks like he bulked up a bit and is pretty athletic. He was also the last person to leave the practice field this morning (spent nearly half hour extra on field with position coach). From what I see of him -- there are no concerns for big pat's departure. I also forgot that he was a starter for us in the past and then had his job taken (ala sam adams). I think he is ready to show bills nation that he deserves to be a starter again.

 

5. Shaud williams changed his uniform to #20 (thought I was seeing things when #20 lined up in the backfield -- although henry is a bit more muscular than williams).

 

6. Josh Stamer never got the memo that said we already had 3 starting linebackers. He is flying around the practice field and trying to killl people out there. He had tory woodbury running for his life in blitz pickups. Granted this is in practice and all -- but the guy is simply wired. I hope this continues into special teams during the season.

 

There were a few other notables (namely jeff posey blowing up Brad Cieslak on a blitz pickup drill and justin Geisinger getting completely stood up by one of our reserve de's). Hope this info helps. Just a few opinions from an x-box, armchair qb.

 

Go Bills.

[Bob in SC]

Thanks! interesting observations, especially about Preston.

[Alaska Darin]

Thanks. Stamer is my current favorite player and it's nice to hear that he's stepping up. Where is he lining up?

[EC-Bills]

Just returned from the last camp day before the green bay scrimmage and here are some random thoughts:

 

1. Duke Preston is a Gem. (Currently #2 center and gets work at LG) He caught my eye during a morning drill and I focused on him throughout the pm drills. He has very fluid footwork (by far the best of our rookie class) and the guy always finds someone to put the pads on (whether or not he blocks the right man is for the coaches to determine -- but at least he always takes care of someone). I feel that if he can continue to mature throughout camp and pre-season I would have no problems seeing him inserted into the starting lineup as center (assuming gandy is a wash and teague moves to LT).

 

2. JP will be good -- but it might take some time. To me it doesn't look like the game has slowed down for him yet. He appears to be hesitant in his decision-making (but does go through his progressions nicely). Also, when pressured I noticed that he had a habit of throwing off his back foot -- maybe this was a fluke but I hope when the real bullets fly he steps into his throws more. He does have the strongest arm out of our qb's and throws a nice deep ball. 

 

3. Willis looks primed to have a big year. The guy is bigger than I remember and seems to make it look effortless out there. He also had a couple nice blocks on the blitz pickup drills.

 

4. Edwards looks good. He looks like he bulked up a bit and is pretty athletic. He was also the last person to leave the practice field this morning (spent nearly half hour extra on field with position coach). From what I see of him -- there are no concerns for big pat's departure. I also forgot that he was a starter for us in the past and then had his job taken (ala sam adams). I think he is ready to show bills nation that he deserves to be a starter again.

 

5. Shaud williams changed his uniform to #20 (thought I was seeing things when #20 lined up in the backfield -- although henry is a bit more muscular than williams).

 

6. Josh Stamer never got the memo that said we already had 3 starting linebackers. He is flying around the practice field and trying to killl people out there. He had tory woodbury running for his life in blitz pickups. Granted this is in practice and all -- but the guy is simply wired. I hope this continues into special teams during the season.

 

There were a few other notables (namely jeff posey blowing up Brad Cieslak on a blitz pickup drill and justin Geisinger getting completely stood up by one of our reserve de's). Hope this info helps. Just a few opinions from an x-box, armchair qb.

 

Go Bills.

397738[/snapback]

 

Thanks for the scoop!

[Ramius]

Great sutff, and Go 'Noles! (theres a good number of us here)

[MadBuffaloDisease]

Just returned from the last camp day before the green bay scrimmage and here are some random thoughts:

 

1. Duke Preston is a Gem. (Currently #2 center and gets work at LG) He caught my eye during a morning drill and I focused on him throughout the pm drills. He has very fluid footwork (by far the best of our rookie class) and the guy always finds someone to put the pads on (whether or not he blocks the right man is for the coaches to determine -- but at least he always takes care of someone). I feel that if he can continue to mature throughout camp and pre-season I would have no problems seeing him inserted into the starting lineup as center (assuming gandy is a wash and teague moves to LT).

Gandy will be fine, at least until Peters takes over next year. And I'd favor seeing Preston being the starting center and possibly having Teague move to LG if Anderson is as much of a liability in pass protection as he was advertised to be. Teague HAS to be better at OG than center, where he won't have to snap the ball and then get into position.

2. JP will be good -- but it might take some time. To me it doesn't look like the game has slowed down for him yet. He appears to be hesitant in his decision-making (but does go through his progressions nicely). Also, when pressured I noticed that he had a habit of throwing off his back foot -- maybe this was a fluke but I hope when the real bullets fly he steps into his throws more. He does have the strongest arm out of our qb's and throws a nice deep ball.

Baby steps with JP. Screens, play-action, roll-outs, short, safe passes. Lots of Willis, lots of defense, lots of ST's.

3. Willis looks primed to have a big year. The guy is bigger than I remember and seems to make it look effortless out there. He also had a couple nice blocks on the blitz pickup drills.

Good to hear.

4. Edwards looks good. He looks like he bulked up a bit and is pretty athletic. He was also the last person to leave the practice field this morning (spent nearly half hour extra on field with position coach). From what I see of him -- there are no concerns for big pat's departure. I also forgot that he was a starter for us in the past and then had his job taken (ala sam adams). I think he is ready to show bills nation that he deserves to be a starter again.

Fletch was on Sirius and said that Edwards is actually BIGGER than Pat was. Now I've seen their listed weights and noticed Edwards was heavier, but I didn't believe it. Now I do.

6. Josh Stamer never got the memo that said we already had 3 starting linebackers. He is flying around the practice field and trying to killl people out there. He had tory woodbury running for his life in blitz pickups. Granted this is in practice and all -- but the guy is simply wired. I hope this continues into special teams during the season.

I've heard Stamer's looking good. Haggan as well. Crowell not so much.

There were a few other notables (namely jeff posey blowing up Brad Cieslak on a blitz pickup drill and justin Geisinger getting completely stood up by one of our reserve de's). Hope this info helps. Just a few opinions from an x-box, armchair qb.

I'm disappointed with Geisinger. Several scouts called him a prototypical OG. But since he played OT in college, he may need some time to adjust to OG in the NFL and/or it may be a strength thing.

[hudella]

nice job, i went to the PM practice today and the first thing that really impressed me was how quick sam adams was out of his stance. The guy totally molested one of thie lineman, i think it may have been duke preston (i believe it was the back-up right gaurd). Second guy that really impressed me was Chris Kelsay, he was all over today, he made 2 tackles for losses on the goal line ( on 1 of them he took out willis at his knees, made the crowd hold their breath for a minute). Also i wanted to say that Krumrie is an absolute nutt-case. he really gets the defense fired up, after kelsay made some playes he was always the 1st guy in to give him the thumbs up and keep him fired up. Durring the live goal line plays today the defensive back ups and the crowd were all chanting D-fense it was pretty intense. Finally i thought it was interesting that Tory woodbury one of out QB's was also playing on special teams, i would like to keep the guy at least on the practice squad, he threaded the kneeded and about 3 of his passes today.

[hudella]

sorry about all the misspellings.... i was at training camp all day and it was extremely hot.

[rockpile]

Great report! Some interesting stuff here. I missed morning practice (was with a daycare in the Bills Experience) and some of the things I saw later were a bit different than your observations. Watch for my report later. What is nice is that you saw things that I missed!

 

I noticed Preston but did not get a chance to single him out very much.

 

JP seemed "off" to me today. Did you view it the same? He was off target and looked like the heat was getting to him - maybe he should trim the hair until later in the fall.

 

I saw Willis get beat by London Fletcher and TKO in blitz drills. He was also beaten twice by Mario Hagen, who slapped him down once; this was in the afternoon.

 

Edwards was also the last person to stop giving autographs to kids this morning. The rest of the team was already at lunch.

 

On one play, (edit it was not Posey it was Kelsay) Posey literally picked up two players and blew right through them. He looked like he was on fire today.

 

More to follow....

 

Just returned from the last camp day before the green bay scrimmage and here are some random thoughts:

 

1. Duke Preston is a Gem. (Currently #2 center and gets work at LG) He caught my eye during a morning drill and I focused on him throughout the pm drills. He has very fluid footwork (by far the best of our rookie class) and the guy always finds someone to put the pads on (whether or not he blocks the right man is for the coaches to determine -- but at least he always takes care of someone). I feel that if he can continue to mature throughout camp and pre-season I would have no problems seeing him inserted into the starting lineup as center (assuming gandy is a wash and teague moves to LT).

 

2. JP will be good -- but it might take some time. To me it doesn't look like the game has slowed down for him yet. He appears to be hesitant in his decision-making (but does go through his progressions nicely). Also, when pressured I noticed that he had a habit of throwing off his back foot -- maybe this was a fluke but I hope when the real bullets fly he steps into his throws more. He does have the strongest arm out of our qb's and throws a nice deep ball. 

 

3. Willis looks primed to have a big year. The guy is bigger than I remember and seems to make it look effortless out there. He also had a couple nice blocks on the blitz pickup drills.

 

4. Edwards looks good. He looks like he bulked up a bit and is pretty athletic. He was also the last person to leave the practice field this morning (spent nearly half hour extra on field with position coach). From what I see of him -- there are no concerns for big pat's departure. I also forgot that he was a starter for us in the past and then had his job taken (ala sam adams). I think he is ready to show bills nation that he deserves to be a starter again.

 

5. Shaud williams changed his uniform to #20 (thought I was seeing things when #20 lined up in the backfield -- although henry is a bit more muscular than williams).

 

6. Josh Stamer never got the memo that said we already had 3 starting linebackers. He is flying around the practice field and trying to killl people out there. He had tory woodbury running for his life in blitz pickups. Granted this is in practice and all -- but the guy is simply wired. I hope this continues into special teams during the season.

 

There were a few other notables (namely jeff posey blowing up Brad Cieslak on a blitz pickup drill and justin Geisinger getting completely stood up by one of our reserve de's). Hope this info helps. Just a few opinions from an x-box, armchair qb.

 

Go Bills.

397738[/snapback]

[Reuben Gant]

Thanks NY NOLE. It does the heart good to hear about Preston and Stammer.

They really should have a cold beer smiley to thank guys like you posting this stuff.

[ThePebble19]

nice job, i went to the PM practice today and the first thing that really impressed me was how quick sam adams was out of his stance.  The guy totally molested one of thie lineman, i think it may have been duke preston (i believe it was the back-up right gaurd).  Second guy that really impressed me was Chris Kelsay, he was all over today, he made 2 tackles for losses on the goal line ( on 1 of them he took out willis at his knees, made the crowd hold their breath for a minute).  Also i wanted to say that Krumrie is an absolute nutt-case. he really gets the defense fired up,  after kelsay made some playes he was always the 1st guy in to give him the thumbs up and keep him fired up.  Durring the live goal line plays today the defensive back ups and the crowd were all chanting D-fense it was pretty intense.  Finally i thought it was interesting that Tory woodbury one of out QB's was also playing on special teams, i would like to keep the guy at least on the practice squad, he threaded the kneeded and about 3 of his passes today.

397759[/snapback]

 

I like Tory Woodbury a lot...I am really torn this year because I have been a lifelong Jets and Bills fan, somehow...and usually one or the other has a bad season, but it appears to be a dogfight this year. But about Woodbury, I always liked him when the Jets had him 3 or 4 years ago. He is a great special teams player and a valuable asset as a 3rd QB or reserve QB / WR.

[bobblehead]

Thanks. I actually want Losman to struggle at first. If he was lights out right off the bat, I'd be worried. I know now that he's not being coddled by the coaches out there, except for the "not touching the qb" part, which is expected.

[Beerball]

Appreciate the info, thanks!

[Rico]

Thanks, great report!

[Mike32282]

Awesome job! Thanks for the notes. It sounds like I missed a lot today. I guess I was more tired than I thought.

 

[Bill from NYC]

>>>>>

Gandy will be fine, at least until Peters takes over next year. And I'd favor seeing Preston being the starting center and possibly having Teague move to LG if Anderson is as much of a liability in pass protection as he was advertised to be. Teague HAS to be better at OG than center, where he won't have to snap the ball and then get into position.<<<<<

 

Gandy may or may not be fine, and what makes you think that Peters will be taking over next year?

As for Teague at LG, he is simply not big enough, especially on a team which alleges to be "smashmouth." Teague is far more suited to the LT position, one which he has already played.

I am excited about what we are hearing about Preston, but we might want to wait another day or two before we pencil him in as the starter, OK?

[Fake-Fat Sunny]

>>>>>

Gandy will be fine, at least until Peters takes over next year. And I'd favor seeing Preston being the starting center and possibly having Teague move to LG if Anderson is as much of a liability in pass protection as he was advertised to be. Teague HAS to be better at OG than center, where he won't have to snap the ball and then get into position.<<<<<

 

Gandy may or may not be fine, and what makes you think that Peters will be taking over next year?

As for Teague at LG, he is simply not big enough, especially on a team which alleges to be "smashmouth." Teague is far more suited to the LT position, one which he has already played.

I am excited about what we are hearing about Preston, but we might want to wait another day or two before we pencil him in as the starter, OK?

397991[/snapback]

 

Agreed that while it would be fantastic if Peters was able for LT responsibility next year, while this is possible I still have my doubts and would need to hear a lot of good things about his LT work in camp this year to even put much hope in it being a real possibility for him to deserve the job next year.

 

Instead some are even talking about him as an option this year which I woould simply laugh at except that it is JMac doing a lot of the talking. I just do not see Peters as a important part of the LT equation this year.

 

Agreed also on the Teague at LG notion as being a pipedream based on his demgraphics and past performance. One of his big initial problems at C was simply getting put on his butt by bullrushes. I think some of this came from him being unable to handle the bullrush, the linecalls, and make a good snap (particularly on shotguns where thank gosh Bledsoe had great hands) all at the same time. However, switching him to LG does not seem to play to his strengths.

 

The 2 Teague strengths I have seen are that he showed good football smarts in doing the linecalls from C for an OL which was productive with the run and gave up sacks as one might expect with a QB who lacked mobility and hang onto the ball too long sometimes and athleticism as he was at least adequate in space at LT for Denver (though no one should mistake him for being more than adequate at this job several years back.

 

However, with the added experience he has gained as a Bill at Cand better athleticism now than back when he was with Denver (he seemed to recover nicely from past injuries, I have no problem with him as a plan B at LT

 

EXCEPT..

 

this is where your final point about Preston kicks in. The worse thing about him as plan B at LT is that it creates a need for a Plan A at C. Tucker is bright enough to do it and with past starts for the Bills and others at both T and G and a nice job at C last year in place of a nicked Teague he can do, but he starts camp with injuries.

 

If Gandy cannot do the job it may be important for Preston to pull off the impressive feat of being good enough to start at C as a rookie. 2 or 3 playerswere good enough to do this last year, but it will be rough if we have to do this to compete.

[MadBuffaloDisease]

Gandy may or may not be fine, and what makes you think that Peters will be taking over next year?

Peters has superior athleticism and size. He just lacks experience. Again I can see him starting at LT next year. And Gandy WILL be fine I'm willing to bet.

As for Teague at LG, he is simply not big enough, especially on a team which alleges to be "smashmouth."  Teague is far more suited to the LT position, one which he has already played.

Considering he's been solid snapping and then getting into position to take on behemoth DT's, like I said I think that being ready to face a DT without having to snap the ball will be easier for him. That's assuming no one adequately fills the LG spot.

I am excited about what we are hearing about Preston, but we might want to wait another day or two before we pencil him in as the starter, OK? 

No! Right now!

[Dan Gross]

No!  Right now!

398204[/snapback]

 

While "on paper" it would be good to hand this smart, capable kid the starting job, you're forgetting it's not just about "which guy is making the line calls, hiking the ball and blocking the middle." It's also about "which guy works with the QB to make sure everything's in synch." One of the JP articles I read recently had him gushing over how much Teague's experience and expertise has helped him. I'm one who has usually considered that angle (knowing it wasn't Kelly alone that was the key to the no-huddle offense, but Kelly-Hull working together on the play calls that made it work) I think a first year starter at QB combined with a rookie center would have a much higher potential of the big "D" word than having the much more experienced and savvy Teague up there. I really think Losman needs Teague if he has any hope of being successful in his first year...If only someone could teach Teague how to long snap.