rockpile Posted August 9, 2005 Posted August 9, 2005 I met Lori at camp and we spent the day together (well most of it anyway). Eat your heart out Harriet. I don't have a lot of comments on the morning practice because we were talking a lot. In the afternoon I took notes. The afternoon practice was delayed until 3:15 instead of 2:45 because many of the Bills and coaches went to Buffalo for a memorial service for Hunter Kelly. It was a hot afternoon; I believe another 90+ degree day, but the breeze made it OK. Question: what do you do with five quarterbacks? When they are running drills, they all look about the same. The mechanics and repetitive motion makes them kind of robotic. I guess it is is how they execute the plays, command their offense, mislead the defense, all while having everything moving at "fast forward" that will make the difference. If I was to place them in order of MVP to least, it would be JP, Matthews, Holcomb, Woodbury, and Thompson. Just my opinion. JP is learning every day, which is what you want from a young QB. Today he learned the value of dumping off a pass when there is no receiver, and looking off his primary receiver. I think Matthews was coaching him on this after a couple early miscues. Willis McGahee is NOT cut out for pass blocking. He was made for running and hitting not for protecting a QB from a blitzing linebacker. I wish they would pull him from this drill. The fullbacks and tight ends are much better at this simply by sheer mass. Rian Lindell (edit: Moorman) was hanging his punts vertically with good distance and hang time. One kick was a solid five seconds. Baker is kicking about the same as Lindell and he can punt. So if it turns out that Baker = Lindel on KO and FG, keep him in case Lindell (edit: Moorman) goes down. He is also a left foot kicker. Anyone know if that has an effect on catching the ball? Right now I like Shaud Williams and Lionel Gates as the top choices for the #2 RB behind McGahee. Williams hits the hole very quickly like TH did, then runs to daylight. I have offically nicknamed #25 "Z.Z. Gates" for zig-zag. I like his moves. After being rather invisible so far, Sam Aiken was all over today. Catching kickoffs and getting a lot of passes. They pulled out all the stops today - a lot of players saw action. Drew Haddad had a nice sliding catch; when the strong safety Dan Leger did not touch him, he jumped up and ran in for the TD. #15, George Wilson got a lot of attention today. Caught a nice long ball on his fingertips, dragging his toes across the chalk at the back of the endzone. He made several very athletic receptions. Both Channel 13 and 10 focused on him during the news. WR's numbered 15, 17, 18, 19 - traditional camp fodder - all look like they could make the roster somewhere. On linebacker/lineman one on ones, Bennie Anderson did a nice job containing Sam Adams. Gandy stuffed Schobel two times in a row. On the OL side, I like Gandy and Bennie Williams as a tandem on the left side and Mike Williams is looking like this is the year he comes out and shows his stuff. Two other players I think are going to shine on D are Ryan Denny and Jeff Posey.. I think Sape is headed back to the practice squad or the cut list. Too bad, he seems to be a nice guy and treated my grandkids really special last year, but that is not how they judge DTs.. He has had a problem jumping off sides. There was a lot of contact today, they were really hitting hard. There were a couple of fights. Lawyer Milloy really wants to hit something. The preseason will help satisfy his craving. He really smacked McGahee - spun him right around. It looked like McGahee got a good stinger off that one. My fingers are getting numb so I am done for a while. Any questions?
Fezmid Posted August 9, 2005 Posted August 9, 2005 Lawyer Milloy really wants to hit something. The preseason will help satisfy his craving. He really smacked McGahee - spun him right around. It looked like McGahee got a good stinger off that one. I forgot to mention in my Packers scrimmage note that Milloy was PUMPED before the game. He ran onto the field (no fanfare or announcing of players or anything), and he jumped around for a few seconds, pumped his fists, and then ran to the Bills side of the field. Kinda cool to see, considering I was probably the only one paying attention to him. He's going to have a great season. CW
ofiba Posted August 9, 2005 Posted August 9, 2005 Rian Lindell was hanging his punts vertically with good distance and hang time. 402460[/snapback] No wonder he can't make field goals. His specialty is punting!
rockpile Posted August 9, 2005 Author Posted August 9, 2005 No wonder he can't make field goals. His specialty is punting! 402462[/snapback] Oy, it has been a looooooong day.
Dan Gross Posted August 9, 2005 Posted August 9, 2005 Oy, it has been a looooooong day. 402463[/snapback] Cover the chrome dome next time you go out there...
rockpile Posted August 9, 2005 Author Posted August 9, 2005 Cover the chrome dome next time you go out there... 402468[/snapback] How did you know I did not where a hat today?
Dan Gross Posted August 9, 2005 Posted August 9, 2005 How did you know I did not where a hat today? 402471[/snapback] Because normally you know the difference between where and wear.
34-78-83 Posted August 9, 2005 Posted August 9, 2005 Thanks for the report Rock! Did you get a chance to see Eric King (new cb) at all today? I've been hearing some good things about him.
rockpile Posted August 9, 2005 Author Posted August 9, 2005 Because normally you know the difference between where and wear. 402473[/snapback] <sigh> Good night, John-boy!
Dan Gross Posted August 9, 2005 Posted August 9, 2005 <sigh> Good night, John-boy! 402475[/snapback] Thanks for the report, rock!
BillsGuyInMalta Posted August 9, 2005 Posted August 9, 2005 Thanks a bunch for the report Rock...glad to hear we might have a steal in Gates. Guess we'll get a chance to see how he looks come Saturday.
eball Posted August 9, 2005 Posted August 9, 2005 On the OL side, I like Gandy and Bennie Williams as a tandem on the left side and Mike Williams is looking like this is the year he comes out and shows his stuff. 402460[/snapback] this is encouraging to read. also, i hope you mean bennie anderson. thanks for the report, rock.
cåblelady Posted August 9, 2005 Posted August 9, 2005 I met Lori at camp and we spent the day together (well most of it anyway). Eat your heart out Harriet. 402460[/snapback] *sigh* P.S. Nice report, Rock. I'm sure Lori wrote it for you.
rockpile Posted August 9, 2005 Author Posted August 9, 2005 *sigh* P.S. Nice report, Rock. I'm sure Lori wrote it for you. 402526[/snapback] No, she would have been a lot more comprehensive without all the errors.
Mickey Posted August 9, 2005 Posted August 9, 2005 Question: what do you do with five quarterbacks? When they are running drills, they all look about the same. The mechanics and repetitive motion makes them kind of robotic. I guess it is is how they execute the plays, command their offense, mislead the defense, all while having everything moving at "fast forward" that will make the difference... Willis McGahee is NOT cut out for pass blocking. He was made for running and hitting not for protecting a QB from a blitzing linebacker. I wish they would pull him from this drill. The fullbacks and tight ends are much better at this simply by sheer mass. 402460[/snapback] I was at the morning practice and the one thing I noticed with regard to the QB's was the speed of the ball, JP's passes come firing out of his hand with more visible velocity than the rest of the other QB's. To be able to see a difference from up in the stands is something. I don't know if that kind of velocity is a good thing or a bad thing but for what it is worth, he has all the arm strength we could ever want. Accuracy and judgment will be his challenges. I saw him hit Gates on a screen during the 11 on 11 drill that was executed perfectly. I got a good pic of it and when I looked it over at home, you could see that there wasn't a defender anywhere near Gates who had two blockers right in front of him. JP drew the defense in to him as he drifted to the opposite side of the field from Gates. The WR's went deep and to the side where JP was. On the other side, Gates was a lonely guy. JP let it go at the right time and hit him with an easy to catch pass that let Gates immediately start running without being thrown off balance trying to haul in a pass that was a little off. That was the best play I saw from JP all day. It was against the second or third string defense (LaWaylon Brown, Sape, Leger, Greer, Osunde and Ritzman to name a few). As for Willis, he better learn to pass block, I don't want to be telegraphing our intentions every time we pass by having to pull Willis to the sidelines. There will be times we will be in max protect and Willis will need to be able to block. With his size and athletecism, there is no reason for him to not be able to block on occasion.
IndyMark Posted August 9, 2005 Posted August 9, 2005 Well done - us 'out of towners' love this stuff. Thanks.
Beerball Posted August 9, 2005 Posted August 9, 2005 Thanks Rock, appreciate your observations. You ranked the QBs, how about the WRs? Based on what you have seen can you list them (maybe your top 5?)? As for the morning practice, what is the correct moniker for Lori? Is she Miss Information or mis-information? Inquiring minds want to know.
Mike32282 Posted August 9, 2005 Posted August 9, 2005 Thanks for the report. Nice job, man! BTW, thanks for saying Hi.
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