My four days at Bills Camp

I like that you noticed how quick our FO was to snag Spraggan, a good move, and one that may pay off down the road.

Does the front office not know why Peters is holding out? Is it just money or something else?

Overall… Esp about Stroud and Jackson… To bad Hardy was out… Been reading good stuff about Royal this week, would you break down the TE situation a bit more as you saw it???
As always, Thanx Geronimo…

Thanks for the info.

The Peters situation is really starting to concern me. I wish there was some confirmation as to what this holdout means on his part. Is it solely $$? Is there an unknown injury? Does he hate training camp? I wish he would talk to the FO. If this continues, do you think someone from the FO would actually go out and visit him to speak with him? They NEED to know what’s going one pretty dang soon.

Glad most of you have the defensive optimism, but I still don’t feel it yet. Not with the questionable secondary and the well below average pass rush. I think the secondary will be much stronger as the season progresses, so that’s not as concerning to me, but the pass rush was terrible last year and I really don’t know how much better it’ll be this year. Hopefully, Stroud can help push the pocket in the middle, a healthier Denney/Kelsay can give us something, and Ellis is able to contribute in passing situations. Maybe Schobel can get to the QB more often this year, with an improvement in pressures. I’d also like to see Fewell use Mitchell A LOT in blitz packages. That guy is a terror off the edge and it’d be brainless not to use him in that capacity. That is one way we can improve on the pathetic pass rush.

I do think the run D will be much improved, assuming we stay healthy in the front 7.

I really think this O is screwed if we are without Peters for any time. The run game suffers and Trent will be more exposed to injury and pressures. We may be able to get by for a week or two, at most, but it will be a MAJOR issue if Peters does not play, or is not ready to play, in week 1.

Glad to hear another glowing review of Steve Johnson. I loved that pick and he has continuously shown he has talent and ability. I really hope we are able to keep him on the roster. Hopefully, he proves himself on ST, especially at the gunner position, as a potential replacement to Jenkins. I’d hate to have to cut a talent like Johnson because of ST play. I think he makes it though, regardless of whether Jenkins does or not.

Also good to hear that Lynch has really fortified his blitz pickup. It definitely improved over last season, but it sounds as if he’s really worked hard at that aspect to be very good at it now.

Good stuff on the Spragan signing, which could turn out to be a very solid pickup for us.

great read. Question: You mentioned that Kawika has become a team leader. Who has stepped it up on the other side of the ball? Any noticeable leadership on offense you saw?

Like I have seen, Lynch is the most impressive athlete and certainly the bet ofensive player on this team all around. His blocking was very noticable.

Thanks Geronimo, a great assessment. Peters didn’t scare me much before, but as the days go, and hearing about the mental catch up he will have to do, I am very scared of the possibility of him not starting. I mean, does he have character issues? From all I’ve read he doesn’t but this is just crazy

as always Geronimo. Greatly appreciated. Now I feel I have some good info to start evaluating the team in 2008. From what I have read from Geronimo and CB and other articles and insiders, is that the Defense is better up the middle but I think the pass rush will still prevent the defense from truly dominating.

I also think that the holdout of Jason Peters combined with the lack of playmaking ability of a TE is problematic. This all goes back to me being exasperated by the Derek Fine selection bc as Geronimo points out he is “THE EXACT SAME PLAYER AS SCHOUMAN.” Which blows my mind as to why they drafted Fine when they had Schouman and could have traded up two spots to get Rucker. But I’ll let it slide. Overall I think the offense will struggle to put up points again. There is only so much you can expect a 2nd year QB to improve. Sure Lynch is a stud, but without a O-line that gels through training camp, and that won’t happen w/o Peters, the Offense is behind the 8 ball.

I guess what I am saying is that all these high hopes I felt around NFL Draft time, are starting to dissipate as I realize some expectations are not likely to be met with the current state of affairs. But, we are still 0-0 and hope is in the air

Marcus Stroud looked immense in my time there – he has a first punch that is
powerful

Just wondering, who are the leaders right now on special teams?

on your assessment of Kawika. Thought he was a depth player signing in the wake of the blockbuster for Marcus Stroud, but Mitchell has impressed me with the way he goes about business on the field and as a lockerroom leader. Great signing for the Bills organization. The improved starting cast should help Schobel get back to being the QB pressure guy we know he can be.

I think at this point that even if Peters does make it into camp, he is more likely to get injured because he hasn’t been involved in team activities or under the strength and conditioning program supervision. I hope that he is doing O.K. The silence has a few of us concerned that maybe this is not the case. There is no reason for the “total radio silence”.

Glad to hear Lynch and Jackson are doing well in pass blocking. We may need the extra help this year, especially against the “big boys” of the AFC. I remember how good Thurman was at blocking, and hope these guys can be that good.

Wonder how that TE competition is going to shake out? That seems to be the most interesting position battle so far.

Thanks for the post, Geronimo.

First – nice report. Now, just curious, but what gives you the impression that Peters’ agent is not holding him out? Parker has a reputation as a hardball kind of guy. And any ideas as to why he himself (Parker) hasn’t made a public comment on this holdout?

a little late with my response, but better late then never!

First, great report Geranimo, as always, much appreciated! A few questions/observations from things I’ve read about camp from the last week or so:

1. As training camp progresses it seems less and less likely that McKelvin or Hardy will have an immediate impact – especailly Hardy. The odds are stacked against a rookie receiver as it is, and with him missing time due to a nagging injury, the learning curve is just that much more steep. Man – it makes me angry that they weren’t able to get Bryant Johnson. Still don’t understand the downside of giving him a one year deal like he wanted. Not to say I would take back the Hardy pick, but giving Hardy at least a year, while upgrading the receving corp this year with a vet would have been ideal.

2. I have a good feeling about Schouman at TE. I think he’s going to be a factor in the receiving game this year. Trent loves his TEs and I think Schouman will be the beneficiary of this.

3. The Peters thing didn’t bother me at first, because I just beleived that he would pop in whenever and pick up with the chemestry he built with Dock last season. I was unaware though that Turk changed most of the line calls. I thought I read a while back that the run calls and assignments would stay the same. Any idea if this is true? If so, at the very least, Peters shouldn’t miss a beat in the run game when he eventually returns.

4. From your observations, do you think Reed is a lock to start opposite of Lee at the beginning of the season?

5. To me, Chris Ellis has ‘bust’ written all over him. I wasn’t impressed with the pick back in April and so far he’s done nothing to convince me otherwise. Don’t get me wrong, he hasn’t even played a down in the NFL yet…but it’s just a gut feeling. The entire season has to play out still, but I may find myself on the DE bandwagon next offseason with K and sireric.

6. Not to open a can of worms, but how did JP look? (as I mentioned in another thread, Trent has a history of getting injured 4 out of the 5 last seasons). No one likes to think about it, but if he goes down for any amount of time, it’s the JP Losman show.

that position is such a must. it is critical for this defense to be top 7. Without a rotational situation of DE’s that can consisently get to the QB the defense will be lacking playmaking abilitiy.

The offense worries me so much. This Jason Peters thing is starting to drive me nuts. I need some info. I need someone to tell me it is going to be ok