2009 Bills Training Camp: Day Four Open Thread

The Buffalo Bills have three full days of practices under their belt.  They've gone through two-a-days, strapped on the pads, and gotten a little better each day.  So far, so good.  They've also attended meetings and walk-throughs.  Their nose is to the grind stone.  Tonight is their first "prime time" performance of the year, as the team will take the field at St. John Fisher College at 7:10 PM for the first night practice of the season.

Buffalo Rumblings editor MattRichWarren is once again at Growney Stadium covering the goings-on at camp live.  He'll be tweeting updates, which we'll be moving here (with a little more fluff - we have more room than Twitter, after all).  This is your open thread to follow along with tonight's action.

After tonight, the Bills are right back out on the field tomorrow for an early afternoon workout.

7:15 PM: Matt's in good company tonight - Peter King, Ross Tucker, and Scott Pitoniak are all on hand to take in tonight's practice.

DT Marcus Stroud has his pads on tonight.  He is practicing.  Meanwhile, Matt reports that TE Shawn Nelson's ankle is taped; he'll likely be sidelined.  DT John McCargo is not practicing either.

Bobby April gets the first drill of the night with the kick return unit.  Not unexpectedly, Leodis McKelvin and Fred Jackson are lining up to return kicks, with Terrence McGee and Dominic Rhodes rotating in.  First-unit blockers include Ryan Neill, Keith Ellison, Paul Posluszny, Kawika Mitchell, Justin Jenkins, Derek Schouman, Spencer Johnson and Demetrius Bell.

7:23 PM: For a second consecutive day, the Buffalo Bills are practicing a Wildcat look with Roscoe Parrish running the show.  Matt reports that Parrish has run an option play; he's lining up in the backfield with both Marshawn Lynch and Fred Jackson.  What's the saying? Three times is a trend? This is a very interesting wrinkle.  It's not just Parrish getting reps, however; Fred Jackson has taken snaps between Lynch and Dominic Rhodes.  Who thought they'd find a way to get all three of their running backs on the field at the same time?

7:42 PM: Couple of quick updates on Buffalo's young offensive linemen: Andy Levitre "looks strong," as does Bell.  Second straight pads practice means a second straight night of hitting.  Matt will be keeping a close eye on the lines tonight.  Bummer that McCargo isn't participating.

7:49 PM: We interrupt this open thread to report that, per Jason La Canfora of NFL.com, the Bills and OG Eric Wood have agreed to a five-year deal.  La Canfora also reports that a deal is close to being completed for FS Jairus Byrd.  Back to practice... Trent Edwards is working on play-action packages.

8:12 PM: Trent Edwards' hot hand continues.  Matt reports that the ascending QB-WR duo of Edwards and Owens has hooked up for yet another big play, burning Ashton Youboty for 40 yards.  Keep it up, 5...

Meanwhile, Matt says that the hitting is solid tonight.  As he puts it, "the pads are popping, boys and girls." Langston Walker is looking solid at left tackle.  Brad Butler? "Butler looking good... against Kelsay." (Good point.) Kirk Chambers is struggling with Kyle Williams - not altogether unsurprising, but get ready soon anyways, Andy Levitre.

8:20 PM: In what will be perhaps his most shocking and earth-shattering revelation of the night, Matt reports that Ryan Fitzpatrick has thrown an interception - a tipped pass collected by Keith Ellison.  Backup quarterbacks are still looking bad.

8:41 PM: On the backup quarterback front, Gibran Hamdan has tossed a long score to Justin Jenkins - so at least there's a little life from Trent Edwards' understudies.  The screen pass has joined play-action as an emphasis tonight.  Matt hasn't seen a FB on the field at all in offensive sets - even though there have been lead blockers in the backfield.  Tight ends are lining up there.

8:56 PM: I got word to Matt that Wood had signed, so while he was watching the O-Line, he pretty much skipped right guard.  Don't blame him.  Talking tackles, he says Butler was very solid, marveling over his footwork.  He said Langston Walker was good too, handling Schobel well, but also surrendering a sack to 94.  (I'm going to choose to be happy that Schobel is playing well.) Levitre shared snaps with Chambers at left guard, and neither was particularly impressive.  Currently seeking a Hangartner update...

9:02 PM: Well, at least Matt's an honest reporter.  On the rest of the O-Line: he didn't notice Hangartner or McKinney much, which means that they didn't stand out, nor did they make any grievous errors.  He was, however, impressed with Demetrius Bell.

9:08 PM: There's the horn.  Practice is over.  Recap coming.