Items of note from Buffalo Bills rookie mini-camp

by Brian Galliford on May 7, 2010 5:56 PM EDT in Buffalo Bills News

The Buffalo Bills opened their 2010 season with their first rookie mini-camp today. Bang it on that there photo of rookie running back C.J. Spiller in his first NFL practice for more photos, including a couple of quarterback Brian Brohm and head coach Chan Gailey decked out for his first practice in his new role.

As it's May 7, the big stories of the day were largely fluff, and not much interesting was said. For full recaps on the day's festivities, make sure to drop by BuffaloBills.com, and for full transcripts from Gailey, Spiller, Brohm and others, be sure to check out the coverage over at WGR550.com.

The most newsworthy item of the day was Gailey's confirmation that the team will, in fact, be holding an open quarterback competition. All four quarterbacks will be considered, though I think it's safe to say that rookie Levi Brown doesn't stand much of a chance as the new regime's developmental prospect. Despite the lack of news, however, there were a few intriguing notes to keep in the back of our minds.

OL lineups: Jamon Meredith lined up as the first-unit left tackle, with Andy Levitre, Christian Gaddis, Jason Watkins and Nick Hennessey comprising the rest of the unit from left to right. Most surprising was Watkins lining up at right guard; he has that swing capability, but he's a far more natural fit at tackle. Considering the large amount of undrafted free agents the team brought in on the interior, it's rather odd that Watkins would get a look inside as well. I expected him to play right tackle this weekend.

Rookie Ed Wang was the second-unit offensive tackle, with Andre Ramsey, Sean Allen, Kyle Calloway and Cordaro Howard making up the rest of the unit.

WR rotation: Steve Johnson and Felton Huggins were the first two receivers to rotate through their reps, with pairings of Marcus Easley and Donald Jones, and Naaman Roosevelt and David Nelson following suit.

3-4 personnel: Torell Troup lined up at nose tackle, as expected, and fellow rookie Alex Carrington joined him as a left end. Rashaad Duncan, who is a much better fit as a 4-3 DT, played end. Second-year player Marlon Favorite saw time at both nose tackle and end.

The only surprise at linebacker was who wasn't lining up there, and it's really not that shocking, either - Jon Corto has moved back to safety, switching to jersey number 33 in the process. He'll get reps at a log-jammed strong safety spot. This move, while necessary, decreases his chances of making the roster considerably; he'll need to rely on his special teams abilities to stick.

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Just good to be out on the field...

Seems to be the consensus. While you’re right about all the fluff we’ll hear, it’s a welcome sight :)

by StandingBillFan on May 7, 2010 6:21 PM EDT via mobile reply actions

At least...

the days of the 220 linebackers are over. “Flying to the ball” was not cutting it.

by Fox5alpha on May 7, 2010 6:26 PM EDT reply actions

Cj!

It's Like Rooting For the Toilet to Flush......

by CJSpiller on May 7, 2010 6:39 PM EDT reply actions

Nice name, hahaha

Go Rockies! First and only member of the Manuel Corpas fanclub right here! :/
Everyone's favorite Buffalo Rumblings Anti-Tebow blowhard!
THIS IS BUFFALO NATION GODZILLA HAS AWAKEN - abayarde

by UZ on May 7, 2010 6:41 PM EDT up reply actions

Great signature as well

"Ability without character will lose. The Bills are going to be a team of high character. That stamp I will push very hard. I hope we can convey that to our fans and project something very special to the rest of the nation." - Marv Levy

by BuffaloBlueBlood on May 7, 2010 6:50 PM EDT up reply actions

in her red water panties

by dav630 on May 7, 2010 8:15 PM EDT up reply actions

Sounded like Levi Brown is making the most of his chance anyhow… and doing so by taking chances. Chris Brown always has the fanbase feeling pretty good, but I am skeptical to say the least. Glad to read Leodis is back healthy. That is big….

It is Brohm’s Bills jersey that is the least stained with doo-doo... GO BILLS

by killascript on May 7, 2010 6:47 PM EDT reply actions

yeah I know Brown (Chris) talks up the offense often...........and people get their hopes up.....

then we’re stuck with what we’ve seen the last few years……..

So I hope people keep that in mind as we go forward not only with this camp…….but the rest of the off season.

"If we can put four quarters together, that's the objective. Let's see how somebody else feels playing from behind." (TWCS)

by norcaliangelsfan on May 7, 2010 6:59 PM EDT up reply actions

“Cornerback Leodis McKelvin was more exuberant than perhaps he’s ever been on the practice field Friday. In the morning session he was talking trash and making plays on the ball in the form of pass breakups. In the afternoon practice those PBUs turned into interceptions”~ Chris Brown

This is what I like to see. The in your face, all out defense. I pray to Chan that we become an agressive defense, with tons of press coverage. Hopefully that will give our LB’s enough time to make great plays.

I still think our offense will be garbage for now… but this new defense has me intrigued. This season will be painful to watch, but I think the new defense may give us hope for the future.

If I only had a brain...

by Schooled You on May 7, 2010 7:03 PM EDT reply actions

great Leodis talking smack to a bunch of 5th and 6th string WR's...........

outstanding.

"If we can put four quarters together, that's the objective. Let's see how somebody else feels playing from behind." (TWCS)

by norcaliangelsfan on May 7, 2010 7:15 PM EDT up reply actions

It's the principle of it

If I only had a brain...

by Schooled You on May 7, 2010 7:18 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions

Well if it works, maybe Leo can teach Edwards how to talk smack.

Show me the baby CHIX, and it better not look like the pool boy from our vacation at Club Jauron!!!!!

"I’m not sure if I disagree with this being the logic behind Nix’s decisions or if I disagree with this logic if it is what lead Nix to address the positions he did, but I definitely disagree with something." - kaisertown

by Joe P. on May 7, 2010 7:20 PM EDT up reply actions

I'd rather he shut fools down............

instead of talking about it.

"If we can put four quarters together, that's the objective. Let's see how somebody else feels playing from behind." (TWCS)

by norcaliangelsfan on May 7, 2010 7:25 PM EDT up reply actions

Good God, cali. It’s the first practice of the year. Let’s not be like this yet.

Buffalo Rumblings. On Twitter.
"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take. --Wayne Grezky" --Michael Scott

by Brian Galliford on May 7, 2010 9:51 PM EDT up reply actions

come on now Brian......

if people are gonna go all crazy over a practice…………I think its only fair that I bring a little bit of reality.

I may be a little harsh on this topic………but only to balance out the overblown excitement of the original poster….

"If we can put four quarters together, that's the objective. Let's see how somebody else feels playing from behind." (TWCS)

by norcaliangelsfan on May 8, 2010 5:17 PM EDT up reply actions

I completely agree with you. Leodis McKelvin should have no problem shutting down a bunch of undrafted rookie WRs.

I signed up for Second Life about a year ago. Back then my life was so great that I literally wanted a second one. In my Second Life I was also a paper salesman and I was also named Dwight. Absolutely everything was the same. Except I could fly. - Dwight Schrute

by kaisertown on May 8, 2010 6:41 PM EDT up reply actions

So because they’re backup receivers, and because it’s a practice, he’s just supposed to move around like a frigging robot out there? Dude hasn’t been on a football field since September. Let him have fun.

Buffalo Rumblings. On Twitter.
"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take. --Wayne Grezky" --Michael Scott

by Brian Galliford on May 9, 2010 10:55 AM EDT up reply actions

I agree

Even though it is just a simple early practice, your attitude in practice carries over to your attitude on the field. how you practice is how you play. No, it’s not indicative of regular season performance, but for what it is, it’s simply nice to see.

Blame where you must, be candid where you can, And be each critic the Good-natured Man. - Oliver Goldsmith (Excellent advice)

Go Jazz! Go Hogs! GO BILLS!

by Dyl on May 8, 2010 1:01 AM EDT up reply actions

He is probably just excited that Spiller will be handling the return duties ;-)

Show me the baby CHIX, and it better not look like the pool boy from our vacation at Club Jauron!!!!!

by Joe P. on May 7, 2010 7:18 PM EDT up reply actions

and get 15 touchdowns

It's Like Rooting For the Toilet to Flush......

by CJSpiller on May 7, 2010 7:30 PM EDT up reply actions

He is probably just excited that Spiller will be handling the return duties ;-)

Hopefully Spiller has surer hands than McKelvin.

Methinks Spiller will save Leodis from more lawn incidents.

There's not a wide receiver who is fast enough, that J.P. Losman can't overthrow him on a fly pattern.

by The Buffalo Kid on May 9, 2010 4:53 AM EDT up reply actions

Better than Drayton "I think I'm about 20x better than I actually am" Florence

Go Rockies! First and only member of the Manuel Corpas fanclub right here! :/
Everyone's favorite Buffalo Rumblings Anti-Tebow blowhard!
THIS IS BUFFALO NATION GODZILLA HAS AWAKEN - abayarde

by UZ on May 7, 2010 8:31 PM EDT up reply actions

yeaaaaaa

leodis will be back, he will be a force this year….

Buffalo, that's where it's at baby. - Adam 'Pacman' Jones
To us winning is a tradition. We are victors and need not explain. You may hate us, but your girlfriends love us. - BC

by silverstreak3k on May 7, 2010 8:00 PM EDT up reply actions

Good to have them back on the field

There isn’t a whole lot to take from this type of setting. I also find it odd that Watkins was kicked inside to guard. I was looking forward to seeing if he could challenge for a job at OT. He’s got plenty of athleticism and size, so it’s odd that they put him at guard instead of taking advantage of his physical strengths. To go with that, Cordaro Howard is playing RT? Wasn’t he a guard through and through at GT?

Reggie Corner continues to show he’s the defensive back version of Chris Kelsay. Practice player extraordinaire!

I sure hope Leo can stay healthy this year. I’m looking forward to seeing if he can be a quality NFL CB because he’s been pretty terrible to this point. Having the confidence and ability to shut down the opposition will be a big part of his progression. If he can do a better job of reading and diagnosing the play, his ability to make quicker decisions will significantly impact his ability to make breaks on the ball and hopefully pick off some passes. It’s a huge season for him, and he needs to have a good year.

Leo: "So I got them off Brohm, but it was pretty good to get my hands on a lot of balls."

TW….YIKES!

~K
"As the governor of Louisiana once said, the only way Chris Kelsay can lose his job is if he got caught in bed with a dead girl or a live boy."

by Kurupt on May 7, 2010 8:22 PM EDT reply actions

I had thought Howard was a guard too, but he did play RT as a sophomore, which happened to be Gailey’s last year at Tech.

I’m on the fence about it. Part of me is all for potential backups like Watkins and Howard to become as versatile as possible. Another part of me is wondering why Buffalo would want a 6’3 and 5/8ths undrafted kid to come in and play RT when they’ve actually got numbers at the tackle spot and no depth whatsoever inside.

It seems like Meredith-Levitre-Gaddis-Ramsey-Watkins as the first team and Wang-Howard-Allen-Calloway-Hennessey as the second team would have been an obvious decision.

by kaisertown on May 7, 2010 9:00 PM EDT up reply actions

Yes, I totally agree with that pair of lineups

Watkins at OT, Howard inside and maybe a guy like Ramsey moving around. I don’t understand the Watkins at Guard thing, not that it should really matter much. But he’s 6’6", 325 lbs and athletic. I really don’t see why they’d want to stick that on the inside. Maybe tomorrow he’ll be playing some OT. I’d like to see him and Howard at least rotating inside and outside throughout these practices.

~K
"As the governor of Louisiana once said, the only way Chris Kelsay can lose his job is if he got caught in bed with a dead girl or a live boy."

by Kurupt on May 7, 2010 11:31 PM EDT up reply actions

was thinking

the exact same thing!

Some make it happen, some watch it happen and some ask, what happened?

by fansince60 on May 7, 2010 11:29 PM EDT up reply actions

But my Corto Jersey is 57!

I’m not joking I really have a Corto Jersey and now I’m pissed. Mostly I’m concerned for his future. The switch to the 3-4 might prove to be a large obstacle for him but I hope he can still find a spot as one of the 53. He has led the team the past 2 years in special team tackles and onside kick recoveries. I think he is one of our best special teamers and I really hope Chan recognizes his impact.
Does anyone see a spot for Corto on this roster because of his special teams ability?

by BuFFaL0nian on May 7, 2010 9:04 PM EDT reply actions