Jackson, backs making plays as receivers (Photo Source)

Day three of 2008 Buffalo Bills Training Camp was a walk-through session; the team made up for the early walk-through today with the first pads practice of camp.  The Bills are completely done with two-a-days for the duration of camp, which may not be a bad thing, considering the way the team was hitting today.

Here's what occurred of note during today's practice, with, as usual, the bulk of the discussion topics lifted from the official site's excellent coverage...

This. Is. Football.
The pads were back on, which means that the Bills were playing physically.  Which means that football is back.  You have to love hearing lines like this:

"Marshawn Lynch got the drill started off with a good hit on linebacker Kawika Mitchell that drew some 'oohs' from the crowd."

Or this:

"In a two-on-two drill where two members of the wedge face two coverage players coming at them, Barnes was a coverage player and cracked rookie Demetrius Bell."

Or even this:

"Xavier Omon effectively lowered his shoulder to put a good lick on John Wendling..."

Running Backs Making Big Catches
We've discussed this very topic a bit already - and we're only five practices in - but running backs Marshawn Lynch and Fred Jackson continue to make their presences felt in the passing game.

Fred Jackson had one of the prettier catches on the day as he out leapt Kawika Mitchell and Ko Simpson to make the reception down field on a throw from Trent Edwards.

Jackson has been a frequent target of QB Trent Edwards through the early portions of camp.  He was also a frequent target of Edwards during the latter parts of the '07 season; it's not a reach to expect Jackson to catch around 40 passes this season.  He should be involved heavily in the offense, even with Marshawn Lynch healthy.  That's good news for this ball club.

You have to love hearing this as well - if this can be utilized during the regular season, Lynch's celebrity will blossom in a big way...

Lynch may have trumped Wright however, as he made a reception 40 yards downfield as Edwards deftly dropped a ball between a pair of defenders for a big gain.

Welcome to the league, rookie
CB Leodis McKelvin, in his first official training camp practice as a Buffalo Bill, learned a valuable lesson at the hands of WR Roscoe Parrish today.

Leodis McKelvin got his welcome to the NFL from Roscoe Parrish. The speedy wideout flew past him on a go route and J.P. Losman hit him for what would've been a 40-yard gain.

Clearly, Leodis has still got some learning to do.

Impressed by Bowen
Working with the second unit as a rookie fifth-round draft pick, I've been impressed with what I've been hearing about Alvin Bowen.  He's been making plays against the pass, and today, he showed that he can be a factor defending the run as well.  He sounds like a very active linebacker.

John McCargo penetrated to grab Jackson behind the line, fifth-round pick Alvin Bowen also had a tackle for loss on an end around to Steve Johnson and Shaun Nua chipped in a tackle for loss.

Tuesday 7/29: Night Practice
Buffalo's first night practice will take place tomorrow night at 7PM, and Buffalo Rumblings will be represented there by your humble narrator (and we're going to meet up with one of the Dukes of Awesome!).  If anyone is able to make it out to tomorrow's night practice, I know that I would love to meet any and all Rumblers present.

Can Simpson re-claim starting FS role? (Photo Source)

Note: As Buffalo Rumblings counts down the days until the start of the Buffalo Bills' 2008 training camp (current count: 2), we'll be breaking down some of the bigger battles we're sure to witness during summer practices.  We continue our Battles series by looking at the battle for starting free safety.  Previous installments: Backup TE, Backup LT, Starting CB, Returners, Starting DT

The 2007 season was supposed to be a break-out year for then-second-year Buffalo Bills free safety Ko Simpson.  However, after less than two quarters of football, a severely broken ankle ended Simpson's sophomore season.  Instead, 2007 was a year of emergence for George Wilson, a converted wideout who, upon entering the lineup for the first time as a starting safety, proved that he could be a playmaker - even if he has shortcomings elsewhere.  Simpson is back to 100% health, but is it safe to assume he'll automatically re-claim his role as the team's starting free safety?  Meet the three candidates for Buffalo's starting free safety position...

The Favorite: Ko Simpson (30)
Simpson's ankle is now completely healthy - even if Simpson himself made the claim that he was at about 90%.  He'll be at his most effective playing free safety when his mind is off of his ankle; it doesn't appear he's quite there yet.  His teammates and coaches have spoken highly of his mental preparation last season and throughout the off-season, so it doesn't appear he's missed a step off the field.  He's the clear favorite in this competition, there's no doubt - and in terms of the team's long-term viability, he should be the one starting.  But there are enough questions about how he'll deal with the injury mentally to keep this competition very much open for battle.

The Upstart: George Wilson (37)
There are severe flaws with Wilson's game - namely, he's still a pretty poor tackler, and he's not physical enough to fit in well with the other ten physical starters on Buffalo's defense.  With that said, however, Wilson is enough of a playmaker (he scored twice on defensive touchdowns last season) to remain a very interesting name in this discussion.  Should he be starting?  Probably not.  But if Simpson falters in his comeback bid, even if only for a couple of weeks, the Bills have a ballhawk to replace him.  Ideally, Wilson will be a top DB reserve and a special teams contributor, but I'm relatively comfortable seeing him deep at free safety as well, especially when defending the pass.

The Darkhorse: John Wendling (29)
Entering his second NFL season as a former sixth-round pick out of Wyoming, it remains to be seen whether or not Wendling will be able to make defensive contributions any time soon.  We're not even sure exactly which safety position Wendling plays - he didn't see much defensive field time last season at all, instead focusing on his blossoming special teams role.  Wendling has the physicality the defense craves, and he has enough range to be a starter deep in the secondary.  He's an extreme longshot to shoot past either Simpson or Wilson in this derby, but he's worth mentioning here simply because nobody knows exactly what to expect from him.  He could surprise.

Predicting the Winner
Everything we've heard about Simpson's recovery this off-season has been very positive.  Healthy even for mini-camps, Simpson has been running with the top defensive unit since the team's first mini-camps after the draft.  It's still hard to believe, however, that a team so focused on creating competition would simply hand the job back to Simpson.  He'll continue to run with the ones during camp, but Wilson - and perhaps even Wendling - will push him for his job hard.  Simpson is the likely winner of this battle, but this competition is a lot closer than some make it out to be.

Can Whitner increase productivity in Year 3? (Photo Source)

Prior to the 2008 NFL Draft - in fact, prior to the free agent signing period of this past March - we took a look at the Buffalo Bills' roster position by position, breaking down then-current personnel, finding holes, and building our community needs list.

Now that free agency and the Draft have been completed, and the Bills have infused their roster with new talent, it's time to repeat our process.  Where has Buffalo gotten better?  Where have they gotten worse?  How will additions impact which Bills veterans remain on the roster?  These are questions that we've been attempting to answer for the past week or so, and will continue to do so.

We continue those discussions today with an examination of Buffalo's strong safeties.  To view our previous discussions on Buffalo's SS situation (pre-off-season), bang it here.

Donte Whitner: Entering his third year in the league - and his third as the Bills' starting strong safety - Donte Whitner, at least from your humble narrator, is facing lofty expectations.  Whitner is regarded as one of the best young safeties in the NFL (and that very well may be true), but on a weak Bills defense, Whitner's production has been anything but elite.  In '07, Whitner notched 89 tackles (good for third on the team) and an interception.  He brings a lot to the table in terms of consistency, athleticism and leadership qualities, but with the team making significant defensive improvements this off-season, the pressure is on Whitner to produce like a #8 overall pick should.  I like this kid - but he's still got something to prove.

Bryan Scott: Signed as a street free agent during the '07 campaign, Scott was a pleasant surprise as a reserve safety and situational blitzer and run stuffer.  Scott has bounced around the league a little, but when the Bills re-signed him this off-season, it was an excellent move - they've brought back a player who knows the system, knows his coaches and teammates, and can play an important role in a defense that could still use more diversity.  He's got special teams value as well.  Scott may end up being the top reserve at both safety spots for the Bills - yes, even ahead of George Wilson.

John Wendling: No, I'm not sure what position he plays.  I'm not even sure he'll see the field as a defender outside of the pre-season in 2008.  All I know is this - just like a very similar player named Coy Wire, Wendling is a safety in a linebacker's body, and his specialty will be as... well... a specialist.  Will Wendling ever play defense in any capacity?  That remains to be seen.  What's known is this - Wendling will be a centerpiece of a revamped special teams unit, and therefore his value to this team is underrated by many.

The Additions: None.

The Subtractions: None.

Pre-Season Outlook: Unlike the free safety position, which is largely unsettled, there shouldn't be too many surprises at the strong safety position throughout training camp and the pre-season.  Whitner is the starter, and he's probably going to be the defender who plays more than any other (barring injury, of course).  Scott is the niche player that can make an impact as a reserve, and Wendling is the centerpiece to the team's new-look special teams units.  There's still something to prove for all three players (but especially in Whitner's case), but this position is settled and, by and large, very strong.

Change: None.

As always, your thoughts and opinions are welcome and encouraged in the comments section.  We'll wrap up our State of the Roster II series this afternoon with a general discussion on the team's special teams units.

UDFA Viti a special teams candidate, too (Photo Source)

Feel free to question the strategy. Go ahead, do it. The Buffalo Bills don't care. Why would a team that has not made the NFL's playoffs since 1999 spend half of its most important draft in the Dick Jauron era bolstering special teams, when there are serious questions to be answered offensively and defensively?

Well, special teams are the identity of the Buffalo Bills. They have been since the days when Marv Levy roamed the sidelines as Buffalo's head coach. Those sentiments returned to the team psyche when Levy returned as the Bills' General Manager. The Bills have had one of the most consistent and dominant special teams units this decade, and it's because the team focuses on building the unheralded unit far more closely than most other NFL franchises.

Bills Lose Core of ST Foundation
Imagine Buffalo's defense in the "glory years" without Bruce Smith, Darryl Talley, Cornelius Bennett, Nate Odomes and Henry Jones. Those players were the core of a pretty good unit - a consistent unit. The Bills, in this off-season alone, lost their special teams versions of those five guys when Ryan Neufeld, Sam Aiken, Mario Haggan, Josh Stamer and unit captain Coy Wire were released or allowed to walk. The consistency of the unit was in serious jeopardy when those five guys - central to coordinator Bobby April's plan for the last four years - left the franchise.

Sure, there were still solid players for the unit. The team still has two elite return threats in Terrence McGee and Roscoe Parrish. They have some veteran players, such as Jabari Greer and Bryan Scott, who made their mark early in their careers with stellar special teams play. They have a young quartet of players with promising special teams careers ahead of them in John Wendling, Keith Ellison, George Wilson and Justin Jenkins.

Still, the core was missing. The Bills chose to replace that core through the draft. It may pay big dividends.

What's Been Added
The one player poised to make the biggest difference on special teams as a rookie is, not surprisingly, first-round pick Leodis McKelvin. A star punt returner in college with home run ability on kick returns as well, McKelvin gives the Bills three outstanding return threats - two each at kick and punt returner. Having those options available helps in two ways - it keeps our return men fresher for their regular roles, and it makes it all the more difficult to game plan for Buffalo for opposing special teams coordinators. Buffalo's return game may be scarier than the one that Hester character heads up in Chicago with McKelvin on board.

Additionally, the Bills have drafted three players - CB Reggie Corner, TE Derek Fine and LB Alvin Bowen - who figure to play all four special teams units right out of the gate. These are smart, tough, athletic players with the perfect work ethic and mentality to excel on special teams, and their versatility throughout the kicking game makes them all the more attractive. Add these three rookies to current "ace" specialists Wendling and Jenkins (who will probably make the roster on his special teams abilities alone), and the Bills seem to have replaced their old five-man core with a younger, healthier and more athletic quintet. Even undrafted free agent fullback Mike Viti (pictured above, left), a 5'9", 245-pound bowling ball of a blocker, has a shot at contributing early.

So debate the strategy if you feel you must. Again, the Bills don't care. No NFL team pays closer attention to what has been their most consistent unit of the decade, and after a productive draft that adds explosive talent, the Bills' bread and butter is looking more edible than ever.