Evans extension could be completed soon (Photo Source)

After over three weeks of training camp practices, the Buffalo Bills are just two sessions shy of wrapping up 2008 Bills Training Camp at St. John Fisher College.  Unbelievable, right?  With camp closing after Wednesday's practice concludes, several story lines are becoming prevalent again; and, of course, the Bills continue to make stories on the practice field as well.  Here's what we should be talking about as training camp comes to a close...

Peters Watch: Decision Time?
In case you took a holiday to Mars in March and are only just now returning to this glorious planet, Bills LT Jason Peters hasn't reported to Buffalo since taking a physical in early January.  Holding out for more money, the break of training camp seems a logical place to get a further reading on Peters' intentions for the 2008 season.  Will he report with camp over, or will he continue his holdout?  If he continues to stay away, it's likely that he'll be sitting out at least a portion of the regular season.

WGR 550 mentioned on this morning's "Howard Simon Show" that Bills LG Derrick Dockery - the only Bills player to have communicated with Peters (via text message) that we know of - mentioned that he believes Peters will be reporting for team duties "soon".  Whether this manifests into truth remains to be seen, but that - coupled with the fact that the Bills made no attempt to sign a replacement tackle after the injury to Matt Murphy - are encouraging signs for fans who'd like to see Peters report ASAP.  Stay tuned - we should be hearing much more on this throughout the rest of the week.

New Deal for Evans Imminent?
Rumors have been circulating ever since this past Thursday's pre-season win over Pittsburgh that WR Lee Evans and the Bills are coming closer to agreeing on a long-term contract extension.  COO Russ Brandon, who mentioned that he'd like to see Evans in a Bills uniform for the rest of his career, and Evans both confirmed that talks were moving in the right direction late last week.

Evans' deal is expected to be huge, and should it happen quickly, it will really solidify Buffalo's receiving corps for the foreseeable future.  This one seems to be much closer than any return by Peters, and it's expected that the ink will be dry on a new contract for Evans by the start of the regular season.

On/Off the Field
The Bills held a night practice Sunday evening and followed it up with an afternoon practice yesterday.  The Bills are steadily getting healthier, highlighted by the return of WR Josh Reed to the practice field.  Reed's lower back had kept him out of several practices and both pre-season games, but his back is now fine - though he's not completely out of the woods yet.  Reed has re-assumed his role of "Trent Edwards' favorite underneath target" immediately since his return; Edwards has spoken glowingly of Reed all week.

“I’m very, very happy with the progress that Josh has made this offseason,” said Edwards. “I was happy with the way he practiced during OTAs and minicamps and he’s progressed a ton since last year, so I’m excited for him this year.”

OT Patrick Estes, injured last week, also returned to the practice field.  Missing practice time over the past two days were TE Derek Schouman (who could miss several weeks), WR Scott Mayle, WR Roscoe Parrish (minor knee), WR James Hardy (resting hamstring), CB Kennard Cox and SS Donte Whitner (excused - family).

Position Battles Still Heated
Several position battles are still making headlines over the last few practices of training camp.  Let's review:

- RB Xavier Omon took second-team reps yesterday ahead of second-year pro Dwayne Wright, indicating that the rookie has snuck ahead of Wright in the battle for the team's #3 RB role.  Wright's fumbles appear to be the culprit.

- Receivers James Hardy and Josh Reed appear to be neck-and-neck for the starting role opposite Lee Evans.  Both are expected to be heavily involved in Buffalo's offense.

- With Derek Schouman ailing, rookie TE Derek Fine's solid performances could lead to him staying on the field ahead of Schouman when the latter returns from his knee injury.  Courtney Anderson's chances at making the final roster have improved as well.

- Both Kyle Williams and Spencer Johnson - as well as John McCargo to an extent - are vying for the starting DT role next to Marcus Stroud.  All three are expected to factor in heavily, but it appears that Williams and Johnson in particular are making strong cases to see the bulk of playing time between the three bigs.

- Terrence McGee and Jabari Greer are entrenched as the starting corners, but the battle for the nickel job is heating up.  Will James is the likely starter at this point, but rookie Leodis McKelvin - as well as fellow rookie Reggie Corner - are making a late push for the role.  It's expected that James will man the nickel spot to start the season (with McKelvin taking dime work), but the first-round pick should take over the third slot well before the end of the season.

The Bills have their final night practice tonight, and follow it up with an afternoon practice Wednesday to close out their three-week stay at St. John Fisher.  We'll discuss the events of those two practices - as well as events tied in with the end of camp - as it happens.

Bills rookie CB Reggie Corner (Photo Source)

Note: Apologies for the lateness of this entry, folks.  The Bills' quick turnaround between pre-season games prevented me from getting to this until yesterday; rest assured that we'll go over the Bills/Steelers game ASAP, with the first half Film Session post coming tomorrow morning.

Yes, the Bills have already played another pre-season game, but that doesn't mean that our Film Session review of the second half of their first pre-season game won't come without valuable tidbits.  I've already broken down some of the Bills' win over the Steelers, but for the sake of chronology, we'll cover the second half of their loss to the 'Skins first.  Rather than making general observations about each position, I'll point out some things I noticed about individual players (this will be specific to pre-season games only).  Enjoy...

Dick Jauron: Whoops.  Guess we'll start with Buffalo's head coach first.  I found this curious: Dick looked murderous after RB Dwayne Wright's second-half fumble; he clapped his hands encouragingly (while still looking pretty miffed) after RB Xavier Omon's fumble.  Just an interesting fact to add to the facts in the competition for the third RB job.

Gibran Hamdan: I wasn't all that impressed.  He made some nice throws underneath and looks like a smart enough guy.  His accuracy on deep balls isn't great, and he looks jittery from time to time in the pocket.  He's light years better than Matt Baker, but I still don't think Gibran is a mortal lock to make the final roster.

Xavier Omon: This kid looks good.  He's already as tough as Wright in the run game, but he's more physical picking up the blitz.  On two plays in Washington, Omon made thumping good hits to completely erase Redskins blitzers.  That was unexpected from Omon coming from Division II.  Quite the pleasant surprise.

Demetrius Bell: Bell has got a future.  His athleticism is great - he's got quick feet and quicker hands.  Not surprisingly, he still struggles a bit technique-wise and with more physical players; I saw him get knocked backwards more than once by a solid punch.  He looks a bit tentative at times as well - but don't mistake that for his being passive.  He looks like he could be counted on as a reserve this season.

Duke Preston: My stomach lurched a bit on one play, where Preston was blown five yards backwards into his own backfield, but otherwise, I didn't think he looked too bad.  Granted, he was playing second and third team linemen from Washington.  I think his versatility keeps him on this team for another year.

Matt Murphy: It's a pity Murphy got hurt, because I thought he looked pretty solid at both left and right tackle.  He'd have made a fine third tackle in the event that Jason Peters' holdout extends into the regular season.  Alas, the 2007 injury bug waited around for Murphy as well.

Derek Fine: Buffalo's rookie tight end is easily the team's most natural receiver at the position.  He just looks comfortable running routes and catching the football; I think by mid-season, he's playing a prominent second fiddle to Robert Royal.  Derek Schouman appears to be all hype at this point.

Steve Johnson: I liked what I saw out of Buffalo's other rookie receiver as a run blocker; he's a tough shed in the slot.  He flashed good hands as well.  I don't know if we've seen enough out of him on special teams, however, to say that he's got a shot at the final roster.  In fact, I'd say that Felton Huggins has a better shot at the final roster than Johnson at this point, because Huggins is a better deep threat.

Chris Ellis: One one running play, Ellis completely blew up the Redskins' entire blocking scheme with outstanding penetration; he was blatantly held on the play as a result.  I'm going to be honest - I thought Ellis was Buffalo's most impressive rookie in Washington.  He's still green and needs another pass rush move or two for his repertoire, but I think if things go well this season he could be starting next to Aaron Schobel in '09.

Marcus Buggs: UDFA LB Buggs is small, but packs a nice punch.  He was solid in the team's goal line stand in the fourth quarter.  He looks good on special teams as well.  He may just beat out Blake Costanzo for the final roster spot at LB if the team keeps a seventh.

Reggie Corner: He took some lumps, but he also made some great plays.  For a guy nobody knew about exiting the draft, he looks very natural - and very quick - on the field.  Another solid find by Buffalo's scouting department.

Leodis McKelvin: I'm not worried about McKelvin's cover skills; those are already solid, and they'll get much better.  I focused instead on his tackling - and it's not great.  McKelvin is physical and willing to risk his body to make a tough play, but his tackling from a technique standpoint is quite poor.  It's this fact that might prevent him from sneaking in nickel reps, at least initially, in the regular season - Buffalo's nickel back must be a good tackler in Perry Fewell's system.

I have some notes on some other players, but they're not necessarily worth posting here.  Saw some good things out of Buffalo's youngsters, though, in particular Bell, Omon, Ellis and Corner.  Again, we'll have more Film Session stuff to discuss tomorrow morning as we break down the first half of the Bills' victory over Pittsburgh.

McKelvin, cornerbacks solid in pre-season debut (Photo Source)

As promised, I've reviewed Saturday night's broadcast of the Buffalo Bills' pre-season opening 17-14 loss to the Washington Redskins.  And, as promised, I took plenty of notes and hit the rewind button often in an attempt to get more nitty gritty details on Buffalo's personnel lineups and overall play Saturday night.

I've only had time to rifle through the first half thus far; rest assured that we'll talk about the scrubs either tomorrow or Wednesday.  For now, here's what I noticed re-watching the Redskins game in our first ever Buffalo Rumblings Film Session:

Quarterbacks: Now is definitely not the time to freak out about Trent Edwards' poor performance.  He just needs to play more.  Trent did make some bad reads while he played - both throws to Schouman, for example, were forced balls - but he's still doing the one thing that Dick Jauron wants him to do: getting the ball out quickly and, for the most part, accurately.  It's high time that Jauron sacrifice some of J.P. Losman's pre-season playing time to get Edwards some more experience reading defenses; it's quite clear that Losman doesn't need a ton of time after his strong performance Saturday.  Losman was, quite simply, in the zone.  He had one poor throw (the slant to Roscoe Parrish on third and goal); the rest was excellent work upon further review.

Running Backs: Not much to report here.  Fred Jackson got most of the work in the first half, and he played as advertised.  He looked good, but didn't stand out in any way.  Jauron did the right thing by limiting Marshawn Lynch to three carries - he doesn't need to work this early.

Fullbacks/Tight Ends: I thought Derek Schouman played poorly.  He doesn't play as fast in games as he does on the practice field; it is clear, however, that Edwards likes throwing his way.  Derek Fine looked smoother than anticipated; he did, however, whiff badly on a blitz pickup, which led to a Losman sack.  I am glad, however, that Darian Barnes is part of this team - I didn't realize how much I missed a good old fashioned lead blocker until I saw Barnes popping linebackers in the hole.  He looks like a good acquisition.

Wide Receivers: If you want a scapegoat for Buffalo's first-team offense issues, blame James Hardy.  He was routinely lined up out of position, missed some pre-snap motions, and was responsible for a false start, a near-false start, and a timeout.  He also misread the Redskins' defense on third and goal with Edwards under center.  Washington was blitzing from Hardy's side; Hardy should have read that blitz and cut his route off.  That's exactly where Edwards threw it, but Hardy wasn't home.  He's got a long way to go before he's an every-down receiver.

I really liked what I saw out of Roscoe Parrish; he might be ready for a break-out season of sorts.  I hope to see more of Justin Jenkins as well - he looks smooth operating out of the slot and is a bit bulkier than Buffalo's top two slot options, Parrish and Josh Reed.  Jenkins is a virtual lock to make the final roster.

Offensive Line: For a first-team analysis, see Ron from NM's FanPost.  I saw nothing different than he did re-watching the first half.  The second team line was comprised of Matt Murphy (LT), Christian Gaddis (LG), Duke Preston (C), Jason Whittle (RG) and Kirk Chambers (RT; also started).  I was particularly impressed with Murphy - he looked great in pass protection against a very good Redskins DE in Chris Wilson.  He's still raw at the position, however, so don't expect an immediate contribution.  Preston also fared well; he was the man responsible for blowing open a huge hole on Fred Jackson's 11-yard screen pass.  Gaddis was disappointing; he missed his assignment badly on a stunt on the Losman-to-Parrish deep throw.  Gaddis was the reason Losman had to throw that off his back foot.

Offense General: Clearly, Buffalo's offense could have played better.  But don't blame the short throws the Bills employed on Turk Schonert - he's done a great job giving Edwards options.  On two poor reads by Edwards, Schonert had layered his receivers' routes so that, within the same throwing lane, there was a short and deep option for Edwards.  Both times, the deeper route was open for Trent, and both times, he forced it to Schouman underneath.  Edwards telegraphs his passes in an obvious way; Schonert may have built in an offense wrinkle to hide that weakness.

Defensive Line: Buffalo's starting defensive line got one series, and I thought they looked great.  Marcus Stroud looks great, and the Redskins threw double teams at him quite often (he did get dominated by two 'Skins linemen once, but otherwise was a force up front).  I also thought the defensive ends looked disruptive, though clearly, they didn't play much.  Stroud and Aaron Schobel were pulled after the first series.  (By the way - there's no reason to knock Buffalo's pass rush after this game, either.  Washington threw so many balls off of three-step drops that there was no chance for the Bills to get any pass rush going.  Buffalo's blitz, however, did look weak.)

That's when things got interesting.  Spencer Johnson replaced Stroud inside and played all right; when Chris Kelsay left the game for good, however, Johnson slid out to defensive end for early downs (Chris Ellis replaced him on later downs).  Speaking of Ellis, I thought he looked good - he's quick and a bit more powerful than I imagined he would be.  He wasn't a liability in the run game, either.  He played a lot, which is good for him.  (Now Jauron just needs to employ the same philosophy with his starting quarterback.)

One last D-Line note: Jason Jefferson is terrible, whether he's lined up at tackle or end.  He's worse at end.  The guy defines the word "mediocre", and he's routinely five yards up field and out of position.  This guy can't get off our roster fast enough.

Linebackers: Buffalo's defense gave up some plays in the passing game, but don't blame the corners - the Bills' linebackers are currently pretty bad in coverage.  Both Paul Posluszny and John DiGiorgio are consistently a yard or two too deep or a step slow getting to the receiver.  Kawika Mitchell displayed a similar trait (while also looking great defending the run).  Buffalo's corners took some heat for some slant routes being completed, but the corners, in reality, were blanketing their receivers - the linebackers were just a bit off with their responsibilities.  Right now, the linebackers are the weakness of the defense, but their play isn't far off from being good.

Cornerbacks: In short, these guys looked great.  Five corners saw action in the first half (Terrence McGee sat this one out), but the best performer of them all was, of course, Ashton Youboty.  Youboty showed a physicality we haven't seen from him to date - he's an excellent tackler.  He also did very well in coverage and didn't make any mistakes.  His INT was a gift, however - Todd Collins should never have thrown that ball.  What got me most excited about Youboty was seeing him talk some smack with Redskins WR Santana Moss; I don't think I've seen that type of confidence out of Youboty before.  He looked great; I wouldn't be shocked if he pushed Jabari Greer (whose play was solid as well) for a starting spot.

Will James saw the most time in the slot, and while his play was generally good (his coverage was better than good), he did miss a tackle pretty badly on a screen pass.  Reggie Corner was the dime back (again, with McGee out of the lineup), and while he made some alignment mistakes and gave up some throws, he also showed pretty good instincts.  I like his future as the nickel back.

Leodis McKelvin made one big error - ducking inside a block rather than engaging it - and it led to a touchdown.  Other than that, he looked good in coverage (and great on kick/punt returns), but his body doesn't look NFL-ready to me.  He's really quite small.  I still think he's a starter by season's end, but he's probably fourth on the depth chart - at best - right now.

In all, I liked what I saw out of all five of Buffalo's corners - but if I had to pick a guy most likely to be released, I'm going with James.

Safeties: Not good, folks.  Ko Simpson was terrible, both on the blitz and in run support.  He was in the box a lot more than expected, with Bryan Scott playing deep.  Look for opponents to try to exploit that this season.  John Wendling, in my opinion, should be playing linebacker - he's OK by the line of srimmage, but a nightmare deep.  He hits hard.  He did, however, miss Ladell Betts badly on a draw play that led to big yardage.  He's quite green, and shouldn't see the field as a defender this season.

Special Teams: Monitored this closely for personnel.  Kick and punt coverage starting lineups listed below; these are a good indicator as to who Bobby April likes on his units, and who, therefore, stands a good shot at making the roster as of today:

Kick Coverage: Blake Costanzo, Justin Jenkins, Will James, John DiGiorgio, Keith Ellison, Derek Schouman, John Wendling, Donnie Spragan, Bryan Scott, Dustin Fox

Punt Coverage: John Wendling, Justin Jenkins (gunners); Ryan Neill (long snapper); George Wilson, Derek Fine, Blake Costanzo, Bryan Scott, John DiGiorgio, Keith Ellison, Donnie Spragan

Dwayne Wright, Duke Preston, Kirk Chambers, Kyle Williams, Marcus Buggs and Darian Barnes all saw coverage or blocking responsibilities in the first half as well.  Blake Costanzo surprised me; he was on the field for nearly every special teams play in the first half and played very well.  Is it possible he's a lock to make the roster?

Feel free to discuss/ask questions/leave your thoughts in the comments section.

Reed (right) continues to sit out with back issue (Photo Source)

The Buffalo Bills are four days away from opening their 2008 pre-season schedule with a visit to Washington, and the team continued its training camp preparations last night despite nearly being driven off the field due to inclement weather.

Rain delayed practice twice, but the Bills were able to complete their full session as they head into Wednesday's 1PM practice.

Not participating in Tuesday night's practice were SS Donte Whitner (ankle), WR Josh Reed (back) and DE Copeland Bryan (hamstring).  Whitner and Reed are expected to be back on the field by the end of the week and should see some (albeit very little) playing time on Saturday.  Rookie WR James Hardy (hamstring) and veteran CB Will James (groin) were scheduled to return to the practice field last night, but due to the slick weather conditions participated only in individual drills.  They should be full go today.

Interesting Debate
An interesting debate that can arise out of a situation like last night is whether or not it's a good thing to have to fight through a practice in those types of weather conditions.  Clearly, the Bills are a young football team, and a large percentage of their most important players have not had to deal with harsh weather conditions on a regular basis before.  That'll happen often in Buffalo.  At the same time, this is just practice - and the team is, in fact, attempting to answer a lot of questions and install a new offense prior to the start of the important games.  There are definitely two strong (opposing) arguments to make.

I'd be very interested to hear what everyone here believes about this topic.

S. Johnson at DE?
As the Bills' defense practiced in nickel packages last night, there was one surprise player playing outside at defensive end:

Spencer Johnson got some reps at defensive end in the nickel package.

This is curious.  Perhaps I'm not seeing the positive spin on this, but this doesn't make a ton of sense to me.  Do I think Spencer Johnson can play end?  Certainly - he's probably the quickest, most explosive athlete the Bills have at defensive tackle.  But to play him outside on passing downs?  To me, that sacrifices some of what little pass rush the Bills already have.  Johnson would be a force to be reckoned with on run downs, but I'd rather see them sub in a guy like Chris Ellis for passing downs.

Clearly, it's far too early to get worked up about this - or to believe it's a permanent wrinkle that Perry Fewell is installing - but it's definitely something to think about.

Youboty Still Making Plays
It seems that every practice, CB Ashton Youboty - seemingly buried on the depth chart - makes one or two good plays.  Maybe it's because he's working on throws made by Gibran Hamdan most of the time, but it also speaks volumes about his work ethic.  He's working his tail off to prove he still belongs on this team; maybe the light is about to go on for this kid.

Ashton Youboty made a nice over the shoulder interception on a deep pass down the sideline from J.P. Losman. Youboty also had a pass breakup late in practice.

Rookie Reggie Corner continues to take first-team nickel back reps with James sidelined, and as krytime discusses, he's been one of the more surprising players on the field for the Bills through the first week-plus of camp.  He leads the team with three interceptions to date.  Leodis McKelvin worked outside with the second unit and also saw some reps in the nickel package with the second unit, as they continue to experiment with ways to get their top draft pick onto the field.

The Bills practice at 1PM today.  They follow it up with another night practice Thursday, a closed practice Friday, and then they hit the field in Washington for the first live game action of the 2008 season.

LB Crowell returns to practice (Photo Source)

After nine days of practices, the Buffalo Bills had Sunday off and returned to the practice field yesterday afternoon for their eleventh day of training camp.  While OT Jason Peters continued his holdout, the Bills did get some good news in the form of veteran LB Angelo Crowell returning to the field of play.  Crowell missed the majority of last week's practices with a left knee injury.

Joining Crowell on the field were newly signed LB Donnie Spragan as well as UDFA rookie WR C.J. Hawthorne, a Hawaii product that the Bills added yesterday.  Hawthorne takes the roster spot of one Jason Peters, and was signed to reduce the number of reps that Buffalo's depleted receiving corps was taking.

Strong safety Donte Whitner missed practice with an ankle injury that required an MRI, but the injury is not considered serious.  WR Josh Reed was also held out of practice Monday as the team looked to reduce his work load and rest his surgically repaired lower back; he's not expected to miss much action either.  DE Copeland Bryan (hamstring) and CB Will James (groin) also missed practice Monday.  WR James Hardy (hamstring) participated on a limited basis in individual drills.

Parrish Stepping Up in Reed's Absence
Not surprisingly, Roscoe Parrish - the other veteran wideout on the team not named Lee Evans - saw an increased workload with Reed on the sidelines.  Buffalo's diminutive return star was making some plays in the receiving game, always a nice thing to hear; he was also, however, showing that he can be physical despite his small frame:

After taking a hard hit from Jabari Greer on a short out route to the sideline that left him on the ground for a minute, Parrish came back with some of his own hitting as he cracked Ashton Youboty on a run play.

Donte Whitner shouted from the sidelines, "I see that Roscoe. You want to hit like that?"

To which Parrish responded, "I'll hit like that all day!"

Parrish isn't the only one with the bug; thing seem to have become a bit more physical as the team gears up for its first pre-season game of the year, this coming Saturday in Washington.  Justin Jenkins also received some first-team reps at wideout in Reed's absence.

Cornerback Competition Update
With Will James sidelined with his groin injury, we've gotten a pretty good look at exactly how Buffalo's depth chart currently shakes out at cornerback.  James - currently the first team nickel back on the depth chart - has been replaced at that position by rookie fourth-round pick Reggie Corner (with Terrence McGee and Jabari Greer holding down the starting slots, as usual).  Ashton Youboty and Leodis McKelvin have manned the outside slots for the second unit.  McKelvin has been taking reps at the nickel spot for both units as well.

Clearly, the Bills are mixing and matching their personnel inside for now to see which players fit best at which positions.  What may be most surprising, however, is the fact that Reggie Corner's role seems to be solidified, while McKelvin's has not.  It seems, for now, that the Bills are working on ways to get their first-round pick onto the field, because at this point, it seems pretty obvious that he won't start right away.

Who's Making Plays
Crowell looked good in his return to the lineup, making several plays in the passing game.  Parrish routinely beat defenders running routes, and has proven to be quite as difficult to cover as Lee Evans has in man coverage.  CB Jabari Greer blocked a field goal yesterday.  Buffalo Rumblings' second-favorite linebacker, Jon Banks, tipped a pass that was intercepted by safety Jon Corto.

You have to love hearing this, as well.  Looking forward to big things from #23 this year.

Marshawn Lynch ran under a reception deep down the far sideline for a big gain.

The Bills will hit the practice field for another night practice today, which runs from 7PM until just after 9.  We'll discuss the developments from tonight's practice tomorrow morning.

QB Trent Edwards, DE Chris Kelsay at Bills camp (Courtesy twoeightnine)

The Buffalo Bills held their first night practice of 2008 training camp last night at St. John Fisher College, and I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to attend the festivities.  With pen and pad in hand, I spent the majority of my night frantically taking as many notes as possible.  It was a beautiful night, but unfortunately, I was not overly impressed by what I saw from our team.  Here are some observations, from units to players to coaches, that I hope you'll find useful (this could get long):

Edwards Struggles
For all the good that we've heard from Trent Edwards this early in camp, I saw a guy who struggled a lot last night.  He did mention post-practice that what the team was running last night was a whole bunch of new plays, which may have been the reason he looked so poor.  But he was missing receivers high, he was bouncing throws off the turf, and he was very obviously distraught at last night's misgivings.  He didn't show emotion like J.P. Losman used to, but you could definitely tell he was frustrated.  He did, however, make some very nice throws, including a couple nice deep balls.

Losman did not practice; his right thumb was taped up heavily.  He's also grown a very lovely beard this off-season.  Maybe he thinks Edwards' rookie beard is what caused him to lose his job?

Lynch (and Jackson) Looking Impressive
I absolutely loved what I saw out of Marshawn Lynch last night.  He looks more powerful and more agile than he was as a rookie.  Put aside anything you hear about Lynch's breakaway speed - I'm going to chalk that up to Lynch being beaten down by the rigors of his first NFL season.  The guy looked like a superstar in the making.  He also dove into the end zone for a touchdown (probably unnecessarily), drawing a big cheer from the gigantic crowd.

Interestingly, Turk Schonert had Lynch split out wide in a couple of formations.  He looked good catching the ball, but his understudy, Fred Jackson, looked better.

Jackson won't ever be a guy who can carry a full rushing load, but he's got that Kenneth Davis feel about him - he's above average at everything he does, especially catching the football.  He looked smooth and confident last night, and his style is different from that of Lynch.  They're going to complement each other very well.

Receiver/Tight End Notes
I came away with the impression on James Hardy that I thought I was going to come away with: this kid is going to struggle in a big way between the twenties this year.  He's still not a great route-runner, and looks positively sloth-like getting out of some of his breaks, especially on out routes.  But the dude is just straight up huge.  He'll make plays simply because he's big.  But from the looks of things right now, Josh Reed (who looked good as usual) seems like he's got a lock on the starting spot.  My guess is that Reed will play between the twenties, with Hardy being a mainstay on the field in the red zone.

Out of all of Buffalo's receivers, I came away most impressed by undrafted rookie free agent Jason Jones.  He comes from a very small school (Arkansas Pine-Bluff), but he was making some of Buffalo's corners look silly in one-on-one drills.  He's a smooth route-runner and shows great hands; he even blew past Will James on a beautifully executed deep route at one point.  I'm very interested to see how he performs in pre-season games.

At tight end, Derek Schouman and Robert Royal are light-years ahead of the competition.  They're easily the two most fluid athletes at the position.  Yes, Robert Royal makes Derek Fine and Courtney Anderson look unathletic.  I liked the way that Schouman and Royal played when they were together on the field.  Together, they might be productive enough to make us not hate the fact that they didn't draft a more athletic tight end this past April.

O-Line... well, they just need Jason Peters
Kirk Chambers better not be Buffalo's starting left tackle come opening day; I don't think I saw him successfully block Aaron Schobel in one-on-one drills once.  He's a tough blocker in the running game, but his pass protection is, well, poor.  Here's hoping that Jason Peters is back in camp before long...

The line struggled a bit in pass protection.  In 7-on-7 and 11-on-11, Edwards had the pocket collapse on him a couple times; he was forced to throw the ball away once or twice, and made some bad throws while pressured as well.  There were some holes for the team's running backs, though.

Offensive line coach Sean Kugler was working hard with rookie Demetrius Bell on his stance and pass pro technique.  Langston Walker was chipping in with some advice as well.  Bell looks ultra-athletic, but he was the greenest guy on the field by a long shot.  He's certainly a practice squad player at this point, but he's got big upside if the coaches can harness some of that athleticism.

D-Line Looks Fantastic
Buffalo's revamped defensive line looked outstanding, including the much-maligned (here, at least) starting defensive ends.  The unit was fast, powerful and disruptive - and that included the second unit line as well.

Marcus Stroud can't be blocked by one guy.  He just can't.  He's not a big guy, but his center of gravity is low, and he got a significant push every single play.  He pancaked Brad Butler in a one-on-one drill, and in some double team drills, he was able to slip blocks and get a push in most instances.

I loved the fact that John McCargo was following Stroud around like some sort of gigantic puppy.  Stroud was working with McCargo for a few minutes on block-shedding moves; it's good to see a vet helping out a talented youngster.  Those two looked great working together inside when they got to play together.  (For the record, Edwards and Evans were seen throwing off to the side as well.  They looked rather chummy.)

Copeland Bryan ran with the twos, pushing Chris Ellis to third team end, but I don't expect that to last long.  Ellis is green - he lacks lower body strength, so he certainly won't be playing on early downs - but Bryan was pedestrian.  Ellis should pass him on the depth chart by the end of camp.

Crowell Sits; Young LBs Looking Good
Angelo Crowell missed the practice; he had a wrap on his left knee and came out in shorts.  He watched the entire practice from the sidelines.  Keith Ellison replaced him on the strong side; Marcus Buggs took Ellison's spot with the second unit.

Speaking of Buggs, he has a very realistic shot at making this team.  He made one or two very nice hits in punt coverage drills, and while he's small, he looks like a very good athlete.  He's another young guy to keep your eyes on during pre-season action.

Paul Posluszny looked good.  He looks like he's in the best shape of his life, and, to be frank, like he could snap most of the Bills' receivers in half with a good lick.  He and Lynch are easily the team's most popular players.

Defensive Back Notes: Simpson Dinged
Ko Simpson left practice early with an apparent injury to his surgically repaired ankle.  He was walking on it fine on the sidelines, but he clearly was uncomfortable.  We'll see if he practices today.  To no one's surprise, George Wilson took his place with the top unit; he looks far more comfortable back there than he did last season.  He was making a few hits as well.

It was only his second practice, but Leodis McKelvin continued to struggle.  He looked better than what we heard in one-on-one coverage drills, but you can tell his ball skills are lacking.  He'll blanket a receiver, but he's not instinctual in knowing when to turn his head.  He's very good at making plays coming forward, however.  He also looked great returning punts (even earning the very loud praise of Bobby April on one return), and in positional drills, you can tell just how good an athlete the kid is.  He's very technical in his agility (read: amazing footwork), and when that can translate better to covering receivers, he should be outstanding.

Will James struggled.  A lot.  He repeatedly got burned deep covering receivers in single coverage.  He's still probably a lock to be the team's nickel corner on opening weekend.  Terrence McGee and Jabari Greer seem entrenched as the starters, and that shouldn't change any time soon.  Reggie Corner was actually playing ahead of McKelvin in dime packages; McKelvin played outside with the second unit.  I expect McKelvin to take James' nickel spot early in the season, and Corner is a bigger factor in this equation than many people tend to believe.

Ashton Youboty is very clearly the team's sixth corner - and I thought he looked very good.  He blatantly held Jason Jones in single coverage during one drill, but also made a nice break to intercept a pass in front of Felton Huggins.  He's much more physical than some of Buffalo's young guys, as well.  I hope he stays on the team - he's still got a world of talent.

General Observations
I love watching Perry Fewell and Bobby April coach.  They're loud, funny, and they get their guys moving hard.  Their units were easily the two strongest on the field last night.

The offense struggled mightily last night, but you can tell that Turk Schonert's offensive system will be better than Steve Fairchild's.  The tempo is faster, Edwards looks much more comfortable, and more guys are getting involved in the passing game (most notably Roscoe Parrish).

Overall, I wasn't a huge fan of the night practice experience.  Perhaps it was the idea that I had to go to work the next morning.  But it was good seeing the guys in Bills colors, and it was even better to hear the crowd chanting and reacting to what was going on on the field.  It was a good time.

The Bills practice from 1:00 to 3:05 today.  Buffalo Rumblings will recap the day's action later this afternoon.

McKelvin signs, will practice in pads Monday (Photo Source)

After their opening day of practices in which the offense shined and several players were signed, the Buffalo Bills received more good news on Saturday.  Left tackle Jason Peters, who continued his holdout on Saturday, remains the lone off-field distraction for the Bills.

Rookie cornerback Leodis McKelvin won't be missing any more practice time, as the first-round pick inked a 5-year, $19.4 million deal with $12.6 million guaranteed to officially end his short holdout yesterday.  As the Bills have a closed practice session today, the first time Bills fans will get to glimpse McKelvin will be during Monday's practice in pads.

Here's what took place of note on the field during Saturday's two practice sessions (courtesy of BuffaloBills.com):

Running Backs Catching Passes
As promised, new offensive coordinator Turk Schonert is making a concerted effort to get Buffalo's running backs more involved in the passing game this season.  Both Marshawn Lynch and Fred Jackson - and even Dwayne Wright to an extent - made some plays in the passing game, as Trent Edwards had another efficient day throwing in the short and intermediate areas.  We're very interested to see how this practice field development manifests itself during pre-season action.

Play of Note: "Jackson slipped down the sideline and Edwards tried to drop in ball over Paul Posluszny in coverage. Poz had solid coverage 20 yards downfield, but Jackson leaped up and over Posluszny to pull the ball in for what looked to be a reception and a 30-yard gain along the near sideline."

Schouman moving up depth chart?
As was the case during spring practices, second-year tight end Derek Schouman has been taking the bulk of first-team reps at the position - even with veteran Robert Royal fully cleared to practice.  An interesting note from Chris Brown:

In Royal's defense he's still getting his legs up under him after doing no football related work in the spring since he was still rehabbing. But Schouman has looked good in the passing game making plays every practice. And as I said earlier in the offseason when the pads go on he won't disappoint. He likes the physical nature of the game.

Royal is currently second in the tight end rotation, followed by Courtney Anderson, Tim Massaquoi and Derek Fine.  Definitely an interesting situation brewing at this position.

James Impressing at Corner
In Buffalo's defensive backfield, veteran free agent acquisition Will James continues to impress.  He's repeatedly making plays on the ball, tipping passes and making things happen in the turnover department.  He's not alone, however; Terrence McGee, Ashton Youboty and even rookie Reggie Corner have made some similar play themselves.  With McKelvin already two days behind in terms of on-field work, James seems to be a virtual lock for the nickel role - unless, of course, he challenges for a starting role.

Play of Note: "Later on in practice however, James successfully tipped a pass in the air and it was caught by John DiGiorgio for an interception. James began running up the field pumping his fist."

Good Pass Rush, or Bad Protection?
Buffalo's defensive front seven successfully got some heat on the team's quarterbacks during Saturday morning's session.  This is either a good sign for a defense that sorely needs to create pressure, or a bad sign for an offensive line playing without its best player.

Play of Note: "A short time later Kawika Mitchell appeared to come on a delayed blitz and would have taken Edwards down from the blind side had it been live football."

The Bills have a closed, walk-through practice session on Sunday.  They'll put the pads on for the first time in a lone Monday practice session, and Tuesday marks the team's first night practice.

Where does Youboty fit in, if at all? (Photo Source)

Last year, cornerback was an area of weakness for the Buffalo Bills.  Injuries to veteran Jason Webster and Ashton Youboty forced Jabari Greer into the starting lineup, and while he performed generally very well, depth was so thin that the Bills often played safeties (such as Donte Whitner, Jim Leonhard and Bryan Scott) on slot receivers.

Clearly, depth is no longer of concern at the position.  The team's two starters - Greer and Terrence McGee - return.  Youboty is back.  The team added veteran Will James via free agency, who brings some much needed experience and size to the group.  And, of course, the team added three corners through the draft; two (top pick Leodis McKelvin, fourth-rounder Reggie Corner) are expected to stick.

With six players that could see playing time at the position, one does wonder: exactly what will Buffalo's depth chart look like on opening day 2008?  It's anybody's guess - but it's also the off-season, so let the guessing games begin:

McGee Starts; Who Joins Him?
It's fairly clear at this point that McGee, as the team's most tenured corner - both in terms of roster stay as well as starting experience - will start.  Who joins him?  As it appears right now, Greer - a former undrafted free agent who only last year saw significant time at corner - has that role; he's expected to receive a big training camp push, however, from the rookie McKelvin.

The most logical guess at this point is that due to his experience, Greer will begin the 2008 season as a starter.  As the team's top draft pick, however, McKelvin will be force-fed onto the field in some fashion, whether it's as a return man or in the defensive backfield.  If McKelvin accrues enough playing time early on, he'll very likely be starting by season's end.  Don't be shocked, however, if he straight up steals the job from Greer prior to the start of the regular season.

Four-Way Competition at Nickel
Curiously, McKelvin could land anywhere from starting cornerback to #4 corner prior to the start of the season.  As it stands now, it's the veteran James - who has eight years of experience as a member of the Giants and Eagles - leading the race for the nickel corner job.  That's not necessarily a bad thing, either - James' size would be an asset against some of the league's best slot receivers, in particular New England's tiny Wes Welker.

The loser of the Greer/McKelvin battle at starting corner, however, will provide the chief competition for James, who also must beat out Youboty and the rookie Corner for the job.  Corner can be mentally eliminated right now; as a fourth-round pick, he certainly won't have to play early - and he probably won't.  He is expected to take over the nickel duties at some point in the foreseeable future, however.  If McKelvin doesn't start, you bet that he'll at least steal some reps from James at nickel - if he doesn't outright beat him for that job as well.

McKelvin's pre-season progress is the wild card.  If he proves he deserves to be on the field (and chances are high that he will), he will probably play some nickel, and perhaps even get some of Greer's reps on the outside as well.  Where McKelvin lands will effectively place Greer and James on the depth chart; their '08 playing time depends as much on McKelvin as it does on their own play.

The Youboty Factor
Other than McKelvin, the other wild card in the Bills' corner scenarios is Youboty.  The third-year cornerback, once hyped as the eventual replacement to Nate Clements, has struggled with injuries and inconsistency through his first two NFL seasons.  Much of that has been outside of his control, but the fact remains that while he's still got potential, he hasn't delivered on it in two seasons to this point.

Youboty has been mentioned in trade rumors throughout the spring, primarily in regards to the Cleveland Browns, and he'll remain one of the better young options available via trade throughout the summer.  If Corner - or even another rookie, Kennard Cox - proves that he can at least stick on the roster, or better yet play in a pinch, Youboty could be expendable.  I'm not saying I'd push for a trade - I'm of the mind that you can never have enough talent at cornerback - but if a trade offer comes along that the Bills can't pass up, they just might pull the plug.  If Youboty stays, he could wind up anywhere from fourth on the depth chart to outright released.

One thing is certain - despite all of the question marks surrounding the pecking order, the Bills are in a far better situation at this position than they were a year ago.  Depth is a good thing, even when you have good players sitting on the bench.  There are quite literally two huge battles about to take place at this position (starting corner, nickel corner), so get ready for some excellent battles come July 25.

How soon will McKelvin become a starter? (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 cornerbacks.  To view our previous discussions on Buffalo's CB situation (pre-off-season), bang it here.

Terrence McGee: My opinion of McGee has been, and remains, a high one.  McGee is one of the more underrated corners in the league, in my opinion - he registered 78 tackles and four interceptions last season, and is a threat to score any time he gets his hands on the ball.  No, he's not a "shut down" corner, and he'll always give up some plays due to his lack of size and Perry Fewell's preferred style of defense, but McGee is a very, very solid football player.  It's hard to go wrong when one of your starting corners is a sure tackler, a bit of a playmaker, and a touchdown threat.

Jabari Greer: We're all quite aware that Greer was a pleasant surprise in 2007.  He stepped into the starting lineup after injuries to both Jason Webster and Ashton Youboty, and didn't relinquish his new job from that point forward.  Greer is an aggressive corner with excellent speed and an ability to make a few plays, but he also leaves a lot to be desired - he's quite small, a below-average tackler, and his upside is pretty limited.  Greer is a guy that any team would love to have on their roster - he's a gamer, a solid athlete and a guy you can depend on when he's in the lineup.  But if he's starting at the outset of the '08 season, it will merely be in a seat-warming capacity.  His ideal role is as a nickel/dime back and special teams ace.

Ashton Youboty: Once heralded as the future replacement to the now-departed Nate Clements, Youboty will have trouble earning playing time in 2008 as it appears at the moment.  In the very limited amount of time Youboty has seen playing time, he's showed solid tackling ability, excellent athleticism, and some ball skills.  His big problem right now is that he's so raw - in an effort to mask errors in his game, he's extremely tentative in coverage and in run support.  The kid's definitely got the tools.  Whether or not he gets the playing time to maximize on his potential remains to be seen.

Dustin Fox: With three years under his belt, Fox has failed to live up to his pedigree of being a third-round pick of Minnesota in '05.  He was a solid special teams performer at season's end for the Bills, but with the influx of talent on the roster, he's an ultra-longshot to make the final 53.

The Additions: Will James, Leodis McKelvin, Reggie Corner, Kennard Cox
Dick Jauron mentioned in a post-draft interview that the team's goal throughout the off-season was to add at least one cornerback in free agency and at least two - but ideally three - more corners in the draft.  Mission accomplished.  James provides immediate competition to Greer in any capacity (starting or sub-package) and gives the unit some much-needed size.  Corner is a smart, tough player that will need some coaching but has "future nickel back" written all over him.  Even Cox is an intriguing prospect, as he has the talent to switch between corner and safety at will.

The real wild card of the entire CB group is McKelvin.  Clearly, as the eleventh overall pick, McKelvin is going to be a starter in Buffalo sooner rather than later.  All eyes will be on him during training camp - if he holds his own and makes a play or two, he should be starting, relegating Greer, James and Youboty to sub-package guys.

The Subtractions: Jason Webster, Kiwaukee Thomas, Jerametrius Butler
Let's be honest here - the Bills lost three OK cornerbacks this off-season, but the four guys brought in are far more talented than the three lost.  Thomas is the biggest loss, as he spent two solid seasons as the team's nickel back.  The team was rumored to be interested in re-signing Webster; when he signed with the Pats, the Bills likely turned their attention to James.  This trio was highly injury-prone, so it's not likely the Bills will miss any of them heading into 2008.

Pre-Season Outlook: This position was destroyed by injury in 2007, but it wasn't necessarily a bad thing going forward.  Webster and Thomas both landed on IR and Youboty struggled with injury, but with those injuries came the emergence of Greer as a viable option.  Now, after an active off-season, the Bills have excellent depth at the position - there are legitimately five players (McGee, McKelvin, Greer, James, Youboty) who will fight for prominent playing time, and Corner seems like a virtual lock to make the roster as well.  This is another green position for the Bills, but there's excellent depth and tons of talent.  This was a job well done by Buffalo in re-building the corner position this off-season.

Change: Youth and far, far more talent.

As always, your thoughts and opinions are welcome and encouraged in the comments section.

The Buffalo Bills are in the midst of their first mini-camp of the 2008-09 season - rookie mini-camp - and Buffalo's top draft picks are reportedly performing well in their first professional workouts.  Be sure to catch the official site's coverage of the three-day camp - the fine folks over there do an outstanding job giving us practice reports, player interviews, and other information.  It's all great stuff.

Not surprisingly, rookies are still the talk of the town this weekend in Buffalo.  While I prepare for my final week of college classes and final exams today, here's some reading material for y'all:

- Sal Maiorana of the Democrat and Chronicle takes a look at Bills fourth-round cornerback Reggie Corner.

- Jeff Matthews of The Town Talk examines the non-existent relationship between Bills seventh-round pick OT Demetrius Bell and his biological father, former NBA star Karl Malone.  Malone has been shockingly absent in Bell's life, but the new Bill may be starting to make a name for himself.

- Scott Pitoniak of the Democrat and Chronicle takes a look at the new rule that will allow Army football players, including Bills fullback Mike Viti, to pursue a career in professional football.

- What does the Toronto Sun think of Ralph Wilson Stadium?  Well, it got mixed reviews.

- Finally, here's the article that's sure to spark the most discussion from y'all today.  Jerry Sullivan believes that the money we're getting from Toronto should go directly to Lee Evans' bank account.

We'll be back early tomorrow morning with an article outlining reasonable expectations for WR James Hardy's rookie season.  Until then, go Bills!