Peters misses all 26 days of Bills camp (Photo Source)

2008 Buffalo Bills Training Camp at St. John Fisher College came to a close today, and the Bills were without perhaps their two most valuable offensive players.  Jason Peters failed to report for the final day of camp - it's still unclear if (not when) Peters plans to report at all - and quarterback Trent Edwards, nursing a deep thigh bruise, sat out Wednesday's morning practice finale.

Peters missed all 26 days of Bills camp - accumulating nearly $400,000 in fines in the process - and all indications are that his holdout will continue as the Bills return to their headquarters in Orchard Park tomorrow.  The Bills still have, and are expected to exercise, their right to fine Peters up to $15,000 per day during his unexcused absence.  While some Bills players, including OG Derrick Dockery, are hopeful that Peters will report soon, it's pretty safe to say that the fan base is not.

Edwards, who injured his knee during Tuesday night's practice in a collision with RB Marshawn Lynch on a simple run play, watched the day's practice in sweatpants from the sideline.  His injury is not considered serious, but he is day to day at this point, and it's still unclear whether or not Edwards will suit up for Buffalo's third pre-season game in Indianapolis this Sunday.  Lynch, meanwhile, experienced only minor swelling and pain in his knee and was able to practice in full on Wednesday.

Besides Edwards, also missing practice Wednesday were WR James Hardy (hamstring), WR Roscoe Parrish (knee), TE Derek Schouman (knee), OT Matt Murphy (shoulder), LB John DiGiorgio (calf) and LB Jon Banks (hamstring).

Rather than going through the usual practice reports (located here and here), we'll instead take a quick look back at training camp as a whole by doing the whole cliched and overdone "Stock Report" thing.  Here's who helped themselves and hurt themselves during 2008 Bills Training Camp:

+ Bullish: CB Ashton Youboty Left for dead after the signing of Will James and the drafting of Leodis McKelvin and Reggie Corner, no cornerback has been more impressive to date than Youboty.  He's given up some big plays, but he's also flashed outstanding tackling ability and solid ball skills.  He's fought hard for a roster spot, and deserves to make the team's final roster.  Time will tell whether his work has paid off.

- Bearish: RB Dwayne Wright He's come down with a serious case of fumble-itis this pre-season (including one in each pre-season game) and it's costing him.  Xavier Omon has started to steal reps ahead of him, and the second-year pro is in danger of losing his #3 RB role to the rookie out of Division II NW Missouri State.

+ Bullish: OT Demetrius Bell He only started playing football in 2005, but Bell has been impressive to date.  He's very green and shouldn't be much more than a depth player, but Bell has big-time potential.  He's gotten a lot of opportunities with Peters holding out and with Murphy and Patrick Estes injured, and he hasn't disappointed.

- Bearish: LB Keith Ellison Routinely out of position on passing downs, Ellison has been responsible (though not the sole LB responsible) for surrendering some large chunks of yardage through the air this pre-season.  The Bills are experimenting with John DiGiorgio at outside linebacker, and DiGiorgio could wind up being the primary backup at an outside spot in place of the sliding - but still important - Ellison.

+ Bullish: SS Bryan Scott Donte Whitner has been nicked up a bit, and while the defense has missed him, Scott's play has been excellent.  He's continued to show a knack for stopping the run when up in the box, and he hasn't been a liability in coverage.  He's involved with nearly every special teams coverage unit as well.  You're going to be hearing Scott's name a lot in 2008.

- Bearish: DT John McCargo Once expected to start next to Marcus Stroud at defensive tackle, McCargo started out as the fourth tackle in camp and hasn't earned his way up the depth chart.  Currently, Kyle Williams and Spencer Johnson are battling to start next to Stroud, and McCargo doesn't seem to be a large part of the equation.  He'll play a lot, but he is decidedly fourth in Buffalo's stellar four-man rotation.  That's not great news for the former first-round pick.

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.

LB Banks faced strong college competition (Photo Source)

The Buffalo Bills have had good luck in recent history with undrafted free agents.  Players such as OT Jason Peters, LB John DiGiorgio, CB Jabari Greer, WR Justin Jenkins and S Jim Leonhard - just to name a few current and former Bills that were not drafted - have become solid contributors to the team at varying levels.

So when an undrafted player from a known excellent special teams college with solid athleticism is signed as a UDFA at a position where depth is an issue, the chances of that player sticking are high - especially, apparently, in Buffalo.

Rookie linebacker Jon Banks ran a sub-4.7 40 yard dash in pre-draft workouts.  However, despite solid athleticism, he went undrafted.  Now, he's a Buffalo Bill, diligently working through the off-season in attempt to stick at a position (middle/outside linebacker) where depth isn't set in stone.  Banks was kind enough to take some time out of his pre-training camp preparations to let Buffalo Rumblings know about his experiences as a Bill to date.  Here is our interview with Banks in its entirety:

Buffalo Rumblings: How have your first couple of months been as a Buffalo Bill?  What are your impressions of the franchise, your coaches and your teammates?

Jon Banks: It has been a great experience as a Buffalo Bill.  I feel that we have a great coaching staff.  You can tell that the coaching staff cares a lot about their players.

BR: Your versatility allowed you to play several different positions in college.  Which linebacker position are you most comfortable at?

Banks: I am comfortable at all three positions.  I played outside linebacker in college, but now playing middle linebacker I feel that I will be good there as well.

BR: You'll be playing a lot of special teams in Buffalo, in all likelihood.  How does it feel to be hand-selected for this duty by a team that has boasted some of the league's best special teams units of the past five years?

Banks: This is a great opportunity for me to be part of a tremendous special steams unit of the Buffalo Bills.  Coach April does a great job of teaching us our responsibilities so we can execute. I am very thankful that they picked me to be a part of this great special teams unit.

BR: You spent the 2005 season playing special teams under coach DeMontie Cross.  What's it been like playing for your old coach again?

Banks: It feels good to be reunited with my old coach.  He didn’t take it easy on me in college and he is the same way now and I like that about him.

BR: Has it been helpful having familiar faces such as Cross and Alvin Bowen around to ease your transition to the NFL?

Banks: Yes it has, most players go into the NFL by themselves but I have been lucky enough to come here with two people that I know.  It makes everything that much more comfortable.

BR: Which offensive Bills player have you been most impressed with during spring practices?

Banks: Marshawn Lynch.  He is a lot faster than I thought.

BR: One last question: if there's one fact Bills fans should know about Jon Banks, that fact is...

Banks: When I was a kid I would get in trouble for always carrying a football with me no matter were I went. Also, I ran the 60 Meter Dash for the Iowa State track team.

*****

Since coming to Buffalo, Banks has bulked up to 232 pounds, up from his college playing weight in the low 220s.  He has been getting third-team reps at middle linebacker (behind Paul Posluszny and John DiGiorgio), but after playing outside linebacker as well as safety in college, he has the athleticism to play the weak side in Buffalo's scheme as well.  It's Banks' experience as a special teams ace, however, that should translate to the NFL, and his familiarity with Cross gives him an inside shot at sticking in that role.

Many thanks to Jon and his agent, Rob Roche, for taking the time to chat with us Rumblers.  We wish Jon the best of luck in his effort to make the team's final 53-man roster; we'll be monitoring his training camp progress closely.  Thanks, Jon!

Mitchell adds size to a weak weak-side position (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'll attempt to answer over the next week or so.

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

Angelo Crowell: Statistically, Crowell had a very solid 2007 season, racking up 126 tackles, two sacks, an interception, a fumble recovery and a safety.  He remains Buffalo's best starting linebacker, simply because he's entering his fourth year as a full-time starter for the team.  A free agent-to-be after the '08 season, Crowell will be playing this season for a lucrative contract extension.  Get in line, Angelo - some guys named Evans and Peters may already be ahead of you.

Keith Ellison: Pressed into action as a rookie in 2006, Ellison - while not overwhelmingly productive - held his own despite being a mediocre athlete and a sixth round pick.  Ellison came back to earth a bit in 2007, tallying an incredibly pedestrian 38 tackles in 12 games (along with a sack and an interception).  It's pretty clear at this point that Ellison isn't starting material at the NFL level, but he's got plenty of experience and is very intelligent, making him a competent reserve and special teams player.

The Additions: Kawika Mitchell, Alvin Bowen, Marcus Buggs, Jon Banks
Mitchell was signed on the opening day of free agency and immediately penciled in as the starter on the weak side (replacing the demoted Ellison).  At 253 pounds, Mitchell is a big pursuit linebacker that can make plays sideline to sideline and gives the Bills much more beef in their front seven - the perceived main problem in the team's inability to stop the run last season.

With the Bills losing so many players at this position (see below), it was imperative for the team to bring in young, bright athletes to compete for backup spots - and that's exactly what they did.  Bowen is the ringleader of the new guard, brought in to play special teams initially.  All three players are excellent athletes with some upside and special teams ability - and with the top three slots on the depth chart set, one or two of these players will make the roster to boost the team's special teams units.

The Subtractions: Coy Wire, Mario Haggan, Josh Stamer, Leon Joe, Kevin Harrison
The first three names on this list are names that Bills fans are used to hearing - these three guys were integral parts of Buffalo's elite special teams units over the past four years, and now all three are ex-Bills.  Wire was a special teams captain, but the biggest loss here may be Haggan - he was the most consistent performer on special teams, and he was the only reserve the Bills had that was big enough to man the strong side position in the event Crowell was injured.  Haggan will serve a four-game suspension for drug infractions to start '08, but he's also an unrestricted free agent, meaning he won't be back.

Pre-Season Outlook: It's surprising how much roster turnover the team has experienced at this position.  Five outside 'backers from the 2007 Bills roster are gone, replaced by four new names.  The changes, at least on paper, look good - the Bills are stronger and more balanced at the top of the depth chart, and far more athletic in the reserves - and those players have upside.  This unit has the potential to be devastated once again by injury, and depth is woefully inexperienced beyond Ellison, so start praying to the football gods now, folks - this unit needs to stay healthy.

Change: Bigger starters; younger, faster reserves.

As always, your thoughts and opinions on this analysis are welcome in the comments section.  Hope everyone has enjoyed/is enjoying their holiday weekend.