It might be difficult to believe, but the Buffalo Bills have just two more practices before 2009 training camp breaks. The Bills will be on the field this afternoon for another steamy practice at St. John Fisher College. Our de facto camp reporter, MattRichWarren, is back on the scene today after roughly a week off. Slacker. His updates will appear after the jump.
2:21 PM: It's hot. Probably going to be an early end to practice today. CB Terrence McGee is really running gingerly as he continues to deal with blisters on his feet. TE Shawn Nelson is on the field stretching after leaving practice last night due to illness.
2:24 PM: QB Matt Baker, LB Pat Thomas and DT Marcus Smith appear to be non-participants today, as none of them are stretching. WR Steve Johnson is on the field again, and today, he's not wearing a red no-contact jersey. WR Terrell Owens is not yet on the field; he missed this morning's walk-through while getting treatment on his toe, according to BuffaloBills.com.
2:31 PM: It's pouring. Probably will be short-lived, but it's really coming down. Thankful for bleachers and the ability to be under them.
2:37 PM: The rain has stopped, but even with dry balls (stop it), Trent Edwards is not sharp early. As mentioned, Steve Johnson isn't wearing the red no-contact jersey today, but he does appear to have some sort of flak jacket on to protect his still-tender ribs.
2:43 PM: SS Bryan Scott is back on the field today after suffering a mild knee sprain in the win over Chicago. The Bills are working on red zone work. Steve Johnson and Shawn Nelson have both brought in nice Edwards touch passes one-handed for scores. More of that, please.
2:53 PM: Still no Owens. Either his sprained toe didn't handle practice last night particularly well, or the Bills are going to keep him off a wet field (rain has been hit-and-miss throughout practice thus far). TE Shawn Nelson is getting some first-team reps. FS Ko Simpson - already on the bubble after the return of rookie Jairus Byrd - just dropped an easy interception of a Ryan Fitzpatrick throw.
3:05 PM: It's probably a bad sign if you're a rookie long-snapper trying to vault past veteran Ryan Neill, and rookie OG Eric Wood is getting some long-snapping in at practice. That's exactly what's happening to Garrison Sanborn right now.
3:10 PM: After hearing several reports from fans e-mailing in that Chris Kelsay has been routinely abusing Brad Butler at practice - yeah, it's totally true. 90 just beat 60 cleanly in blocking drills. Made it look easy. Considering how solid Butler was against Chicago (if highly unspectacular), this is just more good news on the Kelsay front. Perhaps getting booed by fans in a pre-season game is added motivation?
Meanwhile, Andy Levitre and Kyle Williams have battled to several draws. Considering how dominant Williams is in a camp setting, that's nothing but good news for the rookie left guard. Oh - Chris Ellis (and Ataefiok Etukeren) made Derek Fine look silly in this drill as well.
3:16 PM: Blocking drills continue. John McCargo put a sick spin move on Kirk Chambers to beat the converted guard. Demetrius Bell had to tackle Chris Ellis to prevent a sack. The defense in general is dominating this drill. If there's one offensive lineman looking dominant, it's Langston Walker.
3:22 PM: Once again, we've got Kelsay beating Butler with ease. We also can't seem to find Copeland Bryan... weird. Chris Ellis is taking second-team reps, as usual, alongside Ryan Denney.
3:26 PM: For those of you asking about the safety rotation - George Wilson and Ko Simpson remain the second-team safeties. Reggie Corner and Ellis Lankster are the second-team corners outside, with Ashton Youboty working in the slot.
3:32 PM: Trent Edwards got a little miffed at himself when Osi Chris Umenyiora Kelsay knocked down one of his passes at the line. Apparently, Kelsay is going to have a monster season. Ellis Lankster just recorded a nice pass break-up. Rookie FS Jairus Byrd is running with the third team. Practice keeps on keepin' on despite thunder.
3:34 PM: And, just like that, practice is done after some seriously cool lightning strikes. Defense looked excellent today.