Buffalo Bills Bubble Watch, Pre-Season Week 1

The Buffalo Bills have their next training camp practice this evening, and both Matt Warren and I will be in attendance at St. John Fisher College. You can expect a full report from me later on tonight when I get back from Rochester; it should be an interesting practice, given Chan Gailey's (ahem) dissatisfaction with the team's 14 penalties Thursday night.

In the meantime, let's take a look at a few ongoing personnel battles on or near the proverbial roster "bubble," shall we?

Vince Young vs. Tyler Thigpen. I think most Bills fans are now hoping, if not outright expecting, that Young will win this job. However, as the loser of this ongoing competition will be cut, that places the duo squarely on the roster bubble until one of the two emerges as a clear favorite to back up Ryan Fitzpatrick.

Johnny White vs. Tashard Choice. Round one in the battle for the third running back job went to White, but Choice has gotten reps ahead of the 2011 fifth-round pick all throughout camp. This battle is tighter than it was before, and again, the loser is likely looking for a new team.

Corey McIntyre vs. Dorin Dickerson. For reasons that we've been over ad nauseam since Thursday night, neither of these two fullbacks saw time with the first-team offense - and then they ended up splitting time with the twos. Because of the team's lack of talent at tight end, it seems likely that one of these two players is going to make the team - but as they're two very different athletes, it's tough to get a good read on this situation without more careful observation.

Zebrie Sanders vs. Sam Young. As we mentioned earlier this morning, Young is giving Sanders a run for his money in the battle for the fourth and final tackle spot on the active roster. It's long been assumed that the fifth-round pick had the upper hand on the former waiver wire acquisition, but with Sanders struggling in camp, and with Young getting run with the ones and playing left tackle, this looks like the closest battle we'll outline in this bubble watch post.

Kyle Moore vs. Alex Carrington vs. Kellen Heard vs. Torell Troup. Right now, barring a health breakdown, there are eight defensive linemen on the team that appear to be locks for the final roster. The team will use that many on game days, however, meaning that they could keep at least one additional lineman on the active roster in the event of an injury. Moore, and end, and Carrington, Heard and Troup - three young tackles - appear to be the chief competitors for that final spot.

Scott McKillop vs. Chris White. A little-discussed effect of Arthur Moats' ascent to the first-unit defense is the fact that the team likely now has seven locks for the final roster at linebacker: the three projected starters plus Kirk Morrison, Bryan Scott, Nigel Bradham and Tank Carder. It's no lock that the team will keep eight linebackers at all, and if they do, it'll be for special teams purposes - and that battle will be waged between McKillop and White.

Prince Miller vs. Nick Saenz. It's no lock that either players makes this team, but given the current state of the NFL, it seems reasonable that the Bills would like to keep ten defensive backs. Right now, nine are locks: six corners and three safeties. If they decide on ten defensive backs (and one of those isn't a veteran safety that the team has said they'd like to sign), Miller would be the first cornerback on the list, and Saenz looks to be the top safety. Miller has had a strong training camp after spending 2011 on the practice squad.

What other individual players not mentioned here do you believe are now on the Bills' roster bubble?