Training Camp Notes – Sunday, July 28 – Buffalo FAMbase — #BillsMafia

It’s 8:58 p.m. ET. Running backs coach Kelly Skipper begins his walk around the track. There’s not a cloud in the sky to shield us from the blazing sun above. Santana would say, “It’s hot, seven inches from the noon sun.” A smaller NFL Network tent than last year sits in the northeast corner of the field.

So far I’ve seen my buddy Mike McD and his brother with his wife, and I’ve seen Erik Turner and Anthony Prohaska from Cover1, two of the sharpest football minds I know. Fedora Joe will be here soon on the second shuttle from Sutherland School, and we’ll both try to fill you in on what’s going on even more. The first song is “Can’t Touch This,” obviously referencing the Bills’ deal with St. John Fisher University – if they go, I’m going. Josh says he likes dorm life for the camaraderie, so maybe the University of Pittsford will get him another one-year deal.

The parade begins. First up are: OG Gunner Britton, who walks up to sign autographs. LB Edefuan Ulofoshio, (not tall, but he has thick linebacker legs, and he’s the only one stretching right now), DB Te’Cory Couch, WR Mack Hollins, LB Deion Jones, LS Reid Ferguson, OT Tylan Grable, and P Sam Martin.

A group of girls start singing “Happy Birthday.” Matt Milano is 30 today.

Shorter and Xavier Johnson warm up on a pair of JUGS (seriously, there are two machines), with WR Lawrence Keys III running for a lap. Keys is only 170 pounds. Even Andy Isabella outweighs him by 18 pounds.

I’m starting to learn the names of the multitude of players who are new to this Bills team, but still confuse the Shorter-Shavers, the Benford-Bernards and the 3 Edwards of the team. Most people younger than me can use old brain cells for the new players (the 89-year-old Steve Tasker is now Bryan Thompson, for example). It’s like changing a light bulb. But when you’re 75, when the bulb goes out, you have to put in another light fixture with a new bulb. The old one has to stay there, just because. (editor’s note: I can confirm)

Khalil Shakir gets a big round of applause as he trots down the tunnel, right behind Ed Oliver’s applause. Tight end Zach Davidson (6’10”) spends a little more time in front of the JUGS machine. The four zebras get absolutely no cheers from the crowd. Fedora Joe says it’s not Foot Locker’s day.

Josh Allen, the league’s top QB Wonderlic scorer, opts for the gray hoodie again, despite the fact that it’s 80 degrees and getting hotter by the minute. He high-fives Mack Hollins and hands Shane Buechele his helmet. They start warming up with the tight ends, including Davidson.

It looks like James Cook is out today. I’m told it was an excused absence. He’ll be back soon, as I like the depth at running back. The team won’t lose a step with a RB room that includes Cook, Ray Davis, Ty Johnson, and FB Reggie Gilliam. You’ll see Darrynton Evans in the preseason, and he has good hands too. Could a trade happen before September 1st?

The workout before gymnastics is to do yesterday’s drill, quickly lowering the ball after the catch. Dawuane Smoot is there for that drill as a defensive end, across from Von Miller. Then they quickly move on to gymnastics. Today’s gymnastics stars, the ones putting in the extra effort, include Quintin Morris, Shane Buechele, Justin Shorter, Baylen Spector, KJ Hamler and a bunch of offensive linemen. Did Kromer mention anything?

Billy Buffalo is on his way through the tunnel. He’s wearing an 88, although it could be a BB (I take eye drops for that).

The kick returners are KJ Hamler, Daequan Hardy and Andy Isabella. Oh my God, Sam Martin just dropped one on the one-yard line and he’s out.

The offensive linemen take turns making two hits and the guys come up with blocking pads. They’re told to “sit back in their chairs and hit with a little pop, with a full arm extension. Kevin Jarvis was particularly impressed doing that.”

Sam Martin keeps kicking all the way to the 1 or 2 yard line. Every kick Martin has taken has bounced backwards. That’s the science of punts. Yes, Martin obviously plays golf (in fact, he played this weekend with our BuffaloFAMBase guy, Mike). He’s got that backspin that works well. Not to be outdone, Jake Browning gets one in, all the way to the 2 yard line. But his next attempt goes out to the 14, although the spin caused it to be missed by returner Hardy.

The kick return work is thankfully over and the positions begin. Kromer’s offensive line is to our left in the end zone, practicing combination blocks, two on two. The quarterbacks take a handoff and a pass with a second ball thrown to the t. Weird.

The tight ends are given some vehement instructions by Rob Boras. They block a dummy and go catch a pass. The wide receivers are told to block a dummy and then catch a pass at close range as if they were running a return route.

The QBs now move to the running backs. Darrynton Evans skillfully catches a very well thrown ball. What do I say? ALL There are some really well-thrown balls. The passes are exactly where they should be, from all three quarterbacks. You won’t miss Kyle Allen. The most interesting thing is that Curtis Samuel is working with the running backs for this drill. Expect him to be a Swiss Army knife.

Kromer is now working with the offensive line on leverage blocking (spinning his defender left or right) and combination blocking with a pulling tackle. Richard Gouraige (6-5, 306) and Ryan VanDemark (6-6, 307) are very good at pulling.

The tight ends caught passes on the bias in the following order: Knox, then Kincaid, then Morris, Gilliam, Tre’ McKitty, Davidson and – yes – Curtis Samuel.

Offensive coordinator Joe Brady is moving around among the position players, gesturing, barking, pointing, pulling a guy aside. You can tell he knows what he wants. The players have talked about how much they love him, how smart he is. They’ve talked about his brilliant football mind. It syncs up so well with Wonderlic Man.

The receivers ran Josh’s pass-catching drills in this order: Hollins, Chase Claypool, Bryan Thompson, Khalil Shakir. That might mean something. Maybe not.

Shakir catches a rare ball and brings it back. MV-S makes a nice break on an out pattern and wraps the ball up before crossing the sideline. Now the receivers practice getting rid of the assistant coach and catching the ball on quarterback breakout routes.

7 out of 7

After 42 minutes of practice, we’re set for a 7-on-7. We have Shakir, Hollins, Coleman, and Darrynton Evans. Cole Bishop almost got an INT on Josh’s first pass. He needs to do 10 push-ups for not finishing the play. On the next play, it looks like Ty Johnson had to do 10 push-ups in the corner for not catching a catchable ball. Knox makes a nice catch at the goal line on a slant. He hits a few defenders, sending them all to the ground, but everything seems fine. I hear there’s going to be a pad practice tomorrow.

11 of 11

Things have been put to the test here, including the music. Khalil Shakir, Keon Coleman, and Mack Hollins are your receivers, but the pass goes to Dalton Kincaid on a slide screen. Yes, the Bills are going to use screen passes for the first time in decades. The next pass goes to Keyon Coleman, right in front of us. The hands are impressive, and Keon looks like he has some YAC potential. Knox catches another pass, a 21-man play, getting high-fives from everyone, including Rob Boras. It’s Trubisky’s turn, with Ray Davis on his right flank. Curtis Samuel gets moving. Rousseau and Oliver thwart this Ray Davis rush attempt, but he pivots and bursts out to the right side. Josh Allen runs the length of the field to compliment Davis’ rebounding ability.

Buechele makes a misleading false transmission.

Tempers flare as three helmets are removed on the next play, including Dion Dawkins, Chase Claypool and Ja’Marcus Ingram. Things have definitely turned around. On the next play, Dorian Williams tries to take Tyrell Shavers to the ground. KJ Hamler makes a brain error on his initial position before the snap on the next play, and he is called in, but they opt to go outside the huddle again.

Back to the two. Trubisky shows why he was traded for Kyle Allen, using his outside speed to go wide on a QB keeper. Two plays later, Trubisky has Ty Johnson on his right. For my taste, Trubisky hesitates too long, hangs on until the end, but is able to go deep, finding Bryan Thompson down the field or a touchdown. Backup Kendall Williamson does the walk of shame to his teammates and is consoled by number five Kaiir Elam, who walked in Williamson’s shoes.

The Jets are back on the field and Josh throws 15 yards to the flats, where Kincaid has separated himself 5 yards from the next available defender. Next up is a nice screen slide by the tight end to Knox after a fake pass. This will be there for at least two or three plays before the defensive coordinators catch on. KJ Hamler separates a pair of defenders and turns against the Jets in a similar screen. After the play, the trainers stretch KJ Hamler. To my experienced medical eye, I would say it is either a hamstring or a “hamstring.” Five minutes later, KJ is up and receiving a return pass from Josh, so I guess he is fine. Or the trainers are fantastic.

Remember those roasted hot dogs at 7-11? They went round and round on those silver rollers? Until they were overcooked? Or undercooked? Well, that’s me.

I hope to see you tomorrow.

Twitter: @TCBILLS_Astro

Bills fan and writer, www.BuffaloFAMBase.com, NFL Draft: hhttps://buffalofambase.com/author/deankindig/

Editor’s Chat: Big thanks to Dean and Joe for finding a way to get to camp and bring this amazing article sharing their thoughts. You can find Dean Kindig on Xwitter @TCBILLS_Astro and Joe Reagan @joer869.

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