Tuesday’s abbreviated morning practice put a wrap on training camp at St. John Fisher.
Buffalo Bills Insider Chris Brown provides the details. Here is his report:
1 – A quality camp
It was a training camp that didn’t last as many days as those of previous years at St. John Fisher, but Buffalo’s roster in their first camp under head coach Sean McDermott felt they got an awful lot accomplished.
“It was good. It was fun,” said Preston Brown. “Coach took care of us when we need to be taken care of. And we worked every single day. That’s something that was great. We went out there and got better every day.”
Head coach Sean McDermott made it clear that there is a lot of work left to be done before the season opener in three and a half weeks, but he was pleased with the progress through the course of camp.
“Winning in this league is earned, and winning is an all-the-time thing when you practice the right way, you prepare the right way – you give yourself a chance to win; And when you don’t, you’re starting from a deficit position, and that’s not what I’m about, and that’s not what this team is going to be about,” McDermott said. “I appreciate the way the players responded. I thought you saw some physical football, and I appreciate that. That was one of the objectives of coming to camp – was to develop the toughness of the football team and I saw that on display.”
2 – Boldin blending in
It’s been about a week that receiver Anquan Boldin has worked with his new teammates on the practice field. There appears to be progress in the passing game with he and Tyrod Taylor as they’ve been connecting during the team periods the last couple of days.
“We’re getting there. It’s only been a limited number of practices,” Boldin said. “It’s not like we’ve been together the entire spring. I think the advantage that I do have is I’ve worked with him previously in Baltimore.
“We do a lot of stuff after practice. So I do have a little rapport with him, but we’re still trying to get our timing down. That takes time with a receiver and quarterback, but we’re trying to hurry that process along as much as possible.”
In the team’s abbreviated practice Tuesday, Boldin had three receptions.
3 – Clay making plays
One noticeable trend in the Bills passing game after the trade of Sammy Watkins is the uptick in targets that Charles Clay has seen the last few days in practice. The tight end has had a consistent camp from start to finish, but as camp winds down, Tyrod Taylor is finding Clay with regularity.
The tight end unofficially had three more receptions Tuesday following a veteran’s day off on Monday with his best catch coming down the seam during an 11-on-11 team segment.
“The more I can continue to make plays like that for him and for the team, the more I continue to build that trust,” said Clay. “He’s been doing a good job, you know, positioning the ball. He’s very accurate in placing the ball where he wants it to be. And like I said he’s been doing a good job, but it’s up to us to make those plays.”
As the offense gets more and more playing time in the preseason, the Taylor-Clay connection is one that will hopefully continue to blossom.
Bonus notes
CB Shareece Wright returned to practice with a heavily wrapped sprained thumb. He lined up as the starting right cornerback, and the thumb wrap didn’t seem to affect him. He came up with an interception in the end zone during red zone work.
Shaq Lawson had a forced fumble on RB Cedric O’Neal, but O’Neal recovered the loose ball.
Adolphus Washington was limited after suffering lower back spasms Monday. DeAndre Coleman stepped in for him with the second unit.
Zay Jones pulled in a pass in the back left corner of the end zone for a touchdown.
OL Michael Ola practiced on a limited basis in his return from a toe injury.
On six field goal attempts between 37 and 49 yards, rookie Austin Rehkow was good on all six kicks.