Injuries mount but nothing to be too concerned about

• Shawn Nelson has been out for a week with a pulled muscle and isn't likely to return until Wednesday at the earliest, according to Coach Gailey. Nelson's tenure with the Bills has been a big disappointment thus far. I've heard the words "So much potential" associated with Nelson so many times but he can't stay healthy.
• Drayton Florence sprained his ankle during Saturday night's practice. Gailey said that he's going to miss the first preseason game but shouldn't be out much longer than that. Because of the depth in our secondary, this isn't something that concerns me. Florence missing a game of preseason doesn't affect the team at all.
• Demetrius Bell left Sunday's practice with a strained shoulder. Gailey said "it'd be a couple of days and probably he'll be back." Wang filled in at the Left Tackle position. Yes, Wang, Levitre and Wood. Kidding aside, I hope I'm wrong about Wang. Thankfully Bell's injury won't keep him out long but if it were serious - I have to tell you how petrified I am of our depth on the offensive line. Buddy keeps insisting that their line isn't as bad as we think it is. I'll take your word for it, Mr. Nix.
• Today's inactives include: Donald Jones, Drayton Florence, Justin Rogers, Kelvin Sheppard, Kellen Heard, Marcus Easley, and Shawn Nelson.
• On the positive side, both Aaron Williams and Shawne Merriman returned to practice today.

Quick Hits

--Peter King from Sports Illustrated is in town today to observe the Bills camp.

--Donald Jones sat out of practice yesterday because he was soar from being kicked on Friday. Ouch.

--The big news from last night was Shawne Merriman sitting out once again due to soreness in his legs unrelated to his previous injury which is the good news, if you believe the Bills. If he sits out again today, call me skeptical. I personally don't mind how many days he sits out just as long as he's ready September 11th against the Chiefs. Better to be safe than sorry.

--David Nelson was back practicing with the team. His internal injury will heal over time according to Gailey. He's on medication and the recovery process is gradual. Nelson said he didn't feel 100% and at times had to slow it down but expects to be back to 100% soon. Nelson chose not to disclose his injury.

--Speaking of Nelson, he had a big day of practice yesterday catching a few deep balls. Talley, who was at camp all week had high praise for Nelson on twitter.

--Aaron Williams was asking fans for nicknames on Twitter last night despite Darryl Talley basically giving him the nickname, "Spiderman." I tried bringing this to Aaron's attention but he ignored it. When a legend gives you his nickname, you take it. Some of the suggestions he was considering were incredibly lame like "Hawk," "Sub Zero," and "Assassin."

--Fitzmagic tore it up last night with 3 red zone Touchdowns. Stevie Johnson had an incredible day according to Chris Brown of Buffalobills.com. Brown compared the performance to one many years ago by Eric Moulds and basically predicted Stevie would have a breakout season much like Moulds did after tearing it up in camp.

--Kelvin Sheppard is still on target for a return next week.

--David Martin returned to practice last night.

--Aaron Williams left practice yesterday with a hand injury but said on twitter it doesn't appear to be "serious." We'll hear more about it today.

Practice notes from yesterday's camp, via BuffaloBills.com

Video highlights of Saturday night's camp. Good stuff inside, via BuffaloBills.com. Watch Fitz tear it up!

More later..

Merriman impresses again, Fitz finally connects on longball

Just a few quick tidbits from camp today:

• Shawn Merriman was the standout player from more than a few first-hand accounts. Merriman tweeted about it saying, "Great day of practice got the night off what should we do?" Donte Whitner also threw some props Shawne's way, "heard ur looking really good bro....much respect keep it going." Mark Ludwiczak tweeted "After back-to-back plays by Merriman, Fitz even took a second to shake his hand and acknowledge his work. OLB off to a great start." Like I said yesterday, keep this man healthy until September 11th and I'll be extremely excited..
• Also, Ryan Fitzpatrick connected with Lee Evans for a 40-yard touchdown down the left sideline for the first long Touchdown of camp. Fitz has been a bit off with the longball although he came close yesterday with a long pass to Stevie Johnson that hit Stevie's hands in the endzone. Considering it's the first week of camp, this is nothing to be worried about. 

Just a reminder - no camp tomorrow. The boys have off and get back at it on Thursday. Check out Buffalobills.com later on for the highlights of today's camp.

August 1st Camp Notes

I attended my first Buffalo Bills training camp of the year at St. John Fisher College in Pittsford, NY. It ran from 3 to 5:30pm.


It was pretty damn hot out there. Kind of a light crowd out there today which is what I prefer. I made a mistake when I first arrived assuming they would be practicing on the longer field (which they've done in years past) but I was wrong. They did the majority of the practice on the split fields. I assume it has to do with the turf. Anyways, lets get to fine points of the day...

• Levi Brown had a pretty brutal day -- misfiring and throwing near picks like you wouldn't believe.
• Josh Nesbitt, who was playing the role of QB today (until Brad Smith and Thigpen can participate, which is August 4th) was just as bad. No wonder this guy is listed as a DB. 
• Kyle Williams (who was one of the first guys on the field) was a big time disruption, consistently getting in the backfield. Dareus eating up double teams will make Kyle Williams into an even bigger star this year. 
• Dwan Edwards, a guy who I almost forgot about, had a few nice plays including batting down a Fitzpatrick pass (something he's vulnerable to) that led to a Shawne Merriman pick. Well, at least I think it was an interception. Edwards was having a strong year prior to his injury last year. Here's to hoping he can bounce back from his injury.
• Maybin looked tiny next to Merriman. This shouldn't matter so much to me but it does. He did show some speed on a run play, tracking down the RB (can't remember who it was)
• Johnny White, running back from North Carolina, physically resembles Marion Barber. He runs like him too. This guy could contribute this season if he can get some carries which will be a tough task with the Bills seemingly ready to put CJ Spiller in a feature role, next to Fred Jackson.
• Geoff Hangartner looked small next to his fellow linemates. 
• Andy Levitre, on the other hand, looked bigger than ever. Oh and I noticed the new haircut and mustache. 
• Donald Jones, a surprise contributor from last season, made some nice plays today in his limited time on the field. This guy has some serious speed.
• Reggie Corner came off the PUP list and made a nice play today. He's had a forgettable tenure with the Bills thus far. May have a tough time making the team this year with the new additions.
• Shawne Merriman made some nice plays again today. That would make it a few days in a row of looking good for him. We just need him to stay healthy. If I see him starting on September 11th against the Chiefs, I'll be excited. This guy seems to have all the tools to be a player but can he keep that Achilles healthy? 
• Fitzy made some nice, tight short throws today. The long ball was a bit off again today although he did throw a beautiful 50 yard bomb to Stevie Johnson who was double covered but had a chance to make the catch. Perfect placement of the ball on Fitzy's behalf. 
• Did I mention how awful Levi was? Sorry, nothing personal Levi, it's just that I expected better. I can't wait to see what Tyler Thigpen can do. Please be better than what I saw out of our backups today. 
• I'm still trying to adjust to McKelvin and CJ Spiller's number switch.
• I'm also still trying to adjust to Arthur Moats playing ILB. 
• Good to see McGee out there with the starting unit. #24 has been injured much too much the past few years. It's time to see if this guy can play anymore. Wouldn't it be nice if he could regain his form and we suddenly have really good depth in the secondary? Going into training camp I thought he could be a surprise cut but I'm not so sure about that anymore. Cornerbacks are valuable in this league and he was pretty good at one point. 
• The guy who I had no clue who he was until a fellow Bills fan told me, Emmanuel Moody seemingly made a bunch of good runs today. Not sure of his chances because he's undrafted but he did catch my attention a few times.
• Roscoe made a nice grab which reminded me of last year when he bailed the Bills out of some bad 3rd down situations.
• Mount Jasper is as big as advertised. He made other large men look small. I did notice he bullrushed some guys but I didn't catch who they were. I heard a lot of Jasper jokes around me. Not sure if it's the number (#69) or just the hope that this guy can even make the team. I personally think he will make the team. 
• Da'Norris Searcy got some reps with the 2nd team defense for the first time today.
• Merriman tagged David Nelson at one point. Nelson acknowledged it on his twitter account to which Merriman responded, "friendly fire bro you know its all luv"
• Sheppard and Easley were on the sidelines today. I'm sick of hearing the hype around Easley. Don't get me wrong, I probably started that hype. I want to see this kid play. Hopefully the injury bug escapes him. As for Sheppard, he's going to have to take this time to learn as much of the playbook as possible. Early timetable for both guys is a week but that's on the optimistic side. I have high hopes for Sheppard who endlessly retweets his fans comments about how great he is going to be.
• Not that this matters much but I caught Brad Smith and Tyler Thigpen busting each others chops and giving each other punches that looked about as real as the Rock's. Good to see the new guys trying to fit in right away.
• There was an Ed Wang sighting. He actually looked decent at times. 
• And finally, Dareus could be a big, big contributor to our defense this year. He was having an issue with his helmet that looked to piss him off at a few points but he looked good out there. 

I plan on attending camp next week as well. Come back for more reports and general thoughts about the Bills.