Temperatures were in the low 80s for this Sunday Brunch practice, with just enough Canadian wildfire smoke to keep the bleachers tolerable.
Jacob Bayer was out early getting extra 1 on1 work; he’s working his tail off in the absence of Sedrick Van Pran Granger, and it is becoming noticeable in his reps with the 2s. Stephen Gosnell and Zack Davidson were among those using the jugs machines before practice.
Welcome back Terrell Bernard and Spencer Brown! Kudos to today’s crowd for the best reception so far for the most underrated CB in the NFL, Christian Benford. Extra effort ribbons in warmups today for Frank Gore Jr,, Laviska Shenault, Chase Lundt, Darrick Forrest, and Deone Walker.
No, they did not use Ray Davis as the kicker today in coverage drills, just the machine. I was trying to focus on Dorian Strong and Ja’Marcus Ingram, who were alternating reps as the gunner on our side of the field. Ingram is a bit better right now at fighting off the blocks, but that came with experience. Laviska Shenault also got reps at gunner. It’s still hard to get used to everyone standing still until the ball is touched. When they switched over to punt drills, Shenault popped a dynamic return.
We always have the TEs in front of our section when they break apart for positionals, and today we got to watch a good blocking drill, Jackson Hawes was already the best blocking tight end in the draft, and now he gets to learn from Rob Boras.
The 7 v 7s were fun today, with both the offense and defense making some good plays, The biggest roar came on a Josh Allen to Dalton Kincaid missile into a very tiny window. Moore had his first 2 catches of many today as Allen’s “easy button”. Ty Johnson got behind Joe Andreessen and Josh laid it in there, with TJ taking it to the house. The defensive play of the day was a pick-six by AJ Epenesa, who is having a strong camp thus far. Kristian Wilkerson made a couple nice catches with the ones; his stock is rising. Mitch Trubisky threw a beautiful deep ball to Shenault, who’s combination of size, speed, and special teams contributions will be tough to ignore.
In the 11 v 11 session, more Moore! Baylon Spector made a nice interception. He has had a great camp, and healthy is the best pass defender of those in the running to back up Bernard and Milano. Solomon, Oliver, and Epenesa were particularly disruptive today. And if you go to camp and are watching the 2s scrimmage, make sure you focus on #96, Deone Walker, for a few plays. He moves the pocket like few others.
Just two more Open sessions at Fisher before the circus leaves town. This time next week we will be rehashing the Giants preseason game. Go Bills!
Editor’s babble: More Deone Walker stories, please! Ha… many thanks to Joe Reagan for his over and above contributions to our blog. We cannot thank you enough, Joe! You can also find Joe on Xwitter @joer869.
BuffaloFAMbase.com is sponsored by 26 Shirts
Every Monday, we launch a two-week campaign of a new Buffalo-themed t-shirt design. Every purchase results in a donation to a local family in need. After the campaign ends, the shirt is typically retired. A new design is released, and a new family benefits from your fandom!
Much appreciated Joe! Thanks!