The Buffalo Bills gathered for their 11th training camp practice as they prepare for their first preseason game against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday. Here’s to another Buffalo Bills training camp recap.
The circus continued for the Buffalo Bills on Thursday when they gathered for their final practice before facing the Indianapolis Colts for their first preseason game. We saw some glimpses of “good” on Day 11, but once again it seemed like it all got outweighed by the “bad.”
Let’s get the “bad” out of the way.
First off, another health concern arose within the defense and this time it came at the hands of Aaron Williams — or more specifically the head. Let it be known that Williams missed almost all of last season due to a neck injury and he has been skeptical about whether or not he is 100% right now.
During team drills, Williams and Dezmin Lewis were both running at full speed, but weren’t looking where they were going. Suddenly, the two collided and instantly hit the floor. Medical staff quickly attended to the two players while players began to huddle around them on on knee. It was especially scary for Williams as everyone was hoping it had nothing to do with his neck.
Lewis was the first one up and seemed to be holding his right arm as he went to the locker room. On the other hand, Williams was a bit slower to get up, but refused help to the locker room once he was up. Once practice was over, Rex Ryan helped ease the players and fans by stating that his neck should be fine. However, he is getting checked for a concussion. Needless to say, he most likely won’t be featured in Sunday’s preseason game.
More bad news arose when a scuffle broke out between IK Enemkpali and Cyrus Kouandjio during an 11-on-11 team drill. The two were battling hard, with Enemkpali continuously blowing by Kouandjio to get in the backfield. After five straight plays of anger building up, the two finally unleashed at each other. The two were brought to the ground after Enemkpali swung at his counterpart and were eventually broken up.
This isn’t a good look for IK, who was only signed to the Bills after being released by the New York Jets for punching and breaking the jaw of QB Geno Smith. It’s unfortunate for the linebacker, who was actually having one of his better practices this training camp.
In addition to that, the only real “bad” thing we saw was more “sad” than anything. During team drills, we finally saw a glimpse of Reggie Ragland. However, it was on a golf cart with a big brace on his knee.
Other than that, a lot of our starters got a rest day today. We saw Sammy Watkins, Charles Clay and Eric Wood all sidelined to get some rest before the game against the Colts.
Now, let’s get to the good — we need it.
Two players on the defense really stood out on Thursday: Jerry Hughes and Corey White.
Jerry Hughes had a good day getting past right tackle Jordan Mills on numerous occasions. He even recorded back-to-back sacks against Tyrod Taylor in the red-zone drills — both were at the expense of Jordan Mills. Hughes is hoping to give some hope to a Bills’ linebacker core that has been completely depleted by injuries.
On the other hand, Corey White made quality use of first-team reps when Stephon Gilmore sat out near the end of practice. On one play in particular, he showed potential against Marquise Goodwin. Goodwin had beat him early on in the play and began to book it down the field with Taylor looking to throw deep. White made good recovery and got to the ball in time to break it up for an incomplete pass — almost intercepting it.
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More good news arrived when Dan Carpenter took the field for some field goal attempts. He has been on a super hot streak since the Bills’ released Marshall Morgan and has eliminated all doubt surrounding his consistency. After going 5-of-6 on Thursday — only missing a 51-yarder — he has now made 30 of his last 32 field goal attempts. The Bills hope to see that same level of consistency when the regular season hits. Opposite him, Jordan Gay hit 2 of his 3 attempts.
The Buffalo Bills are preparing for their first preseason game against the Colts, which will take place on Saturday, August 13th at 7:00 pm. We will get a good look at how our depth is looking behind all of these injuries.
Who will you be looking out for most on Saturday? Leave your comments below!
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