Dolphins quarterback competition wide open as camp begins DAVIE, Fla. - The first day of practice under a bright sun Friday morning confirmed that the Miami Dolphins [team stats]’ quarterback competition, like training camp, has only just begun. Matt Moore took the first snaps with the first-team offense in team drills while David Garrard also worked with the starters. On Saturday, Garrard will start out with the first team, and Moore will also get reps with that unit. "I know there’s a lot of speculation that this guy is way ahead, this guy is behind, he’s not ready," said Dolphins first-year coach Joe Philbin. "That’s news to me. We’re still evaluating all quarterbacks, and we’ll make a decision (when) it becomes evident." Philbin added of the competition for the starting job: "We’re obviously going to be fair to a certain degree early on and see how this thing unfolds. We’ve got a plan in place and I think it’s fair to assume we’re going to give those guys equal opportunity to play with different players, different offensive linemen." With rookie first-round pick Ryan Tannehill not at practice Friday because of his unresolved contract situation, Philbin stressing high tempo to maximize snaps, and Moore and Garrard got plenty of work. Garrard produced a few highlight plays, throwing a diving completion to Davone Bess for about a 20-yard gain and connecting with Roberto Wallace on a long pass late in practice. But Garrard also was intercepted by safety Kelcie McCray, and linebacker Gary Guyton dropped a potential pick. Moore also threw some nice completions, but was picked off by linebacker Koa Misi, who would have returned it for a touchdown. Moore also fumbled a snap and mishandled another exchange under center. "It’s the first day," cornerback Vontae Davis said. "I’ll be more impressed if they stack one brick on top of another, one day at a time, and get better." The Dolphins would like to have a clear-cut starter after the second exhibition game. Until then, it’ll be up to the quarterbacks to block out the constant debate around them. "It’s difficult at times just because all the camera and people writing. It’s hard not to hear about it," Moore said. "I just try to do my job. ... Naturally, somebody’s going to rise up and become the guy, but I’ve got too much other stuff to worry about than thinking about the two or three other guys also at that position. Moore started 12 games last season and passed for 2,497 yards and 16 touchdowns with nine interceptions and a quarterback rating for 87.1. He said Friday he wasn’t upset by the free-agent signing of Garrard and drafting of Tannehill, from Texas A&M, at No. 8 overall. "They have a job to do," Moore said of the Dolphins’ coaching staff. "They have things they’re planning for. You kind of sit back and watch. I knew going in, (General Manager) Jeff Ireland was very clear with me they were going to go after somebody, if not two guys, which they did. So there were no surprises there, which was appreciated." Garrard, who missed all of last season because of a back injury, said he feels his chances to be the starter are "pretty good." "I don’t think they would have had me here or even say it was open competition if my chances weren’t good," he said. "I know I can still play. I’ve just got to continue to prove it on the field." Garrard, who has passed for 16,003 yards and 89 touchdowns with 54 interceptions in nine career seasons, has the admiration of Dolphins owner Steve Ross, who noted Friday that Garrard introduced himself and is "very personable" and "very confident." Ross said Garrard "looked good out there" in the first practice. "He adds a lot of insurance at the quarterback position and certainly is going to compete for the starting job," Ross said. "We’re going to continue to battle throughout training camp, so I’m not reading anything into OTAs or the first day of training camp," Garrard said. "We’ve got a lot of snaps left and some games to play. Those will be more of the deciding factors than just who led in training camp with the (first-team)." The competition is underway. Visit the Sun Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) at www.sun-sentinel.com
Buffalo Bills WR David Nelson hurts right knee in practice; initial prognosis is a bruise PITTSFORD, N.Y. — Buffalo Bills receiver David Nelson missed the final hour of practice Saturday after hurting his right knee. Coach Chan Gailey said the initial prognosis was that Nelson sustained only a bruise. He added there was no indication of ligament damage. Nelson was hurt during a team drill when he went down in a pile of players Saturday, the third day of training camp. Nelson at one point yelled out in frustration as he made his way off the field. The fourth-year player was Buffalo’s second leading receiver last year. Defensive end Shawne Merriman was held out after he rolled his left ankle a day earlier. Right tackle Eric Pears was held out after aggravating a groin injury Friday. Reserve defensive tackle Kellen Heard left practice after aggravating an ankle injury.
Day Three: Defense keeps wraps on offense By Mark Gaughan PITTSFORD -- The Buffalo Bills' defensive line asserted its presence during 11-on-11 work in the first padded practice of training camp Saturday at St. John Fisher College. “I thought the defense dominated the practice,” coach Chan Gailey said. “We got a lot of work to do on offense to meet their level of play right now. So it’s a little bit different than it has been, and it’s good for our football team.” Defensive end Mario Williams pressured quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick to force an incompletion on the first play of 11-on-11 work from the middle of the field. Receiver Derek Hagan dropped a Fitzpatrick pass on the second play. Then WIlliams got by right tackle Sam Young, filling in for injured Erik Pears, to force an incompletion on the third play. Fitzpatrick rolled out but found no one open on the fourth play. C.J. Spiller got a decent gain on the fifth play. On the sixth play, defensive end Kyle Moore got by Young and Fitzpatrick into a scramble. Both Rian Lindell and John Potter drilled 49-yard field goals during special teams work. Then it was back to more mostly good defense. Fitzpatrick hit Donald Jones on an out route, but cornerback Aaron Williams read the play and let an interception go through his hands and into the receiver's. Then Fitz had to scramble again. Tyler Thigpen was the No. 2 QB Saturday. Rookie cornerback Ron Brooks picked off a Thigpen pass down the right sideline intended for David Clowney. Brooks had it covered all the way and made a leaping catch. On the next play, Thigpen was pressured and forced a throw over the middle that was picked off by safety Nick Saenz. Back came the starters. Fitzpatrick had to fall on a bad snap. Kyle Williams burst up the midde for a would-be sack. Nickel linebacker Bryan Scott smartly read a draw play and smothered it. Rookie cornerback Stephon Gilmore blanketed Spiller on a deep route and batted the pass away. Quarterback Vince Young, working with the third team, had a really good scramble up the middle on one play. Wildcat QB Brad Smith beat the blitz with a nice deep pass to receiver Kamar Aiken. Fitzpatrick did look pretty good in 1-on-1 and 7-on-7 passing drills. He continues to show promise on deep throws. He hit Donald Jones on a perfect deep strike down the left sideline vs. Aaron Williams. He had good downfield strikes to Stevie Johnson (twice), David Nelson and Scott Chandler. ... Safety Da'Norris Searcy did well in 1-on-1 work vs. tight ends and backs. ... In 1-on-1 pass rush work, Mario Williams again was a force. Andy Levitre had good snaps vs. Kyle Williams. ... Chad Rinehart held his own vs. Marcell Dareus. ... Defensive end Mark Anderson worked well with Marcell Dareus. ... Mario Williams and Dareus combined for a sack in 2-on-2 work. ... Rookie tackle Cordy Glenn false started two stright plays but then rebounded and shut down Chris Kelsay two straight snaps.
No chance, Philbon wont put him in until next year at earliest imo. Philbon will raise him like he did with Rodgers, and Flynn.
Patriots Practice #4 (Sunday) Posted by Greg A. Bedard July 29, 2012 07:32 PM By Greg A. Bedard, Globe Staff FOXBOROUGH – Here’s a rundown on what went on at Patriots’ practice this afternoon: ATTENDANCE PLEASE Reserve/did not report: RG Brian Waters. Physically unable to perform: LG Logan Mankins (knee), RT Sebastian Vollmer (back), C Nick McDonald (unknown), OT Markus Zusevics (unknown), TE Daniel Fells (shoulder), TE Jake Ballard (knee), DT Myron Pryor (shoulder), WR Jeremy Ebert (hamstring). Red jerseys: WR Matthew Slater (shoulder), S James Ihedigbo (shoulder). Not participating: S Nate Ebner (unknown), LB Brandon Spikes (knee), OT Darrion Weems (no contact per CBA), CB Alfonzo Dennard (hamstring), LB Tracy White (unknown). Returned to practice: DL Justin Francis (left leg) avoided a scare after being carted off on Saturday. INJURIES •Reserve C/G Jamey Richard was escorted off the field after suffering what a league source said was a concussion. He had one at the end of the 2010 seasonw with the Colts. •DE Rob Ninkovich did not take part in team drills. Hard to tell the exact injury. •TE Visanthe Shiancoe wasn’t able to finish practice with a undisclosed injury. DRESS CODE Full pads for the second-straight day. TOP PLAYS - A drill pitting linebackers against running backs in a pass-blocking drills, LB Dont’a Hightower went through Eric Kettani and sent the FB into RB coach Ivan Fears, who tumbled to the ground. - Another day, another bomb from Tom Brady to Brandon Lloyd after safety Steve Gregory bit on a little trickery. THUMBS UP Second-year QB Ryan Mallett easily had his best day of this camp (and maybe last year as well) as he finally looked more comfortable and played in the rhythm of the offense. Mallett showed nice touch at the end of practice hooking up with TE Tyler Urban for a touchdown in a goal-line situation. Mallett has appeared to be playing and throwing in slow motion up to this point. It’s like he’s thinking too much going over all the coaches’ instructions in mind. Nobody can play like that. Perhaps today was a turning point for him. THUMBS DOWN TE Rob Gronkowski may be running fine after off-season ankle surgery, but he’s not quite 100 percent. That’s been showing up with his blocking – which puts a lot of pressure on the legs and is normally one of the best parts of his game. Gronkowski has had a tough time in blocking drills against the DE/OLBs. He didn’t win any of his matchups today, and lost to veteran DE Tim Bulman. In a running drill, DE Trevor Scott easily shed the tight end to take down Stevan Ridley, and rookie DE Jake Bequette also had little trouble with Gronkowski. He added had two drops today -- one that was intercepted by S Patrick Chung and another that would have been a touchdown in goal line. Gronkowski could probably use Monday’s off day to recuperate. SUPERLATIVES - Dropped passes: Gronkowski (2), Ridley. - Nice catch: Lloyd. - Fumbled: QB Ryan Mallett. - Interceptions: Chung (of Brady). ONE-ON-ONES One man’s personal opinion on how the offensive and defensive lines matched up in one-on-one drills (our favorite part of camp): Standouts-Offense: LG Donald Thomas (2-1-0), RT Matt Kopa (2-1-0). Defense: DT Ron Brace (2-0-0), DT Gerard Warren (2-0-1), DE Trevor Scott (1-0-1), Marcus Harrison (1-0-1). Struggled a bit-Offense: C Dan Koppen (0-3-0), C/G Dan Connolly (1-3-0), LT Kyle Hix (1-3-0), RT Marcus Cannon (1-2-1). Defense: DE Jermaine Cunningham (1-2-0), DL Marcus Fortson (0-1-2). Decided victories: Offense- Thomas (vs. Jonathan Fanene), Richard (vs. Kyle Love), Nate Solder (vs. Cunningham). Defense-Vince Wilfork (vs. Koppen), Love (vs. Koppen), Fanene (vs. Connolly), Bulman (vs. Solder), Cunningham (vs. Cannon). •For the second-straight day, Wilfork lost his opening matchup, this time to underwhelming Wendell. Of course, on his next rep Wilfork shredded Koppen, who did not look today. Waiting to see how guys look after the off day before we start having strong feelings about some poor performances. •The two starting offensive tackles – Solder and Cannon – were not impressive outside of Solder’s complete stoning of Cunningham. Veteran DT Tim Bulman got into Solder quickly so he couldn’t extend his long arms and then moved him at will. Cannon nearly missed Francis altogether, and then allowed Cunningham (who wasn’t sharp overall) to kill him with a spin move. Cannon’s technique is off. He’s just not getting back in his stance and in good position. •Everyone’s having trouble with Fanene’s size/speed combination inside. •Don’t look now, but Brace is turning some heads. He’s showing off power and surprising quickness. Amazing what actually practicing can do. This is the first of his three camps where Brace is on the field in the first week. •Matt Kopa is distancing himself from Kyle Hix for fourth tackle. Darrion Weems can finally practice in pads on Tuesday. ODDS AND ENDS •The running backs did not fare well in their pass-blocking drills against the linebackers (4-10-3). Spencer Larsen held LB Jeff Tarpinian, and then had LB Bobby Carpenter dance around him. Dane Fletcher just about made Stevan Ridley whiff. LB Niko Koutouvides dominated Eric Kettani on one rep. Danny Woodhead lost both his mismatches against Jerod Mayo. Ridley and Shane Vereen each had one win but a couple losses as well. •The second-team defensive line of Cunningham, Deaderick, Fanene and Jake Bequette were causing a lot of problems in team drills. •In addition to his interception, Chung also broke up a pass to Gronkowski. •Bulman also used his veteran savvy to make quick work of Cannon in team drills to take down Ridley for a loss. •A day after being carted off the field, Francis returned and continued to impress. He’s energy and enthusiasm is apparent on the field – and his play is backing it up. •Despite being beat down the field, CB Devin McCourty had another pass breakup. •Jones showed off his length when he batted down a Brady screen pass on the first snap of 11-on-11. •With Ninkovich taking most of the practice off, the Patriots took a look at Scott and Jones playing together on either end of the line. •On the second play on the goal line, DT Kyle Love destroyed Connolly and took down Ridley for a loss. SCHEDULE - Monday's practice: Players are off. - Tuesday's practice: 1:30-4 p.m. - Wednesday's practice: Closed evening practice in the stadium for season-ticket holders and Foxborough residents. The rest is TBD.
This what our forum says is happening in Jets camp with your two high profile rookies. Anyone watching camp comment on this? Do those guys look lost so far? Not trolling, interested in knowledgeable posts... http://boards.buffalobills.com/show...-Coples-and-Hill-look-lost-in-Jets-camp/page2
I read the first 10-15 posts and it sounds like a bunch of clueless posters that are pulling a lot of shit out of there asses.
Hill has been having a great training camp. Idk what you have been reading -- link to an actual article, please? Coples hasn't shown much yet -- it makes me worried, but at least Maybin will dominate Week 1.
