Buffalo Bills Drive To End Playoff Drought Underway

They haven't made the playoffs in 16 years...the longest stretch in the NFL, and the team and the fans are sick of it.  But not too much of that was in evidence at St. John Fisher College as the Buffalo Bills opened training camp on Saturday morning.  The team, the coaches and the fans were all up-beat on the prospects of a successful season.

After the workout coach Rex Ryan said he learned a lot last season and vowed not to make some of the same mistakes.  Having a designated starting quarterback is a huge help.  Last year none of the quarterbacks in camp had a lock on the job so they had to earn it.  As a result the team ran split squads so the quarterbacks could get as many reps as possible.

Within a few days players were coming up with all kinds of nagging injuries because they'd been running so many plays.  Rex says he won't do that this year.  And at least after the first day he was relieved there were no injuries.

One thing I noticed during Saturday's workout is that offensive coordinator Greg Roman appeared to spend a lot of time with the tight ends indicating to me that position will be much more involved in the offense this year.

LeSean McCoy looked as lightning quick as he did at the beginning of last year's training camp until hamstring problems slowed him down and forced him to miss practice and games.

Despite his legal troubles following a DWI arrest rookie running back Jonathan Williams looked like a serious back-up to McCoy.

Of the three quarterbacks in camp Tyrod Taylor had the best day of the three, by far.  E-J Manuel threw some nice balls, great spiral, but typical E-J, many were off target.  And rookie Cardale Jones throws a bullet, but many of his throws weren't very accurate.  Hey, it's early yet.

I noticed kicker Dan Carpenter has shed the shaggy hair look for a more conservative look, but I was disappointed he was wide right on a few mid-range field goals.  On the other hand rookie kicker Morgan Marshall showed a strong leg.

The Bills are back on the practice field Sunday and Monday from 10 am to noon, then hold the first in their series of evening workouts on Tuesday from 6 pm to 8 pm.