The Buffalo Bills defense was flying around the field and made plenty of plays on Wednesday when the team held their second - and final - mandatory minicamp session, this time on the turf at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park.
After the practice, the team announced it has canceled what would have been their third practice on Thursday.
In one of the early plays of the 11-on-11 session, cornerback Tre’Davious White had an excellent breakup of a pass headed for Stefon Diggs, and it just continued from there.
Safety Jordan Poyer was trailing a tight end as he was headed down the field and did a great job to get his hand on the ball to knock it away.
Right before that, linebacker Tremaine Edmunds got to a ball and made the play to break it up. Edmunds appeared to have a shot at an interception as he was diving for it, but didn’t catch it. He went to the sidelines and did, what looked like, some self-imposed push-ups for not coming up with the pick.
Linebacker Joe Giles-Harris intercepted a ball thrown by quarterback Davis Webb, while linebacker Marquel Lee and safety Micah Hyde had terrific reads to get themselves in position to make plays. Lee broke up a pass, and Hyde probably would have if there was contact allowed, as he was flying hard to the play and had it timed up perfectly, drawing plenty of cheers from his defensive mates on the sideline.
Cornerback Levi Wallace intercepted quarterback Josh Allen, but defensive end Mario Addison was offsides on the play, forcing Allen out of the pocket early. Allen may not have thrown it otherwise, but it was still a good play by Wallace to step in front of the pass and corral it.
Offensive struggles:
Allen’s offense didn’t have a particularly good day statistically, especially early. There were far too many incompletions, one caused by a miscommunication between Allen and wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders, as well as a couple dropped passes, including by Sanders and running back Taiwan Jones.
Wide receiver Isaiah Hodgins also had a ball ripped out after what appeared to be a catch (it could have been a pass breakup, it was hard to tell from my vantage point). That play was made by second-year cornerback Dane Jackson, who continued to have a strong minicamp.
On another play, quarterback Jake Fromm threaded the needle between two defenders to wide receiver Duke Williams. However, the ball popped out of Williams’ arms as he hit the ground. It was unclear whether or not he had been touched to end the play, but as the ball was in the air, undrafted free agent safety Tariq Thompson was quick to react and grab it.
Standouts:
Even though the defense won the day, the offense still had a couple players who stood out on the positive side.
I felt quarterback Mitchell Trubisky had a strong few weeks from the sessions the media was allowed to watch, and that included on Wednesday. Granted, there is no touching the quarterback, but he was patient and good with lots of bodies around him, stepping up and making the right reads and good throws.
Last year, there were no OTAs or minicamps to see any of the rookies. It’s a much different situation this year, and I’ve been very impressed with first and second round defensive ends Greg Rousseau and Carlos "Boogie" Basham. Obviously, there's no full contact yet, but Rousseau's length and (in this setting) athleticism has stood out.
A couple of running back notes:
First, Antonio Williams is big and strong. It’s easy to see the difference between him and the other backs when he’s out on the field with them. He runs hard and tough.
Second, Christian Wade, once again exempt because he’s part of the International Pathway Program, has really done a great job of working on and learning the finer points and fundamentals of the position, at least when he’s running with the ball. How to tuck and carry it, where and when to cut to maximize effectiveness and efficiency, and shifting his body to get through tacklers and holes while maintaining balance and getting right back to moving forward.
Both Wade and Williams are considered long shots to make the final roster, but it will be interesting to watch them push for jobs at training camp, which is when the team will next be on the field at the end of July.
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