Orchard Park, N.Y. (WGR Sports Radio 550) – Joe Brady is holding his first mandatory minicamp as head coach of the Buffalo Bills. Ahead of Tuesday's opening practice of mandatory minicamp, he says all players on the roster were in attendance.
Brady feels the team has had great attendance through the whole offseason, but remember, it's been optional until this week.
Running back James Cook is one player that hasn't been here for much of OTAs (organized team activites), but he knows Brady, who has been his offensive coordinator for parts of the last three seasons.
“You never go into a game with the mindset of, 'This is how many carries he's going to have,' but it does pile up throughout the season, and I give him a lot of credit," said Brady of his running back. "You go back to the offseason he had last year, he was able to withstand that, and I know he was asked a lot last season. I would love to be able to get Ray [Davis], Ty [Johnson] and Frank [Gore Jr.] involved, but James was playing at such a high level last year, and he was in such a rhythm and routine that I felt confident in him to be able to uphold that. But we're looking at everything.”
The players won't be wearing pads until training camp, so much of the things now will look different once the pads come on. Brady says there's still much to be gained this week.
“I don't ever say that this time of the year isn't important. Yes, I know they may be 'in pajamas' right now and the o-line/d-line game, it is real like pads, but it's not different from a receiver and a DB really," he explained. "Pads come on and different players play differently. It's important to see the technique and the communication, but it is hard to make some of the judgements. But as a receiver, it might be easier receiving the ball thrown, but I like the competition we've had. But there's going to be a lot of opportunities for these guys, and it's up to them to go take it.”
Linebacker Dorian Williams got hurt at the end of last season, and is being counted on to be a big part of the Bills defense. Brady says progress is being made there.
“Dorian's handling everything the right way, and he'll be ready to go. I'm excited for him," he said.
“It's been a great opportunity for him, similar to some of the other guys, and Dorian has been getting a lot of reps and a lot of mental reps.”
Brady is putting a lot of emphasis into this week, because he likes the direction the team in going in.
“What are these next two days going to look like? We have a six-week break (before training camp), it's a long break. But I'm not focused on that right now," Brady acknowledged. "We're going to go out and have two good practices, and then training camp will take care of itself.”
There are three practices on the schedule for this week, so Brady may be canceling Thursday's scheduled practice, which has been the case in past years.
Many of the players know Brady as an assistant coach with the Bills, but, of course, there's a learning curve now that they're playing for him as the head coach.
“I think it's important every day that you set a standard and you show examples of what the standard looks like," Brady said. "I'm sure there's an adjustment, but at this point next year, I'm going back to building the foundation and not skipping steps. But we have an eager group and really good leadership that helps me when my message is out there, because if the guys don't back it up and believe in it and spread it, it's only going to reach so far.”
In the past during this break, Bills quarterback Josh Allen likes to get together with the wide receivers and not only throw, but have meals and bond. Brady loves that about QB1
“Some of it is just getting the guys together in the summer, because you can only run so much," he said. "You know how I feel about connected football teams, and I think those are great opportunities for guys to get together. Yes they throw, but after that, are they breaking break together? Are they hanging with each other? I think that's so valuable, and that's part of the reason we go away for training camp. And that's just another extension of it.”
The Bills have two fullbacks listed on their roster right now in Jackson Acker and Ben VanSumeren. VanSumeren has played 21 games with the Philadelphia Eagles, while Acker was signed as a rookie free agent out of the University of Wisconsin.
“[Fullback is] such a unique position, because there's a lot else that comes with it," Brady said of that competition. "You don't ever want to have a fullback just to have a fullback. It's, 'Can they contribute on special teams? Does their skillset give us an adavantage with the defense we're playing?' We need to get some pads on and see what these guys can and cannot do.”
Brady also said Tuesday that wide receiver Keon Coleman has had an outstanding offseason, and is in a really good place with his game.
