Pittsford, N.Y. (WGR 550) - There's always something special about the first day of pads when football season begins.
Whether it's Pop Warner, high school, college, or even the NFL, there's a different sort of energy and excitement for the players who are putting them on, the coaches who are evaluating them, or in the case of Buffalo Bills training camp, the thousands of fans who are watching.
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Up to this point at St. John Fisher University, everything that's happened has been planned, as far as reps and rotation. But things start to change once the pads come on and players start to separate themselves by how they perform in a more physical environment.
The pads came on for practice on Monday, which included helmets, shoulder pads, padding in the pants. All of it.
While some drills are more physical than others, players will still not be tackling each other to the ground for an actual tackle. It's what coaches call "up-thud," just getting to the ball carrier and making impact on the upper-body while wrapping up, but not dropping him.
All of that said, no matter what drill or session of practice is going on, the quarterback is never supposed to be touched. That's why they wear red jerseys, along with specialists and players dealing with injuries.
Unfortunately, that wasn't the case near the very end of practice when Bills quarterback Josh Allen was attempting to catch a pass on a trick play near the sideline in the end zone.
Cornerback Taron Johnson was defending, and as Allen stopped at the sideline, Johnson kept going to the ball and knocked him down.
Allen laid on the ground for a brief moment, appeared to point to his stomach as if the wind was knocked out of him, got up and walked slowly over to the rest of the offense. He then took a knee and was smiling and laughing in-between offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey and wide receiver Stefon Diggs.
The Bills quarterback did not take another rep, but there were only one or two more plays left in practice.
Here's some more of what stood out during Monday's training camp practice at St. John Fisher University:
Cook and Diggs get it started
On the very first play of 11-on-11, running back James Cook got free on the edge for a huge run down the sideline. He was eventually pushed out of bounds by Micah Hyde, but not before a big gain.
Just two plays later, Allen took a deep shot to Diggs, who was covered by Dane Jackson. It had just started raining a few moments before, and the ball didn't seem to come out of Allen's hand cleanly. It wasn't a tight spiral and was a bit underthrown, but Diggs made a great adjustment back to the ball to grab it for a long gain.
James is cooking
That first run was just another example of the strong training camp James Cook is having.
Through the first four practices, it's been hard and even unfair to get a true evaluation, because there's been no live hitting. He's looked good running the ball, but his pass-catching has stood out as well.
His first run happened against the starting defense on Monday in a live environment.
I've seen nothing up to this point that suggests Cook won't be the main ball carrier for the offense this regular season.
Another Diggs day
It wasn't just the long play that saw Allen and Diggs hook up. The two continued their strong connection with several more completions, including one in the red zone during 11-on-11 for a score.
Bates for Morse
Since we don't get actual injury updates on a daily basis during training camp, there was no official reason given, but center Mitch Morse took very few team reps after the first 11-on-11 period.
Morse stood on the sideline or with the non-participants of a play behind the offense with his helmet in hand. He never left the field, which is encouraging.
Ryan Bates took his spot at center with rookie O'Cyrus Torrence playing the majority of first-team snaps at right guard. Torrence has seen quite a bit of action with that unit throughout the first five practices.
Play of the day
I'm going to give wide receiver Gabe Davis the play of the day for Monday.
During 1-on-1's with the defensive backs, Davis had a perfectly timed high point of the ball, in stride, over-top of cornerback Tre’Davious White, stayed on his feet and sprinted down the sideline for a would-be touchdown.
White was very upset at himself.
Those two have had some great battles this training camp.
First and Second-Team update
Up to this point, it's been mainly Dane Jackson opposite Tre'Davious White as the second starting cornerback. That was the case again on Monday, with Kaiir Elam and Christian Benford in the group behind them.
At linebacker, Matt Milano manned his normal weakside position with the starters, and was joined by Terrel Bernard in the middle. A.J. Klein was the Mike (middle linebacker) with the second-team, while Tyrel Dodson backed up Milano at Will (weakside).
Baylon Spector (MLB) and Dorian Williams (WLB) were the third group in.
These combinations not only change daily, but within each practice. It's probably going to be a while before they settle on roles.
Damar plays, speaks
Safety Damar Hamlin has been a full participant in camp every day since it started. Monday was no different once the pads came on.
Hamlin was a second-team safety, along with Taylor Rapp, backing up Hyde and Jordan Poyer.
After practice, he spoke with the media for the first time in several months, then signed plenty of autographs for fans.
Related
Next Up:
The Bills will be back on the practice field for another 9:45 a.m. ET start time on Tuesday.
We are scheduled to hear from defensive backs coach and passing game coordinator John Butler at around 9:15 a.m. ET.
Follow me on Twitter: @SalSports
