Training camp is up and going as of this morning and the only faces yet to report are Aaron Schobel and C.J. "Lightning" Spiller. Right now, I think the bigger story between the two is Schobel's supposèd change of heart.
Myriad sources are reporting Schobel's interest in returning to the Bills and I figured now would be a good time to post the figures from a poll I put up on buffalo rumblings.
The question asked was, "When is it too late to bring Schobel back to Buffalo?" Keep in mind the poll closed the 27th and was posted the 15th.
Here are the responses:
1) "Already too late" (43 votes/ 21%)
2) "Too late if he's a no-show at 1st week of training camp" (55 votes/ 27%)
3) "By the 1st preseason game" (40 votes/ 20%)
4) "By the 1st regular season game" (15 votes/ 7%)
5) "Never too late" (46 votes/ 23%)
Total votes: 199
According to these numbers, if he doesn't fulfill his hopes to make up his mind about returning within the 10-day window which was talked about on Tuesday (effectively missing the first week of camp) then about half of Bills fans believe it would be too late to bring him back to try to learn a new position and adapt to the 3-4 defense. I can't blame those that would make the argument that it would be too difficult for him to do that, but looking at the roster I would rather have Schobel starting at OLB than Chris Kelsay. In my opinion, the potential return of Schobel to the Bills D is great news and I hope he does ultimately come back. Even if it takes time for him to acclimate to the position and the staff leaves him on the bench for a few games until he is ready to start he will nonetheless make this team better. He's tenured, mature, a leader on and off the field, and a heck of a playmaker. I can only hope that translates to his play as a linebacker as well. Let's keep our eyes peeled as this story develops.
As for Spiller, nothing to say other than I hope the contract gets done soon so we can see how he does at NFL speed in pads. He'll be at camp, it's only a matter of when. Luckily the man taken one pick before Spiller has reportedly signed a deal, so that should grease the wheels of this process.
I'm looking forward to seeing who is first in rotations with the 1st unit at QB. I know Gailey says not to put much stock in who gets 1st team reps at the start of camp, but c'mon! We're dieing to know what's gonna happen at QB this season and this will be our first real indication. As an aside, wouldn't it be interesting if Chan threw whoever he sees as the #2 candidate in to take first team reps first? I don't think it would be a bad tactic because it would really light a fire and get the competition flooring. I think if Fitz or Brohm are taking snaps with the 1st team today that's what he's doing because, of the QB quartet, it's hard not to see Edwards as the leader at this point. It could be a good motivating tactic.
How about those RBs Jackson and Lynch? Let's see how they end up being used in the offense. I'm an outspoken Lynch advocate and I hope he gets as many reps as Jackson. Who knows? This is a new regime and a new offense; maybe they'll see him as the probowl running back he was in 2008 and give him a shot at redemption.
Last few notes:
Good to know that Bell is good to practice in pads and won't be on the sidelines. We need all the O-line help we can get.
Not good to hear that Poz will be limited (though I have no doubts that he will have a monster season) because it'd be best for the D if he were as well prepared as he can be for the start of the season. Wish he would've had whatever surgery he had done sooner, but I'm sure he and the doctors were trying to assess the severity as he rested after OTAs. Hopefully this ensures his health throughout the season. Silver lining is that Mitchell will now have a better chance to improve and compete for the other ILB position vs. Davis, so we can be relatively certain that our ILBs will be dope this season.
Eight 2-a-day practices? Yeah, this will be a great training camp and should whip this squad into shape much better than the day spa Jauron seemed to be running. I've read predictions ranging from the Bills finishing 2-14 and last in the NFL to finishing 7-9 and 3rd in the AFC East (I'm not gonna count one report that I read predicting 8-8 based on Madden '11 but here's the link). I haven't gone so far as predicting to an exact figure what they'll finish (maybe if I get the time I'll go through their schedule and really take a look at how they match up to their opponents to try and make an informed prediction) but I pray it's not so low as two wins.
At this point nobody really knows what this team is, but starting today we'll start to get a good idea. Keep your eyes peeled for coverage. The pads are on, the team's taking the field, friggin' can't wait for the season to start, been too long. Go Bills!
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