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2022 Training Camp

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Top 3 things to know from Last Day of 2022 Bills Training Camp

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The Buffalo Bills wrapped up their time at St. John Fisher University Thursday with their final practice of training camp before preseason.

Here are three things to know from Day 15 of training camp.

1. Josh Allen is comfortable with offense's progress

The Bills star quarterback won't play in the team's preseason opener against the Colts, but Allen had lots of positive things to say about the way the offense has progressed through training camp. He noted that he feels he's been on the same page with new offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey.

"I'd definitely say I'm comfortable with where things are at between me and Dorsey in terms of hearing his voice, and understanding what he's calling, why he's trying to call it," Allen said.

Though Allen may not be taking the field on Saturday, he has a mental rep process he'll be going on the sidelines through to stay sharp. Allen plans on wearing a headphone in one of his ears to hear the play calls being sent down from Dorsey and will also observe what type of defense the other teams are running.

"Obviously I think around the league, you don't really call what you're going to call in the season," Allen said. "But there are different ways that you can look at it in terms of, 'hey, this defensive coordinator that we're playing came from this system, so defensively, what are they doing? What can they do?'" 

Allen also praised wide receiver Isaiah McKenzie and said that the WR was one of the standout players on offense. Now entering his sixth-season, McKenzie is poised to be a big contributor to the offense.

"In terms of owning the offense and understanding it and being open to communication in terms of what I see, what he feels like he should do on certain routes," Allen shared. "We know he's fast, we know he's got all the tools and all that, I think he kind of stands out to me."

It's unclear how much Allen will play in the preseason, but the QB isn't worried about whether or not he gets snaps in preseason before Week 1.

"No preference," Allen said. "It's football, I love going out there and playing. So, I don't know if it's game two, game three, no games, I'm getting ready for the season opener. Whatever coach says is what I'm willing to do and we'll go from there."

2. Team scrimmage headlines final practice

A majority of Thursday's practice was dedicated to a live 11-on-11 scrimmage with tackling, mixed in with walk-thru periods.

Early on, the defense had the upper hand. On the second play of the scrimmage, linebacker Tremaine Edmunds nearly had a diving interception as the defensive line got pressure on Allen. Later, safety Micah Hyde made a clean tackle in space on wide receiver Stefon Diggs to hold him to a quick gain.

On the next series, Devin Singletary got things rolling for the offense with a big run. The Bills RB broke through the line of scrimmage and then juked a defender in the openfield to put the offense across midfield. 

When the offense drove into the red zone, Hyde was able to come away with an interception in the end zone. CB Kaiir Elam was matched up with WR Gabe Davis and the two went stride-for-stride to the back corner of the end zone with Allen's throw bouncing off the back of Elam's jersey and into the air where Hyde was able to dive and make the INT. 

"Great play by (Kaiir). Good eyes by him, seeing the receiver run that route, instead of blocking. I think he turned his head at the last second and got his head around a little bit, bounced off his pads, and I was just right there just trying to hold on to the ball."

The offense rebounded toward the end of the scrimmage as Allen found WR Jamison Crowder over the middle for a big play to get near the red zone and then the team capped off the drive with an Allen-to-McKenzie touchdown.

3. Hyde ready for live snaps

Micah Hyde had a bit of a scare early in training camp with a hip/glute injury while making an interception but returned after only a few days and hasn't missed a beat to close out camp.

"I feel great," Hyde said. "Got a little bruised up a couple days into camp, but I'm a fast healer. Still young, so I'm able to heal fast and get back out there and run around with these young guys."

Hyde isn't sure how much he'll play in the preseason but did stress the importance of getting live reps, whether it be in a scrimmage setting like Thursday or in preseason.

"I think it's important, No. 1, to go live before Week 1. I think that's huge," Hyde explained. "At the same time, I think that when you do it in practice, kind of like today, it's more controlled. Sean's able to have an early whistle, guys are creating a pile, no one's diving on each other. And so, in the game, it's free for all. I think it's a lot safer in practice."

The competition at practice has been intense, especially once players started putting pads on at the start of the second week. With both an offense and defense that are thought to be among the best in the league, Hyde has seen growth in the defense even without the live reps of preseason games.

"A great quarterback, great receivers, run game, all that type of stuff. It's putting a lot of pressure on our defense, so we're getting a very good look in practice."

Scroll through to see photos from the last day of Training Camp at St. John Fisher.

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