1 – QBs fare well in two-minute drillBuffalo's offense had a pretty solid day as the first week of camp winds down. On Thursday they saw their first two-minute drill work in team and the first, second and third units all performed well.
"I thought it was the best practice we had offensively the entire camp," said head coach Rex Ryan. "Our quarterbacks really had some good moments. I thought all three of those quarterbacks did a nice job in the two minute."
The situation was end of the half with the goal to get some points on the board. Drive starts were at their own 30. Matt Cassel led the starters and got the team in position to try a long field goal. Cassel and the offense overcame a 1st-and-20 situation after an offensive pass interference call. His best throw came on a 3rd-and-7 conversion to Robert Woods to keep the drive alive.
Tyrod Taylor led the second unit. He and TE Chris Gragg connected on three of four plays, including a 4th-and-2 conversion at their own 38. Two plays later Taylor hit Gragg for a 22-yard play down the seam, which put the offense in field goal range at the defense's 25-yard line.
"Anytime you get into a game situation your instincts definitely come out," said Taylor. "Playmakers emerge and that's what happened. We had a couple of guys show up in the two-minute drill that we haven't seen much from in this training camp, but they made plays and that's what we need."
EJ Manuel with the third unit overcame a 1st-and-20 situation from a holding call and converted a 4th-and-3 at the 48 hitting Justin Brown for a first down. On the next play Manuel hit Andre Davis on a deep post for a 41-yard touchdown with 24 seconds left on the clock.
2 – Rex, Terry Pegula take dog biscuit challengeIn conjunction with the SPCA, Rex Ryan accepted the dog biscuit eating challenge after practice Thursday and ate two mini-Milkbone biscuits and then nominated the Pegula family dog Sidney. Sidney obliged and then coach Ryan stated that Sidney nominated her owner Terry Pegula. Buffalo's owner obliged and ate a dog biscuit as well.
"Terry Pegula is the biggest animal lover I've ever met," said Ryan. "I have four rescue animals, I have two dogs, my wife has two cats. So I was more than happy to do it. It's a great cause."
Pegula then challenged Marcell Dareus to eat a dog biscuit.
"I'm going to challenge… because he's like a dog on a bone… Marcell Dareus."
We'll keep you posted on whether Dareus follows through.
3 – McCoy returns with a bangHe missed the last two practices due to soreness in his toe, but LeSean McCoy seemed no worse for the wear in practice Thursday. Darting through holes, juking defenders, catching passes out of the backfield, McCoy was his typical electric self.
"He looked average," joked Ryan. "We all know, there are only two or three guys max who can make the runs that he makes. He shows patience. He shows timing. He shows speed. He can jump cut and run with surprising power. Nothing he does is going to surprise me at this point. We're happy we have him."
Bonus notesRyan revealed that Leodis McKelvin's injury is pretty severe and that the cornerback has his foot in a protective boot. The head coach said McKelvin suffered a setback in his return from his ankle surgery last offseason. Ryan said McKelvin will play this season, but has no timetable as to when that might be.
Sammy Watkinspulled himself out of practice after the first series of 11-on-11 team work citing soreness from his surgically repaired hip.
"I got out there and wanted to compete, but I didn't feel like I had the burst or speed so why not sit out a day instead of going out there and creating an injury and getting hurt," said Watkins. "This is only the second week so coach was smart in taking me out today. There's no pain, there's just soreness. Certain days I feel good, certain days I have to work through the stiffness."
Cyrus Kouandjioreturned to practice after pulling out of Wednesday's session with knee soreness. He ran mainly with the second unit at right tackle and even got a few left tackle reps.
Cyril Richardsongot some snaps at offensive tackle on both the right and left side. He hasn't played tackle since his sophomore year at Baylor, but seemed to transition relatively well to the edge.
