Buffalo Bills: Training Camp and Position Battles

Here we are.  Training camp is finally upon us and as Bills fans we get to have a little hope once again, and perhaps this year our hopes and dreams of glory will not be all together crushed just yet.

Trent Edwards is entering his third season and for once in this decade a Buffalo Bills quarterback has had the same offensive coordinator both seasons he started. 

Perhaps firing Dick Jauron wouldn't have been such a great thing because continuity is key in this league. 

The sky is the limit with the talent that is now in the locker room, but there are still a number of position battles that must be fought during training camp. 

The number one battle is less of a positional battle as it is basically the entire offensive line that needs to be solidified during this year's camp. 

We can expect Langston Walker to take over for the overrated and recently departed Jason Peters at left tackle, but Walker does have some competition that might transpire as the season goes on. 

I will say his name, but the talent has yet to be known fully—Demetrius Bell.  A seventh round pick from a year ago turned some heads ever so slightly in last years preseason—some say enough to hint that perhaps the Bills knew what they had in him and that is the reason that they didn't want to give Peters the big payday. 

Whatever the case is we will just have to wait and see during the season, as I highly doubt that Bell will have that good of a camp and preseason to take over on opening day. 

Elsewhere on the offensive line are more questions that need to be answered.  The Bills selected two offensive linemen on day one of this year's draft—Eric Wood and Andy Levitre—and many expect them to be day one starters. 

Wood was a college center who will likely convert to a guard this season and Levitre is expected to start opposite Wood at guard. 

Center will likely be shored up by recently signed Geoff Hangartner.  Hangartner was a reserve center/guard for the Carolina Panthers since they drafted him in 2005. 

He took over the center position in 2006 when starter Justin Hartwig was injured and has started 27 of 54 career games.  He has played admirably in all starts, earning him a contract with the Bills this off season. 

Last there is right tackle and this is a true position battle in some eyes. 

Brad Butler is penciled in to start but might see some fight in Kirk Chambers who saw playing time last season when Jason Peters was a holdout.  Chambers could also start for either Eric Wood or Andy Levitre if they do not impress in camp and the preseason. 

Another interesting position battle to keep an eye on during training camp and the preseason is at the weak-side linebacker position between incumbent starter Keith Ellison, rookie Nic Harris, and second-year backup Alvin Bowen. 

While Ellison has the most experience it is a commonly held belief that someone needs to take over as he has not exactly been the ideal candidate for the job.  This will be, to me, the most interesting position battle of the season. 

A close second as far as my interest goes would definitely have to be defensive end, particularly left defensive end. 

Buffalo spent its first first-round draft pick on Penn State DE Aaron Maybin and have high hopes for him as the Bills pass rush ranked near the bottom all of last season. 

While much of the reason the pass rush was so terrible was because the Bills were missing pro-bowl DE Aaron Schobel for much of the season, some of the blame can also be placed on the ineffectiveness of starting LE Chris Kelsay.

Look for Maybin to compete to take away Keslay's starting spot on the defensive line.  We cannot forget Chris Ellis, the third round pick from a year ago, who will, along with Copeland Bryan, compete for what will likely be a second-string spot at DE.  

While there will undoubtedly be other position battles I daresay that none will be as close as the ones I have already mentioned. 

For the first time in years the will be no sort of quarterback controversy, which lends to the continuity I spoke of concerning the coaching staff.  They know who and what they have in Trent Edwards and this is Trent's season.  Let's wait and see what he can do with it.  He has the weapons: let's hope the offensive line can block. 

The offensive line will be key in the turnout of another position battle.  Going into the 2009 season the Bills have a pretty clear cut battle at the running back position. 

Marshawn Lynch will likely become the featured back after his three-game suspension.  For those three games that Lynch won't play, touches will likely be split by Fred Jackson and newly-signed Dominic Rhodes.  Rhodes isn't coming to Buffalo to sit, he wants to play and wants to prove that it will be beneficial to the Bills organization to have a running back-by-committee approach to the game.

I wouldn't mind seeing all three backs getting plenty of touches this season.  I believe that Marshawn Lynch is the back of the future for the Bills, but with his hard running style I feel it be imperative that we conserve his touches. 

Lynch runs hard.  Extremely hard.  He puts a lot of wear and tear on his body.

With Jackson signing a four-year deal, it seems that the Bills staff agrees with me, or rather I agree with them. 

Buffalo has something special at the wide receiver position.  With Lee Evans and Terrell Owens, I expect greatness.  I'm not saying greatness is inevitable, because it's not, but with two extremely gifted receivers, you can expect to have greatness.  I don't think there is much doubt that these two will be the numbers one and two at wideout.

After Evans and Owens the Bills WR depth chart gets a little more unclear.  With Josh Reed, Roscoe Parrish, James Hardy (who will be on the PUP list for a while), and Steven Johnson likely to make the team's final 52-man roster, there will most certainly be some battling going on this season. 

I expect the see Josh Reed in the slot, but you can never be sure in the NFL.  Parrish hasn't quite lived up to the hype and many feel that he is too small to be an every down receiver, which is something I agree with. 

I personally like Steven Johnson.  He has shown us a glimpse of what he can do and he is most certainly a guy to watch in training camp. 

Training camp is here, and we will see what happens.

Guys to Watch (Other Than T.O.) in Training Camp and Preseason

1. Leodis McKelvin—McKelvin is entering his second year as a pro.  He has shown adequate ability as a starter last season when Jabari Greer was injured.  Look for him to have an excellent camp and even rival McGee for the number one spot.  The cool thing about Leodis is that when he gets the ball on D, he takes it for six.

2. Steven Johnson—a true diamond in the rough.  The coaching staff will likely decide that they need to get Johnson on the field. 

3. Xavier Omon—now that the Bills signed Dominic Rhodes, this sixth-round pick from a year ago might be done, but he might not if he works hard and proves that he is worth having another year on the roster.

4. Geoff Hangartner/O-Line—Hangartner is going to be interesting, as will the entire offensive line. 

5. Turk Schonert—Schonert needs to deliver what he promised last year—a wide open passing game with a little no huddle worked in. 

6. The Safeties—I didn't mention the safety position in the article for a reason. 

That reason is because I'm not sure what exactly is going to go on.  I expect Donte Whitner to start at strong safety but that isn't nearly certain. 

Jarius Byrd is another guy to watch and could be electrifying. 

Ko Simpson might have played his way into a reserve role at free safety and Bryan Scott will certainly see playing time this season at strong safety.