Pittsford, N.Y. - Buffalo’s first fully padded practice of training camp turned into a chippy one fast, with four fights breaking out Tuesday at St. John Fisher University and a couple of rookies right in the middle of the mess.
That kind of edge is expected once the pads come on. Four scuffles in one practice is not something the Bills have been dealing with very often, and Tuesday had the feel of a session where every hit seemed to carry a little extra weight.
Alec Anderson was one of the main figures in the day’s rough stuff, and he also may have grabbed an early edge in the left guard competition. He opened the first-team 11-on-11 work at that spot, though Austin Corbett did get first-team reps there later in practice.
The defensive side saw a lot of rotation at safety and nickel, with Sam Franklin Jr. doing a heavy load on Monday and getting a lighter day Tuesday. Damar Hamlin, Geno Stone and Jalon Kilgore were among the players taking those reps alongside Cole Bishop for much of the morning.
The best connection on the field belonged to Josh Allen and DJ Moore. Moore kept finding space on comebacks and in-breakers, then hauled in the longest play of camp so far on a throw and catch that looked as clean as it gets. The two have wasted no time building chemistry.
Allen was a little less spotless than he was in Monday’s rain, but there were still stretches where the offense kept the ball off the ground for five or six snaps in a row. Khalil Shakir was busy, Dalton Kincaid showed up down the seam more than once, and the passing game had plenty of rhythm at times.
There were also several defensive flashes that stood out. Jordan Hancock worked mostly with the second group and picked off a Kyle Allen pass after undercutting it perfectly. Dee Alford missed on two diving breakup attempts in one-on-ones, but he later showed real bite against the run in team periods.
Deone Walker said after practice that he tweaked his elbow and that is why he has missed the last two days. He added that he’ll be back soon.
On the Bills’ back end, Christian Benford nearly came away with a takeaway when he closed hard on a deep out from Allen to Moore and should’ve intercepted it. Rookie Toriano Pride Jr. made his own play on the ball later, getting back into phase on a deep throw from Shane Buechele to Mecole Hardman and knocking it away at the last second in the end zone. Hardman also looked noticeably twitchy in one-on-ones.
Ray Davis briefly looked in serious pain after being tackled on one carry, but about 15 minutes later he was cutting at full speed. He finished the day with a few handoffs, including one that ended in a fumble.
Kaleb Elarms-Orr kept popping up everywhere, including in the middle of one of the second-half skirmishes. He rotated with the first team all morning and made his presence felt in more ways than one.
He stayed stride for stride with Ty Johnson on a wheel route, diagnosed a screen perfectly, and plugged a running lane on Johnson as well. Elarms-Orr also started one of the fights after he hit Kincaid on a catch as the tight end was going to the ground.
Keon Coleman didn’t have a huge statistical day, but he did make one of the more impressive catches of practice. After Max Hairston undercut a short in-breaker but failed to knock it down, Coleman reacted instantly and snagged the tipped ball with one hand.
Josh Palmer had early success in one-on-ones and was open plenty to start. Allen missed him by a half yard on one go ball, and after Palmer won a few times, Davison Igbinosun answered with tight press coverage that forced Allen to throw the ball away.
Another fight came after T.J. Parker delivered a hard tackle in the flat.
Alec Anderson jumped right back into the fray, and it took a while to separate everybody. Keleki Latu also got a very light punch into the action.
The Bills will hold a walkthrough Wednesday that is closed to the public and media, then return for two more practices at St. John Fisher on Thursday and Friday before Saturday evening’s Return of the Blue & Red scrimmage at the new Highmark Stadium.
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