Zone read and errant throws fill Bills practice

Were the Buffalo Bills showing their hand slightly at what they are thinking behind closed doors about their quarterback position?

Or was it simply just Rex Ryan trying to get useful reps for both his offense and defense at the same time?

Whatever the case, the Bills spent a heavy portion of their practice time today with quarterbacks EJ Manuel and Tyrod Taylor running a zone-read package of plays, highlights that the Bills might be looking for one of these two athletes to really separate themselves from the slower Matt Cassel and each other, just for the dimension it would add from the position in what is sure to be a run-heavy attack.

“We’re working a lot of zone read against the defense,” coach Rex Ryan said.  “So we kind of split a period there, running some offensive things against some certain looks.”

“We’ll flip sometimes,” Ryan said.  “We’ll have EJ running it, because we’ll run, certainly some zone read with EJ at quarterback and we’ll do the same thing with Tyrod.”

Another wrinkle that was thrown in was wide receiver/special teams standout Marcus Thigpen was taking handoffs out of the backfield position during a chuck of the zone read plays.  Could Percy Harvin, someone who has thrived in these formations throughout his career, be in this spot during the regular season on certain plays to add even more looks?

Another take away from today was that the Bills might be in some trouble if they need to win games with just their quarterbacks.  Each one took turns flip-flopping between good and bad plays.

EJ Manuel continued to make some great throws in between just down-right awful ones.  His accuracy was all over the place and it makes you wonder if he really is just overthinking things instead of just letting it fly.  He is too gifted athletically  to let it all go to waste because he can’t figure out where to place the ball.

Cassel was ho-hum today with nothing really standing out.  Taylor made his what seems like a daily routine of escaping pressure before heaving a deep pass down the middle of the field for a touchdown to Chris Hogan.

The Bills are going to do just about everything possible to let EJ Manuel win the starting job.

Taylor is still the long shot with Cassel the 1B quarterback at the moment.

Quick Slants

• Wide receiver Percy Harvin continues to line up at cornerback and what is making it interesting it he is getting a decent amount of reps, including with the starters, defending in goal line work.  What makes it stand out is that it is something that could make a ton of sense in certain situations for the Bills when they are trying to show a different look.  Harvin is a superb athlete, and in red zone coverage he won’t have a ton of space behind him.  His main goal will just be keeping guys in front of him, and he was showing a little bit of man-on-man coverage on certain snaps too.  It is just something to keep an eye on as camp continues.
• While Harvin is in the discussion, the entire group of wide receivers as a whole looked outstanding today from top-to-bottom.  While the usual suspects Sammy Watkins, Robert Woods and Chris Hogan were playmakers again today, one person who stepped up today was Deonte Thompson, who had two long touchdowns in which he shook his man, and then burned right back him.  The fourth-year receiver out of Florida was signed off the Baltimore Ravens practice squad last year, and has 4.3 speed.  He is certainly a long-shot with 13 others at the position on the training camp roster.  This is a position that is stacked with talent.
• For a group of players that was not highly regarded before camp, what a difference a week of practices can make.  The Bills running game has looked stronger and stronger each day camp has gone on and the offensive line as an entire unit has been great in opening up holes for the running backs.  Let’s see how good this unit looks this Saturday at the team’s scrimmage.  It will be a big group of players to watch, as the success of the offense as a whole will come down to how well the Bills are able to run the football.
• LeSean McCoy has not participated in two straight days of team practice.  Coach Ryan called the injury a sore, swelling toe, that wouldn’t hamper him in the near future.  He noted that the main thing wasn’t that McCoy was able to play in this weekend’s scrimmage, but that he was “ready to roll when there are live bullets” when the regular season begins September 13.
• Both the offensive and defensive line lost a member today.  Both offensive tackle Cyrus Kouandjio and defensive end Jarius Wynn had to leave practice early due to knee injuries.  Rex Ryan also updated the status on running back Anthony Dixon, who was injured days ago.  He has a pulled calf, one that Ryan said could linger for a few weeks.  A disappointed Dixon was stopped after practice, repeating his head coach on how long he could be out saying, “It just feels like a little cramp. It’s coming along.”  While he wished he could be out there with his teammates, he noted that he “Just [has] to stay mentally prepared” and get ready as best as possible for the season.