PITTSFORD — The first day of pads brings a little more juice to training camp.
The NFL collective bargaining agreement and increased awareness of concussions have limited the number of days teams are allowed to wear full pads. And football has trended towards a finesse game, rather than skull-cracking one. But make no mistake, football players look forward to the first day of hitting.
Not so fast, said Buffalo Bills head coach Joe Brady.
The Bills were scheduled to have their first day of full pads Monday, only for Brady to tweak it. The Bills started in full pads, did some ball security drills, some one-on-one work with the linemen and 7-on-7. And then they took them off — literally — on the sideline before resuming practice.
“I’ve always been bothered by coming out on the first day of pads and everyone’s adjusting and thinking about all the pads as opposed to the detail, the physicality, the mindset of how we want to practice,” Brady said. “Let’s wake up, let’s get used to the mentality that we have to put our pads on. … Tomorrow, it’s time to roll. … When we get to tomorrow, that’s why you play football.”
Per the CBA, teams aren’t permitted to have live contact before the end of the five-day acclimation period. They can’t wear full pads until that ends and three on-field practices have been completed.
After that, teams can’t wear full pads for more than three consecutive days and then can’t wear them for three practices after that. These practices can’t last longer than 2 ½ hours and teams only get 16 of them during the preseason.
Bills general manager Brandon Beane has said on multiple occasions he’s glad to be rid of the old days when teams would wear full pads daily, twice per day. Beane sees no reason to beat players up in August and risk having them for Week 1.
The Bills have shown under Brady they are more cognizant of injuries and have been willing to hold players out or limit them in practice if something ails them. Brady said Monday that injuries are part of football and he doesn’t worry about them every day, but the team just had an Achilles score with safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson, who will be out for an undisclosed amount of time with a right lower calf strain.
Still, hitting provides a better idea of how to evaluate players than running around in shorts and t-shirts. Players think and react differently when they are confronted with the prospect of getting hit.
“Offenses start to do pull schemes and some of the fun parts of football,” linebacker Michael Hoecht said on One Bills Live. “I’m sure there will be a couple welcome-to-the-NFL moments tomorrow.”
Still, Brady decided to take the acclimation period a bit longer. When Tuesday’s practice comes, he doesn’t want any excuses about players not having shoulder pads properly fitted or chinstraps buckled properly.
“Let’s get our focus today,” Brady said. “There’s going to be some of that today and I’m going to get on the guys for it. … I don’t want any excuses when they come out tomorrow. We’ve had the pads on, let’s go be a little physical with it.”
• Defensive tackle Deone Walker and Hoecht did not participate in team drills. Walker also worked with a trainer during individual drills.
• During the first 11-on-11 period, Damar Hamlin replaced Gardner-Johnson at safety. Geno Stone replaced Hamlin during the second 11-on-11 session.
• Terrel Bernard and Dorian Williams were the starting linebackers in each 11-on-11 period. But with both players still coming off injuries, neither took a ton of snaps and were replaced by Kaleb Elarms-Orr and Keonta Jenkins each time.
• Austin Corbett played left guard with the first-team offense during the first 11-on-11 period, while Alec Anderson replaced him during the second. Anderson has gotten the bulk of the first-team reps early in training camp.
• Wide receivers Keon Coleman, Mecole Hardman Jr., Austin Pettis and Max Tomczak and running back Ray Davis fielded punts.
• The Bills worked on red zone — particularly inside the 10-yard line — work Monday. Josh Allen hit James Cook, Dalton Kincaid and D.J. Moore for touchdowns. Nickelback Dee Alford nearly intercepted Allen in the end zone. While the Bills quarterbacks frequently picked on reserve safety Sam Franklin Jr., who gave up three touchdowns in coverage.