Archives for June 22, 2017

'The Bills added veteran cornerbacks Shareece Wright and Leonard Johnson, a former Panther, in the offseason and both will provide competition. However, Seymour did plenty to establish himself as a worthy candidate for significant playing time. During offseason workouts, he worked inside, covering the slot receiver in nickel defense, as well as outside.'

'That 2004 team, which finished with a 9-7 record, has a unique distinction. The website Football Outsiders, which analyzes the NFL through use of advanced metrics, calls the 2004 Bills the best team of this century to miss the playoffs. The Bills had Football Outsiders' No. 1 defense and special teams that year, according to the website's DVOA (defense-adjusted value over average), which measures the success of each play based down and distance, then makes a comparison to the NFL average baseline adjusted for situation and opponent.'

'I'd say that documentary probably was about six months, between finding out who we're gonna shoot, getting in contact with them, going to Buffalo to shoot it, coming up with the voice narration. The voiceover was written by us, so it took a long time to put the thing together.'

'"You have somebody with five kids like I do, the opportunity to come in here, just smile and take a few pictures, you never know what that may do for the spirits of parents or kids," Williams said. "It's always fun to come in and spend a little time with those guys.'''

'"Granted, McDermott has never been a head coach," said Harrison. "He's also taking over a franchise that underwent a front-office shift just months after he accepted the job. The Bills' new rookie GM, Brandon Beane, is a familiar face to McDermott, as the two worked together in Carolina. Worth noting here that McDermott's lack of experience as a head coach does not make him unqualified for the post. … He just wrapped up eight straight seasons as a defensive coordinator (for the Eagles and Panthers), fielding a top-10 defense in half of them. Five of those teams made it to the postseason."'

'He had a two-hour meeting with the Pegulas, who peppered him with questions. What did you learn? What will you do for our locker room? What will you do with your platform?'

'"A lot of growing up, a lot of maturing, a lot of figuring out who I am, what I want out of life," he says. "Back then, that guy didn't realize the ramifications his actions had. He was living in the now. Now that I got some time between me and him, I just shake my head and smile and work to distance myself every day from that guy."'

'On Football Outsiders advanced metric scale the Bills 2004 defense, which featured players like Sam Adams, Pat Williams, Aaron Schobel, London Fletcher, Takeo Spikes, Nate Clements and Lawyer Milloy, was the fourth-best defensive unit in the NFL in the last 30 years.'