Archives for July 29, 2017

'"I feel good," he said. "I feel the same. I feel young. I feel about 25. Making the same runs, same cuts that feel good. I feel explosive. That's my game — being explosive, quick. So when that kind of turns, and that leaves, then I'll be in trouble, but for now I feel fine. I can keep doing this until I'm about 33 man."'

'"It’s funny. I was talking to a couple guys just yesterday, last night, and I was telling them how much difference a year can make," Williams said after Day 2 of training camp on Friday. "Last year I was coming out here and I was still kind of dealing with a foot injury and it was new. It was my first year coming back off of an injury. I didn’t play the year before and now coming out here, being able to take those "two" reps and learn from Shady, feel like I’m more a part of the team."'

'LeSean McCoy is by far the most talented player on the field. You really only need to see him run once, exploding into the open field and cutting away from would-be tacklers in a blink, to recognize how much better he is than everyone around him on both sides of the ball. It says something about McCoy's long-standing status as an elite running back, but also says something about the fact the Bills have no other truly elite players on their roster. McCoy's running and receiving are what give the offense any hope for success, so the trick will be making sure not to overwork his 29-year-old legs.'

'Dareus wasn't required to answer to the media, but he'll need to answer for the six-year contract worth $96 million he signed two years ago. For the mathematically challenged, that's $16 million per season, or $1 million per game, over the life of the deal. They're paying him to be an integral part of their defense, but he has grossly underachieved for various reasons since getting his money. It's hard to fathom a worse contract in football.'

'The pressure is already there, mostly from the league. The most influential owners (and even the less influential ones) see New Era Field as being woefully outdated and substandard when compared with the state-of-the-art facilities popping up throughout the NFL. They, along with Commissioner Roger Goodell and other league executives, are pushing extremely hard for this to happen.'

'Ownership has to be pleased with the public's faith in an untested new regime. Most fans don't have high expectations about this season, but they seem encouraged and confident that Beane and McDermott are competent NFL men who will get things turned around.'

'Well I think everybody’s still got a little bit of work to do – I don’t think anybody by any stretch of imagination have graduated from grad school or nothing, I think there’s always work to be done. But he, along with the other guys in the room are willing to do that from what I’ve seen. Just going through the meetings, we had an interactive meeting where there were a lot of questions being fired at them and they answered them very well.'

'McDermott did say the Bills planned to be careful with Glenn's workload, but it's a good sign for Henderson that he stepped in with the starters. While he still has to serve a five-game suspension, if Henderson can prove his worth to the new coaching staff he might have a spot waiting for him when he returns.'

'“When I heard coach McDermott was a candidate to be head coach, I was thinking yeah, he was at Carolina, they ran a 4-3,” Lawson said. “I worked out with coach McDermott (prior to the 2016 draft) and the GM (Dave Gettleman), I had a private workout for them, so I was kind of familiar with their defense. It was pretty much what I was running at Clemson for three years, so when I heard, I was very happy.”'

'Now Ragland is back, hoping this visit to Rochester goes a little better. He’s also playing in a different defense, and that starting role Whaley and Ryan almost guaranteed him last year is quite the opposite. He and Preston Brown are battling for the middle linebacker spot in McDermott’s 4-3, and the veteran Brown may have the inside track based on three years of NFL experiences, and more defensive snaps than any player on the team in that span. Ragland could move out to the weak side spot if no one establishes an identity there.'

'The Bills' defensive line was getting quite the push on Friday afternoon. Jerry Hughes got into the backfield for a sack and Shaq Lawson picked up multiple sacks during practice. Of course, pads haven't come on yet, so it's tough to get a true evaluation of the linemen. That said, the defensive line has an early edge on the offensive line, and as was feared, right tackle looks like a bit of a weakness.'

'"I feel good," McCoy said after the Bills' second practice of training camp. "I feel the same. I feel young. I feel about 25. Making the same runs, same cuts that feel good. I feel explosive. That's my game — being explosive, quick. So when that kind of turns, and that leaves, then I'll be in trouble, but for now I feel fine. I can keep doing this until I'm about 33 man."'

'"We're going to make some plays and giving the ball to him when we think he's got some chances," said Dennison. "(McCoy's workload) is not my expertise. I'm trying to move the offense, and certainly he's one of our playmakers on offense."'

'McCoy will have a 92 overall rating, finishing behind Pittsburgh Steelers RB Le'Veon Bell (97) and Arizona Cardinals running back David Johnson (94).'

'"That’s one thing I haven’t done, I’ve been to the playoffs but haven’t won a playoff game. You just look for different things to improve on and get better; the chase, I call it chasing, I’m chasing a ring, I’m chasing different yardage, I’m chasing playoff wins. You just try to find things that motivate you working out, and motivate yourself," McCoy said.'