Archives for August 10, 2017

'Following the quick, ten minute scare with his ankle tweak a few days back, Sammy Watkins has returned back to be a full participant at practice without much, if any, restrictions during practices. The Bills and Watkins are both trying to put the foot surgery behind them and by doing so the Bills confirmed that Sammy Watkins will, in fact, be playing the full amount with the first-team offense — around one quarter of the game, to be exact.'

'Confusion reigned supreme for the last two seasons under Rex Ryan. Players were often getting the defensive calls in too late, not in proper position when the ball was snapped, or unable to relay what they needed to to each other while the offense moved around and was ready to go. The final straw for Ryan was having ten men on the field for a key play during overtime against the Dolphins, which was also a result of poor communication between coaches, staff, and players on the sidelines. New head coach Sean McDermott is known to be a detail-oriented guy. But this will be his first time overseeing the entire game day operation and making all the calls. We’ll see how he handles it all in his first crack at it.'

'McDermott's impact. It's not a regular season game, but seeing how well the Bills prepared for this game and how disciplined the team is will be a reflection of how McDermott has handled the head coaching duties. Rex Ryan is looser. His teams weren't disciplined. We'll see if any of that changes in the preseason. Hopefully it does.'

'Sammy Watkins is scheduled to play about a quarter in the Bills' preseason opener. Of course, the Bills will be crossing their fingers for his good health more than anything, but it's also imperative that he starts to look comfortable. Watkins needs to be able to play in a game and not worry about his foot or ankle or anything else. If Watkins can get back to playing without hesitation, that would be a nice development.'

'Starting offense: The Bills defense from three years ago, much of which remains, proved they could play in a 4-3 scheme. Will that translate? That's something to watch for. But comparatively, looking at the offense will be the more interesting option. Both units will likely keep the playbook shortened, but the offense is brand new and over the past two seasons with Rex Ryan, the better unit. Will Tyrod Taylor & Co. look smooth still?'

'Quarterbacks always raise the interest level in a preseason game, especially rookie draft picks. Quite honestly, it’s about the only thing that truly interests me about preseason games, watching how quarterbacks perform in live situations.'

'Will the team play it safe with Cordy Glenn and Shaq Lawson?'

'Let's not kid ourselves. NFL teams are just lucky to get through the preseason in one piece. Inevitably, a few players across the league will suffer devastating injuries during the preseason. If the Bills avoid one of those to a key player, they have nothing to complain about.'

'"My thing is to come off with as much intensity in every fiber in my body to get off the ball and put all that towards making the play and that's what I try to do every play," Yarbrough said. "I just try to be the biggest effort guy you've ever seen."'

'All games are televised live, which can't help ticket sales for what amounts to practice games. Rob Stone will be the play-by-play for Thursday's game. Andrew Catalon, who is Tasker's play-by-play man on CBS telecasts, is busy covering the PGA Championship this week but will work the other three preseason games. Rochester's Mike Catalana is the sideline reporter for all four games.'

'New Uber riders will get their first rides free, up to $15, when they use the code BUFFALOBILLS15.'

'Signature Cutz's barbers donate their time and skills at the training camp because of their love of the fans, said Kenny Harris, owner of Signature Cutz.'

'“It’s an important role,” said the second-year player out of Arkansas. “LeSean is a great running back and he’ll go down as a great running back, but that’s a physical position, a position you can’t play every down for the whole season. You need somebody to come in and spell him, and I don’t want there to be a drop-off when I’m in the game.”'

'Consider it one great “get’’ for new general manager Brandon Beane and coach Sean McDermott, who previously lost out on a chance to upgrade their needy wide receiver position when younger free agent Jeremy Maclin, 29, signed with Baltimore.'

'"It was the perfect storm. He was the underdog; I was a prototypical quarterback with size. He had the autistic son he did commercials with–that pulled at people's heartstrings; I was the surfer boy from California. A local radio station had this skit where they used a high-pitched voice for Doug, I guess because he was short, and I sounded like Spicoli from Fast Times at Ridgemont High. It was hilarious. That's how people thought of it."'