Archives for August 11, 2017

'"It felt great," Watkins said after the game. "Just to be getting hit. That was the best feeling to get back on the field. I think that's all it took was getting tackled, a couple of balls. The first game is like flying bullets out there. I just had to get acclimated."'

'Tyrod Taylor got three series with the first-team offense before the Bills’ pulled the starters out of the game. He briefly got checked by trainers after taking a sack but didn’t miss a play. The Bills mustered only three points on those three drives, but Taylor had some positive moments. He finished 5-for-8 passing for 46 yards and escaped a sack for a gain of two yards. The most encouraging sign from Taylor was how often he was looking Sammy Watkins’ way.'

'Eddie Yarbrough started in place of Shaq Lawson on Thursday night and the defensive end continued his strong play. Yarbrough finished the game with three total tackles, one sack and one near-sack during his time on the field. It seems that the defensive end is well on his way to making the Bills' 53-man roster.'

'Peterman hardly thinks he’s arrived. He knows training camp has been a struggle at times, and even his debut had some rough patches. But, man, did it feel good to just play.'

'"Now they've got a veteran presence in that receiving room who can help a Sammy Watkins and get him on track,"Wayne said. "At the same time, he's going to be one of those guys who can come in on third down, make a tight catch, keep the chains moving. He's not going to be a guy who's going to take the top off the secondary. But he's going to be a guy who can work the inside … work in between the hash and the numbers. Just his presence on that team, he can kind of lead the way, show these young players who to be a true professional."'

'Talk to people at ECU and in Greenville, and you might believe Zay Jones has character you can only dream about. Name a box, and Jones checks it. He set an NCAA career record with 399 catches, had a 3.6 GPA and led the team in community service hours. He set the standard in the weight room and learned every wide receiver position in the Pirates’ offense. Now he’s preparing for his rookie season with the Buffalo Bills after getting drafted in the second round.'

'Boldin just signed with the team, so him not dressing isn't a shock. Meanwhile, Lawson is dealing with a groin injury, Glenn and Seymour have dealt with foot soreness and Davis and Butler have concussions.'

'"(Peterman) moved the offense," McDermott said. "His first chance to get out there in an NFL game, I thought he handled himself well, was poised, showed great composure, did face some pressure, which was expected and did a nice job."'

'Nothing's changed: Count em'. Ten penalties, 106 yards. Ouch. The Bills had a big problem taking too many penalties under former head coach Rex Ryan, and that appears to be continuing under McDermott. Comparatively, Minnesota took three for 36 yards. In addition, four times the Bills took penalties during a special teams play. Can't be doing that.'

'Taylor also avoided a scare when he came up limping after Vikings defensive end Everson Griffen fell on him for an 11-yard sack on Buffalo's opening drive. Taylor completed the series and was evaluated under a tent on the sideline before being cleared to return.'

'Buffalo's rookie quarterback, Nathan Peterman, completed 13 of 25 attempts for 112 yards and tossed a 1-yard touchdown to Dez Lewis to make it 17-10 with 10:16 left in the fourth quarter.'

'The Bills had a chance to tie the game in the final minutes. Nate Peterman converted a 4th down to Daikeil Shorts to keep the game alive, but a bad snap ended the game on the next set of downs.'

'I thought the first team defense looked very sharp. Jerry Hughes got a sack and Eddie Yarbrough had two filling in for the injured Shaq Lawson. Yarbrough has had a very good training camp and is making a very early bid to make this team and contribute.'

'There were a lot of things different about Sean McDermott's team as opposed to Rex Ryan's team, even down to the end of the field the team warmed up (the tunnel end for the first time anyone I've spoken to can remember). But, this wasn't one of those things that was too different than what we’ve seen before. Too many times over the last couple years the Bills have hurt themselves with too many penalties. They did again in McDermott’s first game you as head coach, being called for 10 of them for 106 yards. Several were on special teams alone, which was notable. McDermott said after the game he can deal with aggressive penalties but not pre-snap flags. That's were several came from. It will have to be cleaned up.'

'The Cinderella story of training camp is now turning into the underdog story of the preseason. Eddie Yarbrough, who went from Denver Broncos 2016 training camp castoff, to 2017 Buffalo Bills afterthought, is now pushing to become the fan favorite to make the roster.'