Archives for August 25, 2017

'On Thursday, he admitted “any player would get frustrated after hearing they’re getting traded.” But a conversation with both McDermott and General Manager Brandon Beane put McCoy’s mind at ease. According to McCoy, “the best thing” about being in Buffalo is “the guys we have, especially in the upper office, we can talk to them — and they’re honest. I asked them about it and it was false, some people making things up.”'

'“This is a lot going on with this whole Kaepernick situation. In this country you can believe what you want," McCoy said. "Freedom of speech. If guys want to stand, they can stand. I think maybe they can choose a better platform to state their beliefs. One thing I learned about just here in America is that people, they’re followers. There’s some that you may ask about these different topics, but they’ll say what they heard, not what actually know, even with the Kaepernick situation."'

'“The first thing I noticed was his leadership, and it hasn’t changed,” McDermott said of his seventh-year quarterback. “He’s just about the first one in the building and one of the last to leave. So from a head coach’s standpoint, I appreciate that. I know his teammates appreciate that about him.'

'“Reggie has made some progress. He’s getting more time at the linebacker spot. You can see more of a burst, but still not quite where we need him to be to make it a point where Preston would be in jeopardy of losing his job,’’ Frazier said. “It’s not at that point yet. Preston’s doing a good job for us. He’s had a good preseason (and) a good offseason in general. Reggie’s making progress, but we still need to see more and we’ll see what happens this week as he progresses even more.’’'

'“This is my fifth season and I’ve had playoff experience and I’ve gone deep in the playoffs," said Hyde. "From that, I try to bring leadership to the guys, whether it be on or off the field. I try to relay my knowledge I have, and get these guys lined up so they can play better.”'

'McCoy was notably crushed the last time he was traded. He had spent his entire career in Philadelphia after playing college football at Pittsburgh and growing up in Harrisburg, Penn. He's started to get comfortable in Buffalo and was a bit frustrated to see himself become the subject of trade rumors.'

'As a team, trying to win and not have a distraction on the team, I just take that as a player – there's certain players that could be on the team with big distractions, and there's other players that it's not good enough or not worth it.'

'Safety Colt Anderson (foot), wide receiver Jeremy Butler (concussion), wide receiver Rod Streater (toe) and linebacker Tanner Vallejo (knee) all won't play against the Ravens on Saturday. Vallejo had a knee scope and is considered week-to-week.'

'At this point, there isn't much substance to the McCoy rumors. The Bills have now denied it on the record, but it's tough to completely rule out anything after what Buffalo did a few weeks ago.'

'Johnson, 31, seems to be looking for one last opportunity to play this season. He appeared in 10 games with the Chargers in 2015, but missed the 2016 season with the Chargers after having meniscus surgery. The Chargers released Johnson in March.'

'“We want to see, fundamentally, where are we. We hope we’re further along than we were two weeks ago. We’re looking to check those boxes as a football team,” McDermott said. “The starters, I’d like to see them come out of the locker room at half time and play a series or two, give or take. LeSean will be around that area.”'

'“In the past I feel like I’ve had better preseasons. As far as coming in here late and learning the playbook, this is the most I’ve ever done to actually have to study and learn the playbook so fast. As far as the classroom is concerned, I feel like its going good,” Ross said.'

'Without Watkins, and well… without any big weapons, Tyrod Taylor will need McCoy this season. For one, the 28-year-old QB is in what’s likely his last “prove it” year. Taylor might be at his ceiling already, and many of his tools stripped from him, there still could be silver of hope he takes a step forward this season. Having said that, I don’t think Taylor could individually lead a team at this point either. Without Shady and the limited skill at wide receiver, Taylor would be the team’s top weapon. That could get ugly.'

'"You've just got to look at all sides like, if I'm an owner or the GM of a team, do I want to put him on my team?" McCoy said. "Is he good enough to be on the squad to even deal with everything that's going on?"'

'Dareus could be held out of Saturday's preseason game against the Baltimore Ravens as a precaution.'