Archives for August 28, 2017

'"Well, it's concerning, it is concerning," he told reporters. "Any time guys are injured it's concerning. That said, they're in the protocol and really can't go any further as far as those (Taylor and Yates) are concerned. But, you know, we're hopeful at this point that everything works out."'

'"I'll say this, we got off on the right foot," McDermott said of his relationship with Dareus. "And then we decided last night to make the decision we did, I did. And every decision I make is going to be in the best interest of this football team, and that's the way it goes."'

'It was suggested that Beane was "sending a message" by sending Dareus home. Really? If you ask me, it was a merciful gesture. Dareus didn't have to suffer through that game. Even by preseason standards, it was one of the worst football games I've ever witnessed — and I've covered the Bills for the entire drought.'

'Banyard looks to have moved into the No. 3 running back role and is playing several positions on special teams. Jones is getting an extended look as a gunner on special teams, but hasn't really given the coaches any reason to keep him.'

'Charles Clay – Seven targets resulted in four catches for 47 yards for the Bills' starting tight end. That's a promising sign heading toward the regular season. The Bills have carefully managed Clay's work load this summer, and Saturday showed he looks ready for meaningful games.'

'"Me and McDermott, we had a discussion," Dareus said. "We're on the same page and we're going to continue to move forward.'

'"Reggie has made some progress," defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier said last week. "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. It's not at that point yet. Preston's doing a good job for us. He's had a good preseason, 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."'

'Christian Ponder may be one of the favorites to land a roster spot with the Bills leading up to Thursday's game. As Joe Buscaglia of WKBW-TV pointed out, Ponder has some experience playing under Rick Dennison. The veteran spent two weeks with the Broncos during the 2015 season.'

'There wouldn't be much of a learning curve for Ealy with the Bills. Before being traded to the Patriots, Ealy spent his first three seasons with the Carolina Panthers. With Sean McDermott as his defensive coordinator, Ealy would rack up 14 sacks in his first three seasons in the league.'

'If Cordy Glenn cannot go in Week 1, rookie Dion Dawkins is the Bills' contingency plan. Buffalo started Dawkins on Saturday night and the rookie was beat early in the game. The play saw Tyrod Taylor get sacked and hit his head hard off the ground. Taylor would leave the game with a concussion. It wasn't a great start for Buffalo's backup plan at left tackle.'

'“I’m just going to continue to put one foot in front of the other and just stay focused,” Dareus said.'

'McDermott said he and general manager Brandon Beane have had discussions on the possibility of signing another quarterback for Buffalo's game Thursday against Detroit.'

'He called the decision to order Dareus to travel home on his own as being "the right thing for this football team," and also something he didn't want to deal with at that time because he was focused on preparing for the game.'

'"We're talking about it," McDermott said Sunday. "We haven't come to a decision at this point in time. We're running the gamut of the different style quarterbacks out there, who's been in the system, who hasn't, younger, older. We're still going through that process right now."'

'“Really we’re moving forward, that’s where I stand on it and we’re looking forward to getting out here on the practice field.” McDermott added, “Everyone needs to know what’s expected and everyone’s accountable, myself included, so I’m not looking to send a message other than do the right thing.”'