Archives for August 2017

'"Coach brought us up and really just kind of grabbed us by the facemasks and gave us a good butt-chewing and a lot of guys needed to hear that," Incognito said. "A lot of guys at this level are not used to hearing that.'

'Candidates for the job include second-year pro Kevon Seymour, Shareece Wright and newly acquired E.J. Gaines, who came to the team in a separate trade from the Los Angeles Rams. Leonard Johnson, who is currently listed first on the Bills' depth chart, has been working exclusively in the slot.'

'"We're what? A day away from breaking camp? It was going to happen sooner or later," said right tackle Jordan Mills, who found himself in the middle of one of those skirmishes, with defensive end Shaq Lawson. "It was a little hot today. We've been grinding for what, two weeks, 14-plus days? Hitting the same person day in and day out. … That's with every training camp, it's going to have a couple days where you just get after each other."'

'Absolutely, especially being on the defensive side of things, but you have to play within the rules and just use all that bottled up frustration to play in between the whistles. You know, just be a smart player, you understand things are going to get chippy, but at the same time just play in between the whistles.'

'Beane and McDermott had the guts to ignore that logic and take on a whole lot of pressure — even more than what already comes with the massive burden of finding a solution to 17 years of futility.'

'"It's not ideal. Jordan missed a lot of last year's preseason," Beane said. "He got hit in the knee in Philly. He and Carson (Wentz) spent a lot of nights together. He's going to do everything he can to be ready when he can get back out there."'

'The Bills got after each other during live tackling periods, to the point where several scuffles broke out between offensive and defensive players. When it was over, and things were simmering after Sean McDermott called the session to an end, the players felt like it was a positive step in the right direction.'

'The challenge now is trying to get Matthews up to speed without the benefit of practice time or preseason games. It will be tough for Matthews to develop chemistry.'

'"No, it really doesn't (make sense)," said Wilbon. "If you want to win now and you've got LeSean McCoy and you can put Sammy Watkins out there and sort of spread the field, why would you trade to get a defensive back and a second round pick? What is the point here? What are the Bills doing? Oh wait! They've had five GMs in ten years, they've had six coaches in 10 years, they don't know what they're doing at the top of the pyramid. That's what makes sense to me."'

'"Everyone would say Darby is a better corner than Gaines, and Watkins is a better wideout than Matthews," King said. "I don't worry about the Darby deal for Buffalo, because he hadn't bought into the new administration of Beane and head coach Sean McDermott, and because he wasn't a great scheme fit for McDermott's zone coverage."'

'"Losers assemble in little groups, and complain about the coaches and the players in other little groups. Winners assemble as a team."'

'"Coach brought us up and really grabbed us by the facemask and gave us a good butt-chewing," guard Richie Incognito said. "A lot of guys needed to hear that. A lot of guys at this level are not used to hearing that and the practice instantly changed. It got chippy, it got physical, it got violent. We had some live periods in there. You mix in a little bit of coach McDermott's speech and a little bit of just being hot and tired and you kind of get a powder keg getting ready to explode."'

'But I couldn’t help feeling that this upcoming season will be a waste of time. It made me feel, frankly, like a Cleveland Browns fan.'

'It's unclear when Matthews was hurt, though he did fall hard along the sideline while attempting to make a leaping catch in one-on-one coverage with cornerback Shareece Wright during a team drill.'

'The 25-year-old Matthews is expected to be one of the top options at wide receiver after the Bills also traded Sammy Watkins along with a 2018 sixth-round draft pick to the Los Angeles Rams for cornerback E.J. Gaines and a 2018 second-round draft pick.'