Archives for August 2017

'Watkins now reunites with former teammate Robert Woods in Los Angeles. New Bills general manager Brandon Beane has wasted no time shaping this roster in his image. Hired in May, Beane has already traded 2016 fourth-round pick Cardale Jones, 2014 first-round pick Sammy Watkins and 2015 second-round pick Ronald Darby, all draft picks of Doug Whaley.'

'The Bills’ new front office has talked about building for now and the future. Today it looks like the future is a bit more important to them than the present day. It seems safe to count out the possibility of the Bills going to the playoffs, but the Bills didn’t completely burn this thing to the ground. They added two quality NFL players to replace the building blocks Whaley left behind. If their evaluations of Watkins and Darby are on point, nobody will miss them a few years down the road. Still, don’t expect the Bills to make a march to the Super Bowl this season.'

'"That rookie we got. (Jordan) Matthews" McCoy said when asked who has caught his eye. "He has done real good. I think there has been a lot of talk about this (past) draft class being deep at wide receiver, but I'm real confident in (Matthews) being the best one out of the class."'

'The 2018 draft class may have the league's next great quarterback draft class. Quarterbacks who may be selected early in the draft include Sam Darnold, Josh Allen, Mason Rudolph, Josh Rosen, Luke Falk and Lamar Jackson. Buffalo could be stockpiling picks for next year's draft as a way to move up into the top of the draft to select their future franchise quarterback.'

'"It doesn't say anything," Beane said. "Everybody's forgetting we signed Anquan (Boldin) last week. This is not a 'throw in the towel' thing at all. Somebody mentioned that somebody put that out there. Quite honestly, that's annoying to me. You don't know me if you think I'm throwing in the towel. We can go out there and play ping pong, whatever I'm doing, I'm not throwing in the towel. If we were throwing in the towel, I wouldn't have tried to get a starting receiver back. To your question on Tyrod, it's nothing. We got Anquan who we added. I told you, I honestly believe he is a Hall of Famer and can still play in this league. Jordan Matthews is a starting receiver. You look at those numbers and what he's done, those aren't to be laughed at. Tyrod will get every opportunity to lead this team and we're all rooting for him. It's in our best interest."'

'Well, I know this. I know we've got – what we're looking at is still a quality group of receivers when you talk about bringing in a guy like Jordan Matthews. You add him to who's already here with Anquan [Boldin], who was not even on the field last night and Zay [Jones] and then the rest of the guys that you saw last night. I know where you're going with that and we're bringing in a corner with this deal that has started games – started a number of games. He's going to blend right in and compete and earn his right to be on this football team and start. I think we're moving in the right direction.'

'"I was actually just talking to somebody about it. You could view it one way from my perspective, if we got a pick this year, two two years from now for both picks. We’re actually getting guys that are coming back to play those positions so I don’t scout and evaluate guys, so we’re actually getting people back and some picks. I know more than anything that my attitude and my leadership and the way that I work cant change because of it changes, guys change and above all that, I trust Sean [McDermott]. I’m going to do what I’ve always done and I’m going to go out there and get ready to win."'

'Some former Bills players reacted to the deals on Twitter shortly after news broke. Here's a look at how some former Bills reacted to today's deals.'

'"Tanking" not an excuse for Bills. Darby is in in Year 3. EJG is older/worse. J-Matt is a downgrade and in a contract year same as Watkins.'

'In three NFL seasons, Matthews has caught 67 passes, 85 passes and 73 passes. In three seasons, Watkins has caught 65, 60 and 28. Yes, Matthews has stayed on the field for all but two games in his career, while Watkins has missed 13 games in three seasons, but that is part of the appeal. The Bills get a receiver who, while a bit less talented, has a consistent track record of production.'

'Gaines missed the entire 2015 season with a lisfranc injury to his foot. He didn’t look the same in 2016 and took a step back as a result. That’s to be expected with such a major injury, but it’s also something to keep an eye on going forward. If he can’t find his pre-injury form, Gaines may not stick with the Bills beyond 2017.'

'"He's a young player that has worked extremely hard," Bills coach Sean McDermott said. "This wasn't the first time that he has flashed. He earns it, he really does. That's going to personify or typify our football team. He's one of the first ones in the team meeting every morning. He's got flash cards, he's drilling himself mentally, so his success on the field tonight was not a surprise to those that know him and I'm really happy for him."'

'Zay Jones, Anquan Boldin, Jordan Matthews, Andre Holmes, Rod Streater, Brandon Tate.'

'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.'

'As for Darby, it's a roll of the dice. Can the Bills replace him? Time will tell. But EJ Gaines could be that. As a sixth-rounder, Gaines found a starting job with the Rams his rookie season. He lost it due to injury and hasn't regained form. Darby also wasn't the same last year as he was in his rookie year.'