Archives for September 8, 2017

'Besides Carpenter and Jones, 20 other veterans — 18 of them who started at least once last season — were either waived or weren’t re-signed.'

'In all, of the 53 players who made this season’s Buffalo roster, only 25 were on the Bills regular-season or practice squads or any of the injured lists in 2016.'

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'“I’m extremely confident in what we can do. Extremely confident,” said Matthews, who caught 73 passes for 804 yards last season. “The biggest thing I always say is: You can win in this league with a great defense — which I feel like we have — an offensive line — our offensive line is one of the best in the league — and a great quarterback. And I feel like we have that.”'

'“It was, and still is, a team-building concept,” McDermott said. “I want to make sure that we spend so much time in a lot of little campfires. You’ve got a campfire with the linebacking corps, you’ve got a campfire with the offense, a campfire over here with the defense, with the special teams, that as we continue to build this team and bring things together to one cohesive campfire, if you will in this case, that players get to know one another.'

'According to a report from ESPN's Adam Schefter, the Buffalo Bills have added $2.5 million in incentives to McCoy's contract. The running back is in the third season of a five-year contract worth up to $40 million, and has a base salary of $6 million.'

'"They went to the store today and got some supplies, some two-by-fours and pieces of wood to put over the windows and doors and stuff, so they're making the necessary preparations," he said. "We've experienced a lot of hurricanes growing up. Probably not a hurricane as big as this, but we're taking the necessary precautions. They've got water, a generator, they're boarding up the house, so they're doing everything they can."'

'The Jets' red zone offense in 2016 was the worst of any NFL team over the past four years. That was a function of an injury-riddled finesse passing game without a good quarterback and no tight end threat. The Jets converted just 35.2 percent of trips inside the 20 into TDs. Don't look for big improvement.'

'With both clubs operating with greater focus on the future rather than the present, the present is largely in the hands of players who either lack the experience or talent (or both) to generate a whole lot of success. That, along with the fact that it's the first game of the season, opens the door to the distinct possibility of a whole lot of ugly football.'

'Leonard Williams is one of the league's best young defensive linemen. He's only 23 years old.'

'The Bills face a string of elite QBs this season, meaning they won't bring the better QB to the game most weeks. This is one matchup where Buffalo has the QB edge. Nothing says "we're tanking" like starting the season with a 38-year-old who is 2-20 in his last 22 starts. Give McCown credit for sticking around so long. This is his 10th NFL team. He went 8-5 for Chicago in 2013. McCown still can move a bit, and the Jets will move the pocket to try to counter the pass rush. McCown still has enough arm strength to threaten the Bills deep, although his deep accuracy isn't in the Carson Palmer (or Tyrod Taylor) class.'

'The reason for the flip-flop traces back to the new defensive scheme implemented by Sean McDermott that has fans hoping for an improvement on that side of the ball. The offense, meanwhile, looked abysmal in the preseason. Quarterback Tyrod Taylor is working with basically a brand new set of receivers. A word to the wise, though – don't overvalue preseason performances. That's not to suggest the Bills will be an offensive juggernaut, but rather to wait for a few real games before writing them off.'

'Ouch.'

'Brown talked with the hosts about the Bills chances against the Jets, bold predictions fans are making for the week one tilt, and the importance of take aways in a Tampa 2 system as implemented by Leslie Frazier. Brown cited his experience seeing the defense firsthand when playing for the Chicago Bears, and the importance of getting Marcell Dareus off to a good start. Brown finished with an anecdote on how Marv Levy handled players and the fluid nature of offenses gelling.'

'It’s a good thing just to be back out there with the guys practicing, making plays, and building that confidence with everyone. It’s so different from sitting out and watching. Sure, you can take mental reps, but you still feel like you’re on an island by yourself. But when you actually get to be in the huddle, going through plays, going through the walk-through’s, meetings, everything as one unit with the guys, definitely more of a sense of calmness when I’m out there because I feel like I’m more part of the team.'