Archives for September 14, 2017

'There’s a reason the Panthers have been successful over the years and Cam Newton’s a big factor in that equation. He does a great job. Mike Shula does a great job and they’ve got a talented team overall. Cam’s very dangerous. He’s a tremendous athlete. He’s dangerous when the ball’s in his hands and he’s got a laser for an arm. I had a front-row seat to watch that for six years.'

'Beane laughed when asked whether he’d be a candidate to return to Carolina when Hurney begins the process of helping the Panthers’ find a permanent GM after the season. “I’m here in Buffalo,” Beane said. “I signed a long-term deal here and I’m excited about what’s going on here.”'

'"I know he's bigger than me, but I'm definitely taller than him, so I've got to get my pad level a little lower," Munnerlyn said. "I'm not used to that.'

'"It will definitely be (strange). I'm an emotional guy, but I'll try to just focus on the task at hand," Beane said. "Obviously it will be great to see people. It's a people business, and those relationships – no matter where I head the rest of my life, the rest of my journey – that's where it all started for me. There's always a special place in my heart for Carolina, not only the Panthers but both North and South Carolina.'

'"When it comes to what it takes to win a football game, I don't think about those things," McDermott said, referring to Dareus' salary. "I know some of this may not be what people are used to seeing. We're focused on what we do and how we win."'

'"There's probably a tendency to make an over-adjustment from time to time," he said, referencing other coaches who go back to face their former teams. "I've been through these before, whether it's been myself or other coaches on staff, and how you handle it is important. Again, I'm not out there playing quarterback, thank God. I'm not out there playing defense. Our guys are going to be the ones that are out there. What's most important is what they know, not what I know. At the end of the day it's a game of football, it's a reaction game and an anticipation game. There is a tendency, I'd say, to make an over-adjustment, we just have to be smart with that."'

'"I learned a lot from the players. It's a great organization. They do things the right way," McDermott said. "I have a lot of respect for how they do things. I really appreciate the time I spent there. I also know the work we have to put in. That's where my focus is. It's hard to say an advantage."'

'“When it comes to what it takes to win a football game, I don’t think about those things,” he said. “I think about what’s going to give us the best chance to win a football game. That’s keeping players fresh up front. That’s just philosophically, again, what we believe in. We don’t factor those other areas into it. I know some of this may be what people are used to seeing. We’re focused on what we do and how we win and getting better every week. Whatever is in that bucket of that, that’s what we’re focused on.”'

'McDermott said Jenkins will start off playing outside linebacker, but has the ability to play all spots along the second level. He also didn’t rule out Jenkins playing on Sunday. “Well, we’re going to look at that,” McDermott told reporters. “I mean, Jelani’s played in this league, both defensively and special teams. He’s played outside mostly, so that’s where we’ll start him off. The important part now is just acclimating him to our system and what we do and getting him comfortable so he can play fast.”'

'So is Wyoming’s Josh Allen. The athletic junior with the big arm will face Oregon this weekend and, according to NFL.com, the Bills will be one of 16 NFL teams in attendance.'

'If that’s the case, Glenn conceivably should be nearing 100-percent of snaps against Carolina and beyond, and in turn might be able to free up rookie Dion Dawkins to have a little more freedom during practice.'

'As for Kyle Williams, he just keeps getting older and things just seem to stay the same. Heading into the matchup, the Buffalo Bills had a tremendous advantage with their defensive line against the Jets offensive line, and once the game got to the second half, Williams took over. He was consistently pushing the pocket back, fighting through double teams, and creating negative plays by the Jets because of his individual efforts. It truly is amazing that he’s able to continue this high of a level of play at this point in his career, but he’s done it through the first week of the season.'

'Bills defensive tackle Marcell Dareus’ hip had no impact on his snaps against the New York Jets this past week, McDermott says. According to the coach, salary is not factored into how often a player is on the field.'

'“Our system is our system in terms of rotating players. We want fresh players… we’re always going to do that. That’s just philosophically what we believe in,” McDermott said.'

'“He’ll be out there (Wednesday) and a little bit limited, but he’ll be out there and should be a go for practice,” said McDermott. “We do (expect him to play Sunday) at this point.”'