Archives for September 20, 2017

'It's not to suggest Gilmore has been terrible, although he did get smoked for a touchdown in his debut. The bigger point is the Bills made little effort to keep him, rebuilt their secondary and have been fine without him. A trouble spot with four new players going into the season, the defensive backfield has been their strength.'

'"I always feel like I can defy the odds," Yarbrough says. "So, going into it, even though I saw I had pretty much two confirmed Hall-of-Famers at my position, DeMarcus Ware and Von Miller, I was like, 'Hey, I can play. I can play with these guys.' And just go and try to be a sponge and absorb as much as I possibly can from them and also elevate my game to earn a roster spot and position on that team."'

'Elston, whom the Bills claimed off waivers in the spring, was the Bills' third safety behind starters Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer.'

'Against Carolina, McCoy was credited with 16 yards after contact despite having nine total yards. What that means is -7 of his yards came before contact. Yes, minus seven yards. Woof.'

'The Bills' defense has allowed 469 total yards in the first two weeks — compared to 801 yards in their first two games last season — and just 3.88 yards per play. That is their lowest mark in the first two games since 1996, when they allowed 3.52 yards per play, while opening the season 2-0 en route to a wildcard berth.'

'As the former Buffalo Bills general manager figures out his next professional move, he has taken on the role of senior business adviser for a company that develops software and sensor technology used, in part, for sports injury prevention, according to Sports Business Journal.'

'With Kawann Short, Star Lotulelei, Mario Addison, and even the veteran Julius Peppers on the defensive line, along with a trio of tremendous, fast linebackers behind them – Luke Kuechly, Thomas Davis and Shaq Thompson – Carolina boasts one of the best run-stopping front sevens in all of football. It clearly overwhelmed what Buffalo tried to do on the ground all afternoon.'

'Hall of Famer Thurman Thomas also joined Murphy and Jones, and chatted about Joe Namath's charity golf tournament, the Bill -Panthers game, what ails the Bills' run game, what McCoy and the offense needs to do to get better week-in and week-out running. Thomas also talked about how focused the offensive line will be this week because of the "shot" they took because their top back had 8 yards.'

'And, it will be the first time since Sept. 25, 2011, that the temperature at a Bills' home game will reach 80 degrees or more.'

'TAILGATE FORECAST: Mild, quickly becoming warm/summerlike toward midday. Maybe a bit of patchy fog very early, then mostly sunny and tranquil with temperatures rising from 70 at 8 a.m. to 82 by noon.'

' “Well, they’re a talented group obviously,’’ he said of Denver’s defense that again ranks No. 4 overall, including third against the run and 14th in points allowed. “They rush the pass very well and they’ve got great DBs, they all have great ball skills. Put the ball around them, they think it’s theirs, so you’ve got to be careful. Like any other defense, they’re loaded with talent. We have our work cut out for us, but just like we did last week, we’ll find a way to move the ball.’’'

'The Bills also reportedly worked out punters Matt Darr, Taylor Symmank, Matt Wile and long snapper Derek Hart. But Sean McDermott didn't exactly sound like someone ready to sign a punter when he heaped praise on Colton Schmidt Monday.'

'For the second consecutive week, PFF named Poyer to their Team of the Week. The safety is coming off a game against the Carolina Panthers in which he recorded 11 total tackles (7 solo), one sack and three passes defensed. The analytics site gave Poyer an 87.5 grade which was the second highest safety grade given by PFF. Only Karl Joseph of the Oakland Raiders finished with a higher grade in Week 2 (90.5).'

'Whaley, who had a 30-34 record in four seasons as the Bills' general manager, will be working for Impellia, according to Sports Business Daily. Impellia is a company that develops software and sensor technology that can be used for injury prevention and performance enhancement. Whaley will be a senior sports business advisor for the company.'

'The Broncos scored 42 points on Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys. Trevor Siemian led the way with four touchdown passes and C.J. Anderson added one rushing touchdown. Siemian's touchdown passes went to Emmanuel Sanders (2), Anderson and Virgil Green. The team also recorded a defensive touchdown against Dallas. Buffalo's defense will be tested in Week 3.'