Archives for September 21, 2017

'In fairness, Carolina has an impressive defense and it was the home opener. After two games, the Panthers lead the NFL in fewest total yards, passing yards and points surrendered (Buffalo is second, second and fourth in those categories). But it’s worth wondering whether Carolina’s stats are inflated merely because one of its two games was against the Bills’ struggling attack.'

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'It's easy and perhaps more comforting to conclude that a week after dominating the New York Jets' defensive front to the tune of 190 yards on the ground (110 by McCoy), the Bills' offensive line simply was overmatched by more talented defensive linemen and linebackers. Coach Sean McDermott chose to go that route Wednesday when he told reporters, "I think, really, when you look a week ago against the Jets, how we controlled the line of scrimmage … this is one game. That’s life sometimes in the NFL."'

'It's true. The Bills have established a standard that would be difficult to meet in any event. But several factors are conspiring against them approaching their running numbers of 2015-16, when they ran for 5,062 yards (158 per game) on 1,001 carries, a hefty 5.1 yards a rushing attempt.'

'“Oh, probably more than that. Yes, I can certainly see it,” Hughes said, praising head man Sean McDermott for “doing a great job” of putting players in positions that best suit their individual strengths. “I really don’t have a number in mind. But, oh yeah (I can do 10). Absolutely. In a 4-3, I’m in the trenches. I feel a lot more at home. A lot more comfortable.”'

'Officers from the Moreno Valley Police Department responded to the report of a shooting at 12:44 a.m. Sunday within the 28000 block of Lexington Way. Wright confirmed to The Buffalo News on Wednesday that he owns the home where the shooting occurred, and that it’s occupied by his mother, sister and brother.'

'"I am concerned," McDermott said. "It's day to day at this point and we've got to make sure that we have a contingency plan in place."'

'Yeah, he’s got an ankle [injury] right now so he’s not going to practice today and we’ll know a little bit more going forward right now, but right now he’s not going to practice.'

'When the opponent is capable of offering far more resistance than the New York Jets did in the Bills' season-opening victory, LeSean McCoy can't always work from a conventional scheme that has him taking all or most of his handoffs from behind Tyrod Taylor. There has to be instances where, as he did the past two years, he lines up next to Taylor in shotgun formation and opposing defenders are left guessing about whether the quarterback is going to stick the ball in Taylor's belly or keep it himself.'

'The running backs had 14 yards on 15 carries. LeSean McCoy carried it 12 times for 9 yards. Mike Tolbert had 5 yards on 3 rushes. That's 15 carries for 14 yards by the team's two "tailbacks." I hesitate to call Tolbert a tailback because he's a fullback by trade and masquerading as a tailback in Buffalo.'

'“When they play that style of defense, you have to be able to consistently attack with the passing game,” Garrett told reporters. "We really needed to have success throwing the ball. We were not able to do that."'

'"I just wanted the loot, baby!" McCoy said as reporters burst out laughing in the media room. "No, it wasn't like that. It just happened. It had nothing to do with the extra loot."'

'In Carolina, the Buffalo defensive tackle received an overall PFF grade of +1.0 on just 18 snaps – he suffered an ankle injury early in the game but returned in the second half. That was the sixth-highest grade of all 17 Bills defenders who saw the field in Week 2.'

'Rex Ryan likely would've started Matt Cassel that season. If he quarterbacked the team to a worse record than the 8-8 they achieved under Taylor (and some of EJ Manuel), the Bills would've owned a higher draft pick, but Cleveland owned their first-rounder that year anyway. The only top-level quarterbacks in that class, Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota, went 1-2 … but one quarterback available later in the draft was Trevor Siemian, who ended up in Denver and will start this weekend against the Bills.'

'The most famous of Von Miller's 82 career sacks (counting playoffs) was his strip-sack of Cam Newton (1) in Super Bowl 50 that produced a Denver touchdown. What makes Miller's speed rush so devastating is his ability to dip his inside shoulder low to the ground like a speed skater, which gives the offensive tackle a small target to hit. Then Miller bends his hips back and drives to the QB.'