Archives for October 2017

'Both Brown and Elston spent the entire summer with the Bills, and each player made the initial 53-man roster after the final cutdown day. Brown, however, was released after the Bills made other moves in the week leading up to the first game of the season.'

'It’s hard to imagine what this game could have been without Micah Hyde on the field for the Bills.'

'The Bills, the NFL, and Cumulus Radio Company – formerly Citadel Broadcasting – had appealed that decision in effort to stop the case from moving forward as a class action suit.'

'Bills fans at the airport wanted to talk about the game, a lot. To my surprise they didn’t want to discuss LeSean McCoy or the Bills defense or any player for that matter. They all wanted to talk about head coach Sean McDermott. While Sean wants the players to become addicted to the process… it seems the fans are becoming addicted to Sean McDermott.'

'The cheerleaders’ case will continue as a class action lawsuit, the Supreme Court Fourth Judicial Department Appellate Division ruled. The appellate court upheld a June 2016 decision from Erie County Supreme Court Justice Timothy Drury, certifying the former Jills’ lawsuit as a class action suit.'

'I want to believe that all of this means that the Bills are finally going in a positive direction, that the mediocrity and futility of the past are behind and that the new regime has finally turned the ship around. I want to believe that the Bills have a legitimate shot to take a huge developmental step this year and that Sean McDermott will be lauded as one of the rare coaches capable of coming in and almost immediately getting the most out of a team. Unfortunately, while things certainly do feel different with the team and the organization as a whole, I’ve seen far too many early season successes fizzle out and turn to middling final results.'

'To make room on the roster for Brown, Elston and Thomas, the Bills placed Anderson on injured reserve and released DE Eric Lee and S Robert Blanton.'

'The Bills also have a defense-minded coach in McDermott who simply has a long track record of success. While Sean McVay's work in rebuilding the Rams' offense has rightfully been lauded, it would be fair to similarly credit McDermott for immediately turning a defense which ranked 27th in DVOA last season into one that will likely top the DVOA charts after Week 4, even after the Bills lost a pair of Pro Bowlers — Stephon Gilmore and Zach Brown — this offseason. … The schedule gets tougher later in the season, but the Bills' defense is back.'

'Seeing Taylor has nothing but green grass out to his left, Jones quickly steps out to his right to cut off Taylor’s path. Buffalo’s quarterback gives Jones a hard jab step with his left foot to get the linebacker to lean outside and slips up inside of him. Still three yards behind the line of scrimmage, Taylor puts the after burners on as he has a rapidly closing window of space between Jones, who has turned to pursue him and CB Brandon Poole, who has peeled off his coverage assignment to assist.'

'“Sometimes it’s easier to do it from long distance than it is other places on the field. It’s just something about the visuals of what you got,” Hauschka said.'

'A day after Buffalo beat the NFC’s Super Bowl representative and one of the National Football League’s two undefeated teams … on the road, that’s exactly what he was doing.'

'“To see him in training camp and the preseason games, to see that the game wasn’t too big for him early on in our discussion about ‘should we start a rookie, and if we are going to start a rookie, when should we put him in the starting lineup.’ It was evident to us early on that this guy could handle it.”'

'The culture change he’s spearheading isn’t limited to the scope of his locker room. This is a complete organizational overhaul, one that requires everyone inside the facility to adopt a new outlook and a new standard.'

'So if the Bills are middling it, this is an opportune time for it. There's a vast NFL middle and it's not hard to see the playoffs from there. For four weeks, at least, the Bills are winning while laying a foundation for the future. They're a confident, well-coached team, one that should be even better in the years ahead if Beane and Co. hit in the drafts.'

'The game was a mixed bag for all five linemen. Center Eric Wood had a tough assignment blocking Grady Jarrett much of the day. Wood held Jarrett once and was beaten by him three times. But Wood bulled him on a key third-and-1 play and held up vs. Jarrett on four other important positive run plays. Passing grade for Wood.'