‘His results were mixed, but the Buffalo special teams cratered in 2018. The team was ranked in the bottom half of all coverage and return stats except kickoff coverage. Football Outsiders ranked the Bills as the worst special teams in the NFL.’
Archives for January 2019
Tremaine Edmunds named Defensive Rookie of the Month
‘Edmunds racked up 43 tackles, four pass breakups, a sack and the first two interceptions of his career in the month of December. His first INT in Week 14 against the Jets made Edmunds the youngest player in league history to post an interception.’
Bills Today: Shaq Lawson: It’s time for me to step up
‘“It’s my fourth year,” Lawson said. “It’s basically time for me to step up. I’ve been around this organization for three, four years now. It’s time for me to step up. Kyle’s going to be gone for the D-line. Jerry [Hughes] and Star [Lotulelei] and [Lorenzo Alexander], with those guys, those guys are going to bring me along and help me lead. I’m a big talkative person, but when I talk, I crack jokes and stuff. I’m just going to try to lead by example, on the field and off the field.”’
Juan Castillo ‘hurt’ by firing as Bills’ O-line coach
‘“We lost Richie, we lost Eric, we lost Seantrel, we lost Cordy,” Castillo said. “I mean, you go right down the line, we lost (several) guys that really were not replaced, except they added (guard) Wyatt (Teller), a fifth-rounder. And he ended up playing and played well there at the end. Really, he was a kid that was a defensive player that had to be developed. (Otherwise) he would have went earlier. And I think he did get developed.”’
Bills fire wide receivers coach Terry Robiskie
‘The Bills will have their eighth different receivers coach in nine years in 2019, with Sanjay Lal (2015-16) the only coach to last longer than a year in that time frame.’
Bills’ Josh Allen named AFC Offensive Player of Week
‘The honor recognized Allen’s five-touchdown performance in Sunday’s season-ending, 42-17 victory against the Miami Dolphins. Allen threw for three touchdowns and ran for two.’
Levi Wallace finishes 2018 as Pro Football Focus’ top rookie cornerback
‘The Buffalo Bills’ rookie cornerback didn’t become a starter until Week 10, but wasted no time fitting right in. Wallace did not allow more than two catches over any of the final seven games, the longest such active streak in the NFL, according to analytics website Pro Football Focus. In December, Wallace allowed eight catches on 14 targets in playing 138 coverage snaps. Only two of those catches went for first downs.’
Bills game gets strong rating in Kyle Williams’ finale
‘The Buffalo Bills’ 42-17 victory over the Miami Dolphins featuring a combined five running and passing touchdowns by quarterback Josh Allen and the final game of beloved defensive tackle Kyle Williams had a higher-than-average rating this season of 36.3 on WIVB-TV (Channel 4), the local CBS affiliate.’
Buffalo Bills’ changes begin with firing of offensive line coach Juan Castillo
‘When McDermott was asked about the play of the line during his season-ending press conference Monday, he said, “There were sometimes in the game, in particular yesterday (against Miami), where I thought we played well. There were some other times throughout the season where I didn’t think we played well enough. We were out of sync up front. As you’ve heard me say before, the game is won or lost up front. We did a good job in winning the line of scrimmage on both sides yesterday, but not enough throughout the season, in particular, on the offensive side. That’s an area that we have to look hard at this off-season.”’
Bills have reportedly fired WR coach Terry Robiskie
‘It was no secret that the three position groups that performed the poorest this season were the offensive line, the wide receivers, and special teams, so these moves don’t come as a surprise.’
Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen named AFC Offensive Player of the Week
‘Allen accounted for five touchdowns in the victory, passing for three and rushing for two. He completed 17 of 26 passes for 224 yards and carried the ball nine times for 95 yards while becoming the first Bills quarterback since Jim Kelly in 1991 to account for five touchdowns in a game.’
Pollock: Beane talks of offseason plans for Bills’ rebuild
‘“Judicious is probably the word that I would use instead of aggressive,” he said. “If you’re not wise with it, you can be back to where it was when I walked in here. “We definitely want to fill holes in free agency. But I’ve said it before – you use free agency to help you so you’re not going to the draft in April with all these holes … now you’re drafting for need. I promise you drafting for need is a mistake that can set franchises back, and I’m not going to do that as long as I’m in charge here.”’
Bills fire 2 offensive assistants: Robiskie, Castillo
‘The shakeup comes after Buffalo’s offense finished 30th and despite rookie quarterback Josh Allen showing gradual development in winning three of his final six starts to finish 5-6.’
Allen named AFC Offensive Player of the Week
‘The rookie went 17-for-26 (65.4%) for 224 yards and three touchdowns passing, then added another 95 yards and two touchdowns running. It was, arguably, his best day as a pro, putting his running and throwing together for a full 60 minutes, and it came at a great time, to end the season on a high note.’
Capaccio: The two most important words Brandon Beane said to start the offseason
‘Beane chose to do something about it. From the day he was hired, he began shedding players and taking big contracts off the books for the long-term, knowing full-well, and willing, to take the short-term hit of the “dead money” the team would have to incur.’