Two Bills Drive

'So assemble your crew and buckle up for another year of Bills football. Buffalo’s actually favored Sunday in Week 1. Chances are you won’t be able to say that too much this season. Unfortunately, the tanking Jets are only on the schedule twice. The Bills might not be tanking, but they’re certainly tearing down the old and rebuilding new from the ground up.'

'But if only the Bills had no company in perennial futility. Of course, they do. For Cleveland, it’s been 14 seasons. The Browns rose up in their fourth season back in the league with a 9-7 record and a wild-card game appearance. Since then, the Browns are 90 games under .500 in a 14-season span.'

'"It really wasn't this big, agonizing decision. I always wanted to play," Williams said with Howard Simon and Jeremy White on WGR Thursday morning. "It was just the question mark of what our new direction was going to be and if [the team] wanted me to be a part of it. When I talked to Sean [McDermott], he was like, 'Yeah, we definitely want you to be part of it.' That's really as far as the conversation really went. I said, 'If you want me to play and you want me back, I'm definitely in to play.' So here we are: year number-12, getting ready to go."'

'Head coach Sean McDermott officially ruled out linebacker Tanner Vallejo (knee) and defensive tackle Jerel Worthy (concussion) for the game in Orchard Park. Vallejo has been dealing with his injury for a couple weeks. He has primarily been backing up Ramon Humber at WLB, but also Lorenzo Alexander at SLB during the preseason. Worthy knocked heads with his own teammate in the team’s preseason finale against the Detroit Lions eight days ago. Along wih Adolphus Washington, he's a main backup to DTs Marcell Dareus and Kyle Williams.'

'A coordinated effort between Buffalo Bills security, New York State Police, the Erie County Sheriff's Office, the FBI and Orchard Park Police hopes to prevent any problems that could affect fan safety or enjoyment of the game.'

'“We’ve also had video surveillance put in place so that things like that don’t happen, so somebody doesn’t set themselves on fire. We’ve also met, Andy Major and myself, and other town officials, have met with the parking lot owners to have a dialogue with them on a yearly basis to tell them what are expectations are,” said Mark Pacholec, Orchard Park Police Chief.'

'If Buffalo can neutralize the gains of Matt Forte and Bilal Powell on first and second down, it will put undue pressure on QB Josh McCown to carry the offense and allow the Bills pass rush to tee off on the Jets signal caller. The Bills allowed just 3.11 yards per carry in the preseason, good for third in the league.'

'For Gaines it’s an impressive feat knowing he came to the Bills via trade in mid-August, and had to acclimate himself quickly not only to Buffalo’s defensive scheme, but to the new players around him on the defensive side of the ball.'

'“This is one of the reasons why we came here, was to win football games. To be able to perform in front of these fans and the passionate fan base that we have. To get this stadium back to where it belongs, in terms of our home field advantage, and we look forward to getting out there this weekend in front of our fans,” said McDermott.'

'Besides Carpenter and Jones, 20 other veterans — 18 of them who started at least once last season — were either waived or weren’t re-signed.'

'In all, of the 53 players who made this season’s Buffalo roster, only 25 were on the Bills regular-season or practice squads or any of the injured lists in 2016.'

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'“I’m extremely confident in what we can do. Extremely confident,” said Matthews, who caught 73 passes for 804 yards last season. “The biggest thing I always say is: You can win in this league with a great defense — which I feel like we have — an offensive line — our offensive line is one of the best in the league — and a great quarterback. And I feel like we have that.”'

'“It was, and still is, a team-building concept,” McDermott said. “I want to make sure that we spend so much time in a lot of little campfires. You’ve got a campfire with the linebacking corps, you’ve got a campfire with the offense, a campfire over here with the defense, with the special teams, that as we continue to build this team and bring things together to one cohesive campfire, if you will in this case, that players get to know one another.'

'According to a report from ESPN's Adam Schefter, the Buffalo Bills have added $2.5 million in incentives to McCoy's contract. The running back is in the third season of a five-year contract worth up to $40 million, and has a base salary of $6 million.'