Niagara Gazette

‘“Josh taking his game to another level really means being a great decision maker,” McDermott said. “… It’s been talked about adjusting his style of play enough to keep himself healthy and to play smarter at times, as well. And then I just think overall approach to the game. I’ve seen a different Josh this offseason. Not that it was bad before, but he’s got a new sense of focus, I would say, and determination, which is good.”’

‘Miller went on to say that he’d be happy to be ready by the season opener, but he’d also be ready if his return came on Week 6, adding, “But I can guarantee you it won’t be any later than that.”’

‘The 30-year-old Marlowe appeared in four regular season games, with three tackles in one start. He also started both playoff games after Damar Hamlin collapsed against the Bengals in Week 17.’

‘“I didn’t say I was going to do this, it kind of just happened, you know?” Johnson said. “And when I met with these guys, it was like, ‘Okay, we got to do more and let’s make the most of it.’ But we didn’t have any thoughts about, ‘This (has) got to be our plan.’ It just kind of happened.”’

‘The Bills have signed players brought in for rookie minicamp in the past, including Kingsley Jonathan and Ja’Marcus Ingram, but evaluating players on a limited sample and minor football activity makes it difficult to make a splash. “It’s just more watching the guys move,” Beane said. “Some guys are moving a little easier than others, different skill sets too. So I don’t want to call out one player, it’s one day, first time out. You look for who was consistently doing it right versus who had a good day today, not a good day tomorrow, you know, or vice versa.”’

‘The new feature on the schedule this season is four 4:25 p.m. Sunday games outside of the Pacific time zone. Buffalo hosts the Jets on Nov. 19 and travels to Philadelphia the following week. It also travels to Kansas City — the week after the Bills’ bye week — for a 4:25 p.m. game on Dec. 10 and hosts the Cowboys in the same time slot the following Sunday.’

‘Buffalo currently has 78 players on the roster and should announce its undrafted free agent class this week since rookie minicamp begins Friday. The Bills will get close to the 90-player limit for the offseason, but Beane said after the draft that he didn’t want to get to 90 so there was more flexibility before camp.’

‘For Imagine for Youth, Northtown Auto and Equitable Advisors combined to donate $400,000. Then, Imagine for Youth donated $50,000 to OiShei Children’s Hospital and $20,000 to King Urban Life Center on Genesee Street in Buffalo. The benefits of the event, Hyde said, are immediate as the money raised for the game goes right back to the Western New York community.’

‘On paper, Williams seems to lack everything but the size to replace Tremaine Edmunds as Buffalo’s on-ball linebacker. He might get a shot eventually, but it doesn’t appear the Bills are in a rush.’

‘How Buffalo was going to help Allen with salary cap limitations and minimal draft assets was the main question, but general manager Brandon Beane found a way. Seven of the team’s new free agent acquisitions are offensive players and four of their six draft picks are offensive players.’

‘Buffalo drafted four offensive players in the draft and it is the second time since Beane became general manager that the Bills have selected more offensive players than defensive players. It is also the first time in his tenure they have drafted offensive players with their first two picks.’

‘Kincaid may not have been the receiver fans were hoping for, but the Bills are going to play him like one. Don’t expect Kincaid to be a big factor as a run blocker, but he should make an immediate impact in the passing game.’

‘“Size matters up in there when you’re facing some of those guys,” Bills general manager Brandon Beane said, “and we’ve got some really good D-tackles in this division so having a guy who can anchor versus power, that’s probably what he does best. And he’s got length to get on guys and hold them off. You’re not going to see people running down his cylinder.”’

‘“I think it’s just the versatility again, lining up inline, flex, in the wing, in the slot,” Kincaid said in his first meeting with the Buffalo media. “I feel like it is difficult to gameplan and just for teams to, at least in college, struggling to figure out what personnel to match up, who to put on who so I feel like it just provides some attention for teams that they really got to focus on and it can take away from some other players.”’

‘“If Dalton was not there, we would have traded back,” Beane said. “We had a good feeling that Dallas would take him and we just really liked him and just felt he would be a great fit in our offense … When him and Dawson are in the game, you’re in ’12’ (personnel), but it’s quasi like ’11’ anyway. He’s not your standard ‘Y’ tight end. He’s going to be flexed out a lot more than necessarily you would do with Dawson.”’