Olean Times Herald

‘“It makes a big difference compared to almost three years ago when we got together for the first time. To sit down and talk to the guys and introduce what we’re doing (to) and now they can actually stand up in front of the room and talk about some of the things that we do, what our philosophy is and how we want to do things. It’s like night and day and you can see it in how fast they’re playing at this point. Just a year ago, with Tremaine (Edmunds, middle linebacker), his growth and maturity has helped our defense to be able to play faster, because now you can introduce things without having to say, ‘OK we have to slow it down, we have a rookie middle linebacker, we have to go baby steps.’”’

‘But, for the second straight week, there was one glaring missing entity. Where was Ed Oliver, the first-round draft pick, taken No. 9 overall?’

‘Thus, with that jumbled unit, it’s hard to tell exactly where the line, in major rebuild mode, might be.’

‘“It’s a little bit of an adjustment for him coming from a scheme where he was pretty much lined up directly over the center. Now we have more to guard so there are some intricacies and things he’ll have to learn. But it’s good to see him be able to do what he’s capable of doing and that’s being able to explode off the football and use his quickness and his power which he hadn’t been able to do (out of pads).”’

‘“It’s tough and it makes it tough on the players. Third-and-two to-five (yards), it’s about a 50-50 advantage so to speak between the offense and defense. We see some tight coverage, you have to make tight throws, tight windows, handle the pressure game, so we’ve had it in the OTAs and (we) come out and do it again and just hope to improve (in training camp) because they’re critical areas.”’

‘However, McDermott also added, “If it weren’t (an ongoing decision), we wouldn’t be doing our collective jobs because of what we now have here (at New Era Field). The needs of the modern athlete change every day. We have to make sure we’re giving them every chance to become the best versions of themselves.”’

‘But this is a team that signed 18 unrestricted free agents (UFAs), six on the offensive line, where the competition, by far, will be the most interesting.’

‘Fan turnout at St. John Fisher has gradually slipped at the same time the quality of the Bills’ training facilities at New Era Field has risen to state-of-the-art levels. The whole team-bonding philosophy of NFL training camps being held off-site has given way to the efficiency of using high-quality team facilities at home.’

‘In short, a dozen offensive players either didn’t practice or were limited on the opening day of minicamp: three wideouts, two tight ends and seven linemen.’

‘“Ed’s done a really good job up to this point,” Frazier said. “I don’t think it’s been overwhelming for him. You see his quickness, you see his burst. As he continues to get a better grasp on what we’re asking him to do on defense, I think you’ll see more of his athleticism as well.”‘

‘“From year one to year two, (growth) for any player, is huge,” Daboll said. “Usually you make a big jump because there are so many unknowns when you come in here. You can talk to some of these young rookies and they don’t know their way to a Tim Horton’s, shortcuts to the stadium, all the little things that you take for granted, it’s all new to those guys.”‘

‘Wide receiver Cole Beasley (Dallas) and center Mitch Morse (Kansas City) both underwent off-season surgery and aren’t practicing while undergoing a “core muscle procedure” in “the groin area,” according to McDermott.’

‘“I would just say, look, we’re putting a team together and sometimes it’s hard to see, in some of those cases, how that piece fits right now. That will work itself out over time. That’s part of what the competition piece of that is. I’ve said before, we’ve got a lot of work to do. There’s been some good players added in our division, and I think those teams feel like they’ve improved their football team as well.”’

‘Of the 70 players on the roster from last season — including injured reserve and the practice squad — only 53 remain. However, he added a surprising 18 in free agency and, after this weekend, eight more via the draft.’

‘That is to say, with Beane and coach Sean McDermott cleansing the Buffalo roster of the selections made by former GM Doug Whaley, excluding what happened this weekend, only 11 of the 53 returning players were Bills’ draftees, by far the lowest percentage in the NFL.’