Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

‘“I don’t get paid to make decisions, I get paid to play quarterback, but come Saturday, it’s in my opinion the saddest day in all of sports. A lot of guys are losing part of themselves in the game of football.”’

‘“I’ve played with a chip on my shoulder since when I wasn’t on varsity my freshman year in high school,” said Wallace, now heading into this third NFL season. “That’s just how I play, that’s who I am, and I’ve carried that same chip each and every day from high school, college, even the NFL. That’s just me, so even now I’m established I guess a little bit … I still get nervous. Anything can happen. I never take any rep or any practice for granted.”’

‘For the most part, I’m not expecting too many surprises Saturday, but I’m going to make a case for three potential cuts you may not be considering.’

‘Wide receiver John Brown and defensive end Quinton Jefferson were out with what McDermott termed an “illness” so right away, the thoughts went to COVID-19. “The two illnesses, with what we know now at this point, are not connected to COVID, but it’s always a concern,” McDermott said.’

‘So, in a year when the Bills have high expectations and firmly believe they are a legitimate Super Bowl contender, they are entrusting the kicking duties to a rookie who has never faced the pressure he’ll be under in the NFL, especially if the games are indeed massively important.’

‘“I’ve said this plenty of times before; Josh is a guy that has come in, has worked hard and aims to improve every day, and he has done that every day since he’s been here,” said Daboll. “I have total confidence in him as a player and as a person. He just needs to keep grinding out, we all do, keep grinding out to get better. He’s a hard-working quarterback, he’s a hard-working player, and he’s a good leader. He’s the leader of our football team.”’

‘“The thing that I noticed is the decision making,” Frazier said Friday. “It’s what you thought it would be going into his third season. He’s grown so much in that area, protecting the football and making good decisions.”’

‘The two kickers were fairly close in terms of accuracy during training camp, but Bass’ leg was clearly superior, especially on kickoffs. On Thursday, Bass drove two kickoffs into a stiff wind for touchbacks, he made both of his extra point attempts and a 41-yard field goal, then missed a 55-yarder. Hauschka came up well short of the end zone into the wind on a kickoff and missed one of two extra points.’

‘“I can tell you that I thought about it, we thought about it from the administrative side,” coach Sean McDermott said of postponing the scrimmage. “We’ve had, and will continue to have, ongoing conversations about things that are going on in our world and the result of those things.”’

‘Meaning, the Bills will be in full uniform, and the practice will contain not only live periods of real football – the kind where players actually hit each other – but the coaching staff will build in several scenarios that one would expect if the Colts were actually standing on the other sideline.’

‘And yet, with Stefon Diggs, John Brown and Cole Beasley entrenched as the starting three, and versatile Isaiah McKenzie still an integral part of the offense, the Bills are going to have a tough time finding snaps for Gabriel Davis and Isaiah Hodgins.’

‘The Bills’ letter read as follows: “We hope you and your family and friends are staying safe and healthy.”‘

‘“I’m happy that it happened now instead of come season time,” said Allen. “If this were to happen on Saturday or Sunday, who knows if I’d be playing. It sucks that I was kind of the guinea pig and whatnot, and part of that process, but I’m glad it wasn’t then, I’m glad it was now and we’re able to kind of move past it.”’

‘This is the tendency in sports, falling in love with the new guy, and in Moss’ case, it’s easy to understand why that would happen. With his unique talent for being able to mix bruising runs with ones where he’s elusive enough to make defenders miss, the 2020 third-round draft pick and native south Floridian looks like he’s going to be a fun player to watch this season.’

‘“We control what we can control,” McDermott said on a Zoom call Monday morning. “I think it’s honestly ridiculous that there will be … what appears to be a playing field that is like that. Inconsistently across the league with the different away stadiums. We control what we can control. That’s gotta be our mindset and that’s how we attack it.”’