Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

‘If the Bills are truly hoping to win a game this season, they may not if Peterman continues to start. They might win a few if they turn to Allen.’

‘As for this offensive line, there’s not much more to say. It’s awful, we all know it, and there’s not much the Bills can do about it because there’s no help lurking out there somewhere. Offensive line play in the NFL is terrible almost everywhere, so anyone who can actually play is already playing for a team. How bad is Russell Bodine? The backup center didn’t even play.’

‘Worst opening day loss. Worst road loss. Second-worst loss regardless of venue. The Bills are in their 59th year of existence, and that’s where the 47-3 defeat to the Ravens on Sunday ranked in team history. It was as awful a performance as the score would indicate, and what was so disgraceful is that all three phases – offense, defense and special teams – played at an embarrassingly poor level. If Bills fans had a ray of hope that this team could repeat its somewhat miraculous advancement to the playoffs from last year, this should just about shatter that illusion. There was nothing positive to take from this debacle.’

‘All we really know about Peterman is this — at this moment, he’s the most-ready QB the Bills have on the roster to start opening day, because prized rookie Josh Allen isn’t there yet.’

‘“My family and I were coming back from Jamaica and we had just landed and my phone is blowing up,” said Kreider, who has known McCoy since his high school playing days at Bishop McDevitt in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. “One of my good friends said the Eagles just moved LeSean to Buffalo. And I said, ‘What? Come on, you’re crazy.’ I got on the phone to (McCoy) and he was in a bad space, so I talked to Drew and he said, ‘It’s true, it’s going down, it’s for Kiko Alonso, a linebacker.’ And I said, ‘Who the hell is he? Kiko Alonso? For LeSean?’”’

‘Two guys who have persevered through personal setbacks and overcome long odds to be in Sunday’s opening day starting lineup for the Bills against the Baltimore Ravens.’

‘This is just the eighth regular-season meeting between the teams since the Ravens were formed in Baltimore in 1996. The Ravens lead the series, 4-3. This is the second time in three years the Bills are opening a season in Baltimore. In 2016, Buffalo dropped a 13-7 decision to the Ravens as the Bills’ offense managed just 11 first downs and 160 yards. LeSean McCoy, one of the few offensive players still with Buffalo, had 58 yards rushing.’

‘But there will be a step backward in 2018 before any steps forward are taken in 2019 and beyond, and that’s just reality. And in a read-between-the-lines sort of way, Beane did acknowledge that before training camp when he said, “This is a new year, but hopefully fans understand or believe in what we’re doing here as a group … that we have it (headed) in the right direction, but we have not arrived, by any means.”’

‘That performance in the so-called “dress rehearsal game’’ for the real thing was the story behind the story as the Bills’ first-unit offense mustered 78 yards, including negative 5 passing, under rookie quarterback Josh Allen.’

‘“So we’ve had guys ‘do it’ through sports, but Kaepernick is a guy doing it right now, so I think it’s a great pairing with Nike and him. To say something is worth sacrificing if you really believe in something (is a powerful message). I don’t think anybody would sacrifice their job right now for certain things, that’s a big sacrifice, it’s how you feed your family. I know I’d be asking, ‘How is this going to affect my job?’’

‘“It doesn’t bother me at all,’’ said center Ryan Groy, who steps in for Wood, a nine-year starter and team leader. “At the end of day, anybody can think what they want. We know what’s in this locker room. We’re going to play hard, with tenacity and get after it.’’’

‘“Honestly, I don’t know how he does it other than the grace of God and the prayers of so many,” she wrote. “And of course being ‘Kelly Tough.’”’

‘Peterman was the clear-cut winner of the three-way competition that also included rookie Josh Allen and free agent acquisition A.J. McCarron. So confident are the Bills in Peterman, and Allen’s ability to be the backup, they traded McCarron on Saturday to the Oakland Raiders and received a 2019 fifth-round draft pick in return.’

‘“It makes it certainly gratifying as a coach to be able to reward a young man who has earned it,” McDermott said. “He went through some adversity. Not only last season but in his college career. We’ve all been through that. If you go through some adversity early in life, you’re that much more prepared for it later in life and that to me, that becomes a character trait that’s good to have.”’

‘Allen certainly would have been the better marketing choice, but Peterman was superior on the field, which is all that should matter.’