Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

‘Of course Allen is still far from a finished product, but some of his metrics last season were awful, and he will need to be much better if the Bills hope to contend for a playoff berth because he’s the hub around which the wheel spins.’

‘Regarding his uncommon rookie year youth, Edmunds said the other day following a practice at the Bills’ facility, “I embraced it. I took pride in that, and I wanted to let people know that even being a young guy I deserved to be here, and I showed up every day with the vet mentality.”’

‘“Adding competition to our roster,” coach Sean McDermott said. “A guy that we know to an extent, having had E.J. our first year. Even though E.J. was gone he’s a guy that knows what we expect and how we expect it done. He knows the system to some extent. He offers position flex being able to play outside and being able to play inside. That nickel position is important. Kevin can do some of that as well and obviously with Taron.”’

‘“I feel fortunate that he’s able to come over and talk to us,” said Allen. “It’s always good to get new ideas, especially from a guy like Jim, a Hall of Famer who played at the highest level for a long time. Just kind of picking his brain, seeing what he did on film and actually being able to ask him what his thought process was on a certain concept. Football has not changed that much; they ran the same concepts that we still run to this day.”’

‘“I love when he’s in the huddle talking to the players,” said Kelly. “They run a route, 7-on-7, team drills, they come back and he’s talking to the receiver he threw to and to the guys he didn’t throw to. It reflects back to what I was doing with Andre Reed, James Lofton, Don Beebe. You have to be on the same page and when you have a quarterback who’s willing to say something, to talk and communicate with your receivers on what you’re doing, that’s a huge, huge start. I’m excited.”’

‘The Bills lease with Erie County for New Era Field expires in 2023, but pretty soon, the owner Terry and Kim Pegula will need to know what they’re going to do. Are they going to sign a new lease to continue playing in the current venue, albeit after a major renovation? Or will they build a new stadium, either in Orchard Park or downtown Buffalo?’

‘“Hey, it’s part of my life. It is what it is,’’ he said, making it sound like cancer is a pinkie cut. “Some of my pain will be with me the rest of my life and it’s not just cancer pain, it’s stuff that happened to me when I played. But I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world. You know the thing is guys, I know why I’m still here — it’s my faith. The good Lord has blessed me.’’’

‘The woman told officers that Dodson was intoxicated at her apartment when he shoved her against a wall and slapped her face. The woman, who also told police that she had slapped Dodson in the face as well, told Dodson to leave her apartment and locked herself in a bathroom before Dodson forced the door open, hitting her in the head with the door, according to the police report.’

‘“I knew there would be guys sitting on their couch all day looking at stats and trying to project things without knowing what was going on, and maybe would say I’d be undrafted just purely based on that,” Knox said recently following an OTA practice, referring to the ever-growing roster of so-called draft experts.’

‘But as every coach in the history of the NFL has said at one time or another, there is a monumental jump for most players from year one to year two, and Allen — no longer the third-stringer but now the starter and face of the franchise — is currently in the midst of taking that leap.’

‘By recommissioning 32, the Bills are saying nothing is off limits regarding their continued homage of Simpson, 71.’

‘Last year, Jim Kelly had major surgery on his upper jaw to treat a recurrence of oral squamous-cell carcinoma, which was first diagnosed in May 2013. Last September, he had reconstructive surgery so that dentures could be placed and in February he had back surgery to remove a cyst that was pushing against his spinal cord.’

‘“The cream is going to rise to the top in that room,” Wood said of the unprecedented turnover that will occur this season. “Everybody is going to get reps, and there’s a bunch of grown men in that room. They have a lot of guys with experience, and guys who don’t make this team are going to go on and win jobs on other rosters, and that hasn’t always happened here on the offensive line, or really a lot of places in general.”’

‘“You never want to take credit away from where credit is due,” McDermott said when asked if he considered sacks an overrated measuring tool. “You look at the great sack artists over the years, (Mark) Gastineau, (Lawrence) Taylor, all these guys that had the numbers. I’d never take anything away from them, but just when you study the game of how you win games, you have to affect the quarterback.”’

‘Also, wide receiver Cole Beasley and center Mitch Morse each underwent recent surgery to correct core muscle injuries, and running back Frank Gore is still working back from foot and ankle injuries that slowed him last season in Miami.’