Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

‘“I trust this new head coach (Sean McDermott) and GM (general manager Brandon Beane). I think they are very methodical. I would say this is to gauge where he is. It’s a new offensive system. If they are close (in performance), well why not (start Allen)?”‘

‘“Matt was slowed a little bit with a hamstring, but even how he handled that (by) sticking around Buffalo during the break to get himself right and ready to go for training camp was a big sign, I thought, of maturity,” said coach Sean McDermott. “He’s very serious about his job and what we’re trying to do as a football team, so I certainly appreciate that.”’

‘When asked what McCarron missing time means in his quest to win the starting job over Nathan Peterman and Josh Allen, McDermott said, “Let’s take his health status, number one, and then factor that into (the fact that) we just have to get into this next stage one day at a time here and then we’ll go from there. We’ll see. If healthy, then we pick up where we left off.”’

‘A quick scan of the veterans available includes Derek Anderson, Mark Sanchez, Matt Moore, Scott Tolzien, Christian Hackenberg, Mark Sanchez, Kellen Clemens, Josh Johnson, and T.J. Yates among others. That’s flat out depressing, but if the Bills were planning to carry three quarterbacks into the regular season, they may have to consider one of these players.’

‘McCarron and the Buffalo first-string offense struggled against the Browns. McCarron finished 3-for-6 for 12 yards and failed to lead the Bills to a first down on four possessions. He was sacked in the first quarter but stayed in the game until early in the second quarter.’

‘Harrison Phillips. I love the way he plays. He never gives up on a down, and he’s going to be a perfect fit in the middle of the Bills defense. Kyle Williams suffered a knee injury early on, and while it appears he’ll be OK, he’s 35 and that might not be the last injury he suffers. Phillips is going to play a big role in this defense.’

‘All 10 of Buffalo’s first-half points came with Allen leading the offense.’

‘“Whenever you have a new player coming in, sometimes it can feel like, ‘Oh, boy,’” Daboll said. “You’re spending as much time as you can with your position coach, with your quarterbacks, and staying after. There’s a ton of stuff to learn. What you try to do for the player is start out by giving him the things that he really has to know for the practices and then at night, you’re going back and reviewing how we call a motion or how we call a shift that maybe they haven’t had in practice. It’s challenging for a player. He’s done a really good job of staying late, working extra. You can’t just give him the whole ball of wax, so it’s a continual process.”’

‘But with the QB race tighter than my high school varsity sweater, the right thing to do is to use that third game for a thorough assessment of his prized rookie, especially if Allen plays well again against the Browns, when he’s expected to be the second man up.’

‘As preseason games go, this one certainly carries some intrigue, and not only the Taylor and Coleman connections, but also that Mayfield and Buffalo’s Josh Allen, the No. 7 overall pick, will be competing on the same field as they try to win starting jobs.’

‘”He played at Wyoming,” Ramsey said. “Every time they played a big school — like, they played Iowa State, which is not a big school in my opinion because I went to Florida State — and he threw five interceptions, and they lost by a couple touchdowns or something like that. He never beat a big school. If you look at his games against big schools, it was always hella interceptions, hella turnovers.’

‘“All three are playing well. … There’s great competition, and that’s healthy for our football team, healthy at that position in particular,” McDermott said. “All three have had their moments, both good and bad. The great part about these young men is they’re learning from the (moments) that haven’t gone their way.”’

‘“I love it here, it’s a great spot,’’ Beane said. “We both believe in it. We actually went out to dinner last night and talked about it. As long as we’re in charge, we’re going to camp.’’’

‘“It’s no secret we have a little competition going,’’ Bodine said of himself and Groy. “He’s a good player and everybody wants to play. But you can’t get caught up in the competition thing. When you’re in there, you just have to focus and make sure you are doing your job, that you are being professional, and let the chips fall where they may.’’’

‘“Tight end is one of those positions that’s a tough position,” said offensive coordinator Brian Daboll. “Having coached it, there’s a lot of things that go along with playing tight end, both in the run game, the pass game, in routes and protections. Those guys have to understand all of it. It never seems like there’s enough meeting time for tight end because you’re pulling half the time with the line, half the time with the skill guys. We expect those guys to do everything; I don’t think you can put a guy in and do one thing with him and tip your hand. I think it’s their job to keep improving in all areas.”’