WGR

‘The Bills took one knock away from their first preseason game. Isaiah Hodgins left the game in the 3rd quarter with what looked like a knee injury. “I still haven’t met with our trainer yet,” Bills coach Sean McDermott said in his post-game press conference. Hodgins was seen walking off the field toward the locker room at the end of the game.’

‘“The heart’s obviously a pretty serious thing for us human beings, so yes, it’s alarming,” Sweeney said with reporters earlier in the week. “It was a lot at once, talking about that, talking about real life, the season’s over. I thought about the career, but the doctors that I talked to and everybody here was great about it. Obviously it wasn’t a good thing, but they were pretty confident I could comeback after I got through the three month period.”’

‘I’ve been saying for weeks that the Bills linebacker group is really deep and underrated on the back-end. Along with Davis (above), Giles-Harris showed an example of that. He was all over the field, and seemingly always near the ball, finishing with five total tackles.’

‘Expectations are good to have. Fans should have high expectations for the 2021 Bills. I have them, too. But teams don’t get to just pick up where they left off the season before. It may be pretty “coach-speak-y,” but Sean McDermott is correct when he said last January that you have to start all over each season.’

‘Webb is very highly-regarded within the organization. He’s seen almost as an extra coach in meeting rooms and on the field. It’s doubtful he makes the final 53-man roster, but it’s hard not to see him ultimately back on the practice squad.’

‘“It will be on an individual basis, so a number of the starters won’t play,” McDermott said ahead of Wednesday’s practice in Orchard Park. “There will be some starters that do play, and then we’ll go from there.”’

‘Running backs Devin Singletary and Matt Breida both broke off long gains during 11-on-11 drills. Although players were wearing full pads, the defense was not live tackling all the way to the ground. Obviously that may have impacted the overall result of the plays, but there were still good holes to run through, and both backs showed great vision.’

‘If the extension wasn’t completed before the season began, I don’t think it would have negatively impacted Allen’s performance, but I think it was better for both parties to get this done and out of the way, as opposed to getting back at it after the season. I guess there would have been a chance Allen would be concerned about contract talks if he was struggling, or perhaps would be worried about an injury before getting the pay day of his lifetime.’

‘You wanna see the CB3 battle? Great. You want to know how your special teams unit is working and make sure the gunners are staying in lanes? I’m into it. Otherwise, the preseason is all risk and no reward.’

‘Last year he struggled to get back to form and was inactive for some games and played 12 games. Phillips said things are going really well now, “Last year having to focus so much on the rehab component and getting my lower body right took time away. You can only spend so many hours in the gym to allocate time for recovery and sleep, so this offseason, I’m feeling a lot more healthy in my knees, it’s allowed me to get my body where it could move a little bit better, more explosive, so I’m focused on a lot of power stuff, getting my lower body as strong as I possibly can puts me in the best position to help out this football team.”‘

‘Wide receiver Stefon Diggs did not practice with a knee injury, but was present and helping. However, fellow receiver Emmanuel Sanders was back after missing multiple practices with a foot injury, and took full advantage of his opportunities. Sanders and quarterback Josh Allen hooked up a lot during the 11-on-11 sessions. Wide receiver Jake Kumerow, whose been a standout at camp since it began, had another nice day, as well.’

‘“I really look forward to the games, this is just a small little taste. I feel like the real taste was the playoffs when it was loud and they were excited we were in the playoffs, so I’m just thankful things are getting back to normal again.”’

‘With his new contract, Allen becomes the second-highest paid quarterback, in terms of average annual value, in the NFL. His $43 million per-year rate is only behind Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes at $45 million per-year.’

‘While the Bills worked almost exclusively in the red zone in 11-on-11 drills, Allen didn’t have the option to throw to wide receivers Stefon Diggs or Emmanuel Sanders. Diggs appeared to be getting a rest day, while Sanders took part in individual position work but then sat out the rest of practice, one day after sitting out entirely with a foot injury.’

‘”I think first and foremost his leadership, just the way he goes about things. He knows everyone on the team, everyone’s name, where they’re from. I think that’s important to have that as a leader. You want to have someone that you want to play for, and his skill set is second-to-none. I think he’s a generational talent. Just watching him throw the ball, how he’s getting off the type of plays at the huddle. I think he’s going to be around for a very long time with the Bills, and I’m excited to play with him this year.”‘