WGR

‘Whatever you want to call it, the Bills showed it. They were down 16-0 and then 16-3 heading into the fourth quarter. But they just kept playing and battling and made enough plays down the stretch to come away with the win. Head coach Sean McDermott has been preaching, and the team has been practicing, these very types of scenarios and situations since the first day of OTAs. It paid off in a big way to open the season.’

‘So, now it’s time to show how far each has come, against one another, in a pivotal week one matchup that could go a long way in determinig who finishes ahead of the other in the AFC East.’

‘I recently sat down with Gore for an exclusive one-on-one interview to ask him what he thought about those players in front of him, his place in history, who he emulated as younger back, and his chase up the ladder. Here’s what he had to say…’.

‘”On a certain level, they need to develop an offense that has a sustaining element. I think we all know that Josh Allen can be a very big play quarterback, both with his arm and his legs… but I think to be a really good team and a consistent team, what become the important plays in games, the plays that are not highlight plays, are when it’s third and six and you gain eight yards with a completion.”‘

‘”We feel good about Cody at both [right guard and right tackle]. He’s been extremely resilient and mentally tough as we’ve moved him in and out of both positions. Some due to injury, some wanting to see where he’s best suited for. We feel good about both positions. Cody is extremely tough. Extremely mentally tough, as well as physically tough, and he’s off to a great start as a rookie.”‘

‘The Bills will have six players serve as captain this season; two on the offensive side of the ball, two on defense, and two on special teams.’

‘”Last year, I came in late in the season and saw a lot of potential in the room with Zay [Jones], myself, Robert Foster, Cam Phillips and those guys. Coming into this year, [the team] added John Brown, [Cole] Beasley and Andre Roberts, and I felt like they’re older guys that have been in the league enough that they know the ropes to the game and know how to play the game. I felt like for all the young guys that are behind them, [we’re] just learning from them and getting everything we can by picking their brains. I feel like they’ve taught us so much this offseason that going into the season, the young guys are pretty prepared and ready to play ball. They’ve brought a lot of juice to the room and a lot of knowledge to the room.”‘

‘There are reasons to feel optimistic going into Sunday’s opener against the New York Jets but obviously the Bills have to prove they are a much improved offense. The line should be better than it was last season although there is some concern up front. First and foremost, Mitch Morse has to stay healthy. He was the big ticket pick up in the off season and he should be a big part of that new look line making the Bills a better running team at the very least. I’m also worried about the lack of time the five starters got as a unit due to Morse and other player injuries as well as the shifting of rookie Cody Ford between guard and tackle. Sean McDermott didn’t rule out the possibility of doing that with Ford during the season. So much for identifying the best five guys and playing them.’

‘For the Jets, their injury list is longer, but no one sat out. Four players were limited, including WR Robby Anderson (calf), CB Trumaine Johnson (hamstring), WR/PR Braxton Berrios (hamstring), and OL Brian Winters (shoulder).’

‘McDermott said something he noticed immediately when he arrived as head coach in 2017 was that the weight room the team had wasn’t on par with the rest of their facility at One Bills Drive. Then, when Beane arrived just a few months later, he noticed the same thing, which indicated to both of them that they needed to do something about it. So the two began to talk about improving the facility and let ownership know what they were thinking.’

‘Davis comes to the Bills after spending all of last season and this preseason with the New York Jets, the team’s week one opponent. He was originally a 3rd round pick of the Giants in 2017 out of Califormia. Hall was released by the Dallas Cowboys after signing as an undrafted free agent out of Northwestern. Johnson was released by the Houston Texans after originally signing this year as an undrafted free agent out of Oklahoma State. The other seven players were all with the Bills this preseason, but released Saturday.’

‘Multiple reports also say the Bills are signing former Dallas Cowboys linebacker Nate Hall to their practice squad, although that has not been conformed by the club.’

‘Sources told ESPN that the Los Angeles Chargers were the other team pursuing the 31-year-old runner, but McCoy chose the Chiefs, perhaps because of his familiarity with Head Coach Andy Reid. McCoy played under Reid for the first four seasons of his career in Philadelphia, where he rushed for 3,866 yards from 2009 to 2012, the second-most rushing yards under Reid, behind only Brian Westbrook.’

‘The team also announced it has moved tight end Tyler Kroft from the Physically Unable to Perform List to the 53-man active roster. Kroft broke his ankle on the first day of OTAs.’

‘”It was very difficult, but I believed in LeSean the whole time and, again, it was down to the last minute that we decided to go in this direction.”‘