Archives for August 12, 2017

'Eddie Yarbrough — Getting the start in place of Shaq Lawson, Yarbrough showed his strong practice performances haven't been a fluke. He got a third-down sack of Vikings quarterback Sam Bradford to end Minnesota's first possession, and finished the night with three tackles and two quarterback hurries. He has quickly moved into the role of top backup to Lawson and Jerry Hughes at defensive end.'

'Well, number one, it was good to see the fans come out and support the football team. It’s always good to play at home. We look forward to making this a tough place to play and embracing that. After that, or in addition to that, I thought there [were" target="_blank"> a lot of good things on the football field, a lot of good moments. That said, good teams don’t beat themselves and we beat ourselves numerous times tonight and we’ve got to get that corrected in order to go where we want to go.'

'The three-hour game in Coach Sean McDermott's debut had a 20.0 rating on WKBW-TV (Channel 7), the local ABC affiliate. That was only slightly down from the 20.3 rating for the 2016 preseason opener.'

'After these deals, the Bills now own two picks in each of the first, second and third rounds of 2018, a draft that is expected to be rich in quarterback talent, so naturally, the arm-chair GMs started rolling through possibilities.'

'What Beane did Friday in sending Watkins and a 2018 sixth-round pick to the Los Angeles Rams in exchange for cornerback E.J. Gaines and the Rams’ second-round pick in 2018 was a master stroke. And when he traded Darby to Philadelphia for wide receiver Jordan Matthews and the Eagles’ third-round pick in 2018, the double-barrel deal looked even better.'

'Matthews is one of only five players in NFL history to record 65-plus receptions and 800-plus receiving yards in each of their first three seasons, joining Odell Beckham Jr. (2014-16), Mike Evans (2014-16), A.J. Green (2011-13) and Randy Moss (1998-2000).'

'Gaines was involved in a couple of skirmishes earlier this week, including one with former Bills defensive back Nickell Robey-Coleman when the Rams and Chargers got physical in a combined training camp practice.'

'The Bills are building for the future, and this is not the time to give up on a 23-year-old who is basically still a rookie. The trade whispers surrounding Ragland seemed outrageous to me. Remember, before we make the claim that Ragland might just be another player that Whaley whiffed on, Ragland was the 2015 SEC defensive player of the year, and was projected by most to be a second-round talent, with a few draft sites sneaking him into the bottom of the first round.'

'How well will these players do for their new teams? Who knows? However, there are several players over the years who were drafted by the Bills but enjoyed more success after leaving the team either via free agency, trades or just being cut. Here are the top five that I chose in 2016…'.

'Darby was expected to serve as the Bills' No. 1 cornerback this season after Stephon Gilmore left the team in free agency. That job will now likely go to Tre'Davious White, Buffalo's first round pick in the 2017 NFL draft.'

'Watkins now reunites with former teammate Robert Woods in Los Angeles. New Bills general manager Brandon Beane has wasted no time shaping this roster in his image. Hired in May, Beane has already traded 2016 fourth-round pick Cardale Jones, 2014 first-round pick Sammy Watkins and 2015 second-round pick Ronald Darby, all draft picks of Doug Whaley.'

'The Bills’ new front office has talked about building for now and the future. Today it looks like the future is a bit more important to them than the present day. It seems safe to count out the possibility of the Bills going to the playoffs, but the Bills didn’t completely burn this thing to the ground. They added two quality NFL players to replace the building blocks Whaley left behind. If their evaluations of Watkins and Darby are on point, nobody will miss them a few years down the road. Still, don’t expect the Bills to make a march to the Super Bowl this season.'

'"That rookie we got. (Jordan) Matthews" McCoy said when asked who has caught his eye. "He has done real good. I think there has been a lot of talk about this (past) draft class being deep at wide receiver, but I'm real confident in (Matthews) being the best one out of the class."'

'The 2018 draft class may have the league's next great quarterback draft class. Quarterbacks who may be selected early in the draft include Sam Darnold, Josh Allen, Mason Rudolph, Josh Rosen, Luke Falk and Lamar Jackson. Buffalo could be stockpiling picks for next year's draft as a way to move up into the top of the draft to select their future franchise quarterback.'

'"It doesn't say anything," Beane said. "Everybody's forgetting we signed Anquan (Boldin) last week. This is not a 'throw in the towel' thing at all. Somebody mentioned that somebody put that out there. Quite honestly, that's annoying to me. You don't know me if you think I'm throwing in the towel. We can go out there and play ping pong, whatever I'm doing, I'm not throwing in the towel. If we were throwing in the towel, I wouldn't have tried to get a starting receiver back. To your question on Tyrod, it's nothing. We got Anquan who we added. I told you, I honestly believe he is a Hall of Famer and can still play in this league. Jordan Matthews is a starting receiver. You look at those numbers and what he's done, those aren't to be laughed at. Tyrod will get every opportunity to lead this team and we're all rooting for him. It's in our best interest."'