Archives for September 2017

'“When they told me, I thought I was going to get a trophy,” White joked Thursday. “I'm like, man, it's just for the internet basically. Seriously, though, it's a tremendous honor. It's something I set as one of my goals. When I came to the NFL, I said I wanted to be defensive rookie of the year, so I'm off to a great start. It's a testament to my coaching staff and teammates putting me in a position to make plays.'

'Freeman arguably is the best pure, outside zone runner in the league. He's not as good all-around as LeSean McCoy or Ezekiel Elliott. But he has the most rushing yards of any NFL back the past two-plus seasons. And nobody hits the outside zone runs better. At 5-foot-8, 206 pounds, he has a compact body similar to that of Frank Gore. He has a knack for pressing the edge of the defense on wide runs, planting his foot and slashing upfield.'

'Through four games, he's amassed a passer rating of 103.2 when "kept clean." When pressured, Ryan's passer rating is 88.1. That's not a huge gap. It's still early, but there was bound to be a regression from Ryan's MVP season of a year ago when his passer rating was 128.9 when kept clean, the best figure in the league.'

'Despite his struggles through his last two games, with just 30 yards rushing on 26 carries, LeSean McCoy ranks 13th in total yards from scrimmage with 271 yards. He is one of just four players with at least 125 yards rushing and 125 yards receiving this season. His 18 receptions rank 12th overall, and second among running backs, behind only Tarik Cohen, who has 20.'

'But while the losses were noticeable, they were minor: The Bills were down about 2,200 likes in the days after Sunday's game (a 26-16 win), which was a decrease of only about 0.25 percent of their overall Facebook following. No team lost more than half a percentage point of its total Facebook likes, according to data from The Advocate.'

'The answer is no. Jones is world-class, very nearly in a class of his own in today’s NFL. There are other greats, no doubt, and two names that come immediately to mind are Cincinnati’s A.J. Green and Pittsburgh’s Antonio Brown. But Jones is simply a cut above when you combine his size (6-foot-3, 220 pounds), his speed, his remarkable efficiency in how he runs his routes, and his sticky hands. It’s the complete package, and the Bills’ defense knows it has the ultimate challenge Sunday in Atlanta.'

'"I mean, me personally, it just felt like it was right for me to do," Dareus said at his locker Wednesday. "After the collective conversation we had with the team, we all just kind of came together and said we want to stand together, we want to be together and support one another. I felt like that was the right thing for me to do in that moment."'

'Which Tyrod Taylor are the Bills going to get? Is it going to be the one who threw for 125 yards in Carolina or the one who was efficient and productive in throwing for two touchdowns against the Broncos? If Taylor can repeat his Week 3 performance more often than not, the Bills are going to have a chance to win against most teams. It may not be enough to keep up with elite offenses like the Falcons and Patriots, but the Bills don't play those teams every week.'

'“He’s done a great job,” Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott said. “He puts into the film room during the week and the results have taken care of themselves. From a young corner, this early to do what he’s done, is good to see. Still a lot of work to do, but I know he’s working extremely hard and I’m happy for him.”'

'“He’s done a great job,” Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott said. “He puts into the film room during the week and the results have taken care of themselves. From a young corner, this early to do what he’s done, is good to see. Still a lot of work to do, but I know he’s working extremely hard and I’m happy for him."'

'Zay Jones yips: Despite being a major piece in Buffalo’s offense after the departure of Sammy Watkins, Jones hasn’t been overly impressive and hopefully he doesn’t have a case of the “yips.” Jones had one catch in the season opener against the Jets and added two more during Week 2’s game in Carolina. But Jones nearly had three. The rookie had a drop at the end of the game in Carolina which could have won the game for Buffalo. The xzvsa would be 3-0 instead of 2-1. It’s only one drop, but last week Jones had a goose egg. No catches. Nothing. Here’s to hoping he gets more involved this week.'

'I was really impressed with Buffalo against the Broncos and I think this is going to be a hard-fought game. I'm going to say a narrow Falcons win, 27-24.'

'“Personally, I think he might be a little more physical run-after-the-catch; he likes to use the stiff arm a lot. Pretty good stiff arm, but they’re pretty similar players,” Campbell said of Clay. “I never played against anybody (in college) that’s like the guys in the League. That’s why they’re here.”'

'Although the Bills play a 4-3 defense, which typically relies on defensive ends to provide the bulk of the pass rush, they aren’t afraid to blitz with linebackers or safeties. Veteran linebacker Lorenzo Alexander is coming off a career year where he recorded 12.5 sacks, and he already has two sacks this season. Tied with Alexander for the team lead in sacks are defensive ends Shaq Lawson and Jerry Hughes and safety Jordan Poyer.'

'"The defenses in which he's been involved were always hard-nosed and really good," Quinn said. "Now, you can see that coming through to the entire team. That's not easy to do, but that's now his personality coming through to the team."'