Archives for July 2, 2018

‘Both Humber and Vallejo are key contributors on special teams. The same type of role is expected for Stanford, who signed as a free agent from the New York Jets.’

‘“You go back to his background and what different positions he played. He played in space quite a bit and so you saw some of the overall athleticism that we’re seeing today,” McDermott said last December. “Smart player, and each game he gets a little bit better, which is important.”’

‘Lo and behold, the Bills pieced the position together better than expected. White exceeded the expectations by making the NFL’s all-rookie team and finishing second to New Orleans cornerback Marshon Lattimore in voting for NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year. Newcomer E.J. Gaines was competent at No. 2 corner, turning in the best season of his four-year NFL career even though he missed five games to injury.’

‘”That was the big attraction, the fact you can play him on slot receivers, you can put him outside, you can put him in the box,” said defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier of Neal. “And in the NFL today, the way they spread you out, you need that. That’s what Micah Hyde gives us with our first group. We’re hoping Siran will develop and become that type of player.”‘

‘One would think fifth-round pick Siran Neal from Jacksonville State will be the fourth safety. He will get competition from Dean Marlowe and Kelcie McCray. Marlowe played for Sean McDermott with the Carolina Panthers in 2015 and 2016 and joined the Bills practice squad at the end of last season. (He saw action in five games in 2015 and sat out ’16 on injured reserve). McCray has bounced around five teams the past seven years but has played a lot. He saw 50 percent of the snaps for Seattle in 2016 and 65 percent in 2015.’

‘Of course, it’s also obvious that the Chiefs decided they wanted to do better than Gaines. Chiefs coach Andy Reid found the opportunity when he shopped quarterback Alex Smith on the trade market. Reid dealt Smith to Washington for Kendall Fuller, who faced the most slot coverage snaps in the NFL last season and was top rated out of the slot by Pro Football Focus.’