Archives for December 2018

‘The talent was evident. When he was awake, no one could catch him. But McKenzie always struggled to concentrate in the classroom. And when he sat still, he’d often slip into a deep sleep at inappropriate times. Now McKenzie is standing at his locker at the Buffalo Bills’ practice facility, recently claimed off waivers, surrounded by microphones and cameras and, he says later, fighting a powerful urge to zone out.’

‘The release of Kelvin Benjamin this week opens up more opportunity for the likes of Robert Foster, Ray-Ray McCloud and Isaiah McKenzie – provided he can play despite a toe injury. Last week, Zay Jones became the first Bills receiver to catch two touchdown passes in one game. He’ll dominate the snap count, but it will be who emerges behind him that’s worth tracking.’

‘Todd Bowles is a dead man walking. The Jets are expected to fire him after this season.’

‘The Jets rushed six, and the middle linebacker came up the A gap, past the center (a favored Jets tactic). The Titans blocked with only five. The Titans’ outside receiver, Cameron Batson, didn’t rub tightly enough against his teammate in running the short slant, which allowed Johnson to get inside position.’

‘I’ll say this for recent free agents who have signed with the Bills – they seem to genuinely love playing here. Maybe that’s just something they say in the media, but when I hear players like Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer gush about playing in Buffalo, they strike me as genuine. The same goes for drafted players. Just look at the comments from Josh Allen and Tre’Davious White, to name a couple.’

‘The Bills have 24 players on their roster age 25 or younger. Here’s a look at them, in my order of the most important going forward.’

‘I got mesmerized by the Buffalo Bills at probably 6 years old. I definitely remember that 1964 (AFL) championship game. I remember the bottle caps on the sodas with the name, number and caricature of a Bills player inside of each bottle cap. I can remember playing football in the streets before I was even allowed to be in the streets. My love affair with football, with the Buffalo Bills, is over five decades old.’