‘”We are taking a leap of faith,” Bills special teams coordinator Heath Farwell told reporters during a Zoom call Sunday. “But it’s something I really believe in. I’ve gotten to know this kid really well, since I literally went down and worked him out (at Georgia Southern) back in April. I’ve got a great relationship with him and just have a really good understanding with him and what he’s about and what’s important to him. I just trust him out there. He just does everything right.”‘
Archives for August 2020
Observations: Devin Singletary shows burst as Bills’ RB battle stays hot
‘The second-year back showed his quick acceleration through the hole repeatedly in the practice. Singletary burst wide for a big gainer on the first play of the second 11-on-11 session. He had a 5-yard gain up the middle a few minutes later. Then in enemy territory late in the practice, Singletary burst up the middle for at least 20 yards, and it might have been a touchdown of 30-some yards if it was a game situation.’
Bills kicker Scott Norwood’s ‘Wide Right’ jersey sells for $52,800
‘The jersey was accompanied by a signed letter of provenance from Norwood, who sold the jersey to the consigner, a private collector who wishes to remain anonymous, according to Heritage Auctions.’
Bills trusting rookie Tyler Bass and his big leg to upgrade their kicking game
‘So, in a year when the Bills have high expectations and firmly believe they are a legitimate Super Bowl contender, they are entrusting the kicking duties to a rookie who has never faced the pressure he’ll be under in the NFL, especially if the games are indeed massively important.’
Antonio Williams: Buffalo Bills to re-sign UDFA running back (sources)
‘Buffalo currently finds themselves dealing with injuries at the running back position. Taiwan Jones is dealing with a knee injury, Christian Wade has a quad injury and Zack Moss was limited in a red non-contact jersey due to a neck injury.’
Bills training camp 2020: More Gabriel Davis hype; Where A.J. Epenesa is struggling (Day 10 observations)
‘Davis makes plays every single day and they’re NFL-caliber plays against NFL-caliber players. Today he beat Tre’Davious White on a quick out pattern near the goal line for a touchdown on a nice pass from Matt Barkley. He was good in one-on-one drills, making it look easy on a stutter move against Levi Wallace. His final highlight of the day came a beautiful quick move off the line of scrimmage which led to a touchdown pass against new cornerback Brian Allen.’
New additions Addison, Jefferson highlight revamped Bills defensive line
‘When it comes to Addison, there haven’t been many defensive ends that have been more productive than Addison has been over the past five years. In fact, since 2014 just nine defensive linemen have more sacks than his 51.5, and throughout the past four seasons Addison has come away with at least nine sacks in each season, grabbing his career high (11) in ‘17.’
Diggs misses practice again; Bass perfect
‘Diggs joined a longer-than-usual list of players who did not participate as the team held it’s final official training camp practice of 2020 at their practice facility outside Bills Stadium.’
Bills rookie K Tyler Bass ready to prove why he won the starting job
‘“His ability to kick off like he does, to hit consistent kicks that was just kind of the final straw of like this guy can really do it, he’s won the job, his percentage was really good in training camp,” Bills special teams coordinator Heath Farwell said on a zoom call with reporters.’
Final day of Bills training camp injury update: August 30th
‘Wide receiver Stefon Diggs (back).’
New signage spotted at Bills Stadium
‘The Bills announced the new, temporary name for the Orchard Park stadium back on August 20. Now the stadium officially bears the name.’
Bills confident in their ‘leap of faith’ with rookie kicker Tyler Bass
‘Farwell called the kicking matchup a classic training camp battle earlier this month and it appears to have lived up to the hype. Bass had to prove himself in every area of the position: field goal percentage, distance of kicks, kickoffs, difficulty of kicks, pressure kicks, and the mental side of the game.’
Tyler Bass credits his ‘meemaw’ with kicking career
‘”She’s been through a lot,” said Bass. “She battled breast cancer, ended up beating breast cancer. That motivates me because if she can do that, she told me, “I can do anything.”‘
Bills take ‘leap of faith’ with rookie kicker
‘”I just trust him,” said Farwell. “We’re going to have some ups and downs during the season, that’s part of ball, but going forward he earned the job.”‘
Diggs remains out: Dealing with sore back
‘I’m aware it’s just a sore back but soreness usually goes away in a day or two with treatment. Diggs is now on day five.’
Tyler Bass ready to prove why he won Bills starting kicker job
‘”I just trust him out there. He does everything right,” says Farwell, who also acknowledged that some struggles here and there are to be expected.’
Rookie Tyler Bass will rely on this advice after winning the Bills kicking competition
‘”My mentality started when I was in high school,” Bass stated. “I didn’t have a whole lot of offers coming out, actually I didn’t have any offers coming out, so I had to walk-on to Georgia Southern. I had to earn everything I had there, nothing has been handed to me in life, and I had to earn that. I came to camp with the same mentality, I knew I wasn’t the number one guy coming in, and I had to earn that right and the respect. Now that I have the job, I still feel like I haven’t proven anything, I’ve haven’t even played a game yet. I’m still going to do everything I can to be the best I can be to help this team and take it one day at a time.”‘
Top 3 things to know about the final open 2020 Bills training camp practice
‘During team period, Davis had an impressive grab from Matt Barkley in traffic. The rookie also caught two short touchdown receptions from Barkley. Davis’ first touchdown grab was against Tre’Davious White, his second was against Brian Allen. The rookie has proven his consistency through two weeks of practices. I’m ready to watch what he can do during a game, especially since he’s had success against a talented Bills defense.’
Bills Today | Offensive line competition heads into the final week of preseason practices
‘”I think it’s important,” Daboll said. “Right now, in training camp, we’re going to mix and match because you need flexibility in this line. It’s rare that you go through a whole season where it’s just the same five guys. We’re still in the process of making sure we’re giving everybody an opportunity to go out there and put their best foot forward. Position flexibility is important for any team and particularly on an offensive line position. You can’t have enough guys that do multiple things, so we’ll figure this thing out here soon enough.”‘
Bills Mafia, crowd noise may not affect home-field advantage as much as you think
‘NFL teams collectively produced a 132-123-1 record (.518 win rate) at home last year, the lowest home win rate since the league expanded to 32 teams in 2002, as documented by The Washington Post. And NFL director of football data and analytics Michael Lopez recently showed on social media that betting markets have decreased home-field advantage by a full point over the last decade, from about 3.25 points to 2.25, as documented by The Athletic.’
Inside the BIlls: Q and A with Dion Dawkins on his new deal, racial unrest and more
‘“As soon as I got drafted here, I immediately called this place home. It didn’t start after I got the contract extension. Whether or not I got that extension, I would have still called this place home. The reason why is the people here are literally amazing. The people here are so nice. People here really don’t understand that around the world, people aren’t all nice. I think the people here are very, very nice people, and I’m so happy they’ve embraced me and welcomed me in immediately. Once I felt that, it was a feeling that I never want to go away. Buffalo is home. I’m here to stay. Bills Mafia for life.”’
Bills Mailbag: What are Trent Murphy’s chances of making the 53-man roster?
‘His role doesn’t look much different than it has in his first two seasons with the team. I continue to believe the Bills are a better team in 2020 with Murphy than without him, which is why I don’t think cutting him is a good idea.’
NFL countdown: Josh Allen key to Buffalo Bills’ success
‘“On the surface, Buffalo seems like the most polished team in that division. They have a great defense and run the ball well,” Westgate vice president of risk Ed Salmons said. “It’s which Josh Allen do you get?’
Gabriel Davis has been great, but Hodgins has NFL genes
‘”With my dad playing in the NFL, kind of growing up around that. I was able to grow up around guys like Larry Fitzgerald, Anquan Boldin and everyone. My dad was just teaching me stuff that they would do at practice all the time and consistently throwing me the football, catching 100 a day,” said Hodgins.’
With an eye to 2021, what Hauschka cut, Dawkins deal mean for Bills
‘But Bills General Manager Brandon Beane said recently he has to operate on the premise the cap will be at the “floor level” of $175 million.’
Taron Johnson’s ‘dog’ mentality gives Bills’ secondary some bite
‘“It is a balance. The way he plays, we like that dog mentality,” coach Sean McDermott said. “His physical edge, the competitive nature he has … highly competitive young man.”’
Bills sign cornerback Brian Allen
‘A 6-foot-3-inch, 215-pounder, Allen brings size to the Bills’ defensive backfield. He’ll compete for a reserve role behind Tre’Davious White, Josh Norman, Levi Wallace and Taron Johnson.’
Former Bills cornerback Ike Brown explains his decision to retire
‘”Sometimes you have people where football is their life and sometimes you have people where football is a course in their life,” he wrote. “I have run my course with football and am grateful for every experience and opportunity it has brought.”‘
Bills host four defensive tackles for tryouts
‘Johnson is well-traveled after having gone undrafted in 2015. He has played in two career games, with the Vikings in 2016. He has been signed at various points by the Titans, Jaguars, Bears, Lions, Vikings and Panthers. He played last year in the National Arena League and the XFL.’
Brian Daboll on Josh Allen: ‘The confidence I have in Josh will never waver’
‘“I’ve said this plenty of times before; Josh is a guy that has come in, has worked hard and aims to improve every day, and he has done that every day since he’s been here,” said Daboll. “I have total confidence in him as a player and as a person. He just needs to keep grinding out, we all do, keep grinding out to get better. He’s a hard-working quarterback, he’s a hard-working player, and he’s a good leader. He’s the leader of our football team.”’
Josh Allen continues to impress: Bills defensive coordinator sees the progress in practice
‘“The thing that I noticed is the decision making,” Frazier said Friday. “It’s what you thought it would be going into his third season. He’s grown so much in that area, protecting the football and making good decisions.”’
Brian Allen: 6 things to know about Buffalo Bills’ new CB
‘Although Allen has not seen much playing time at cornerback in his NFL career, it’s hard to deny his size/speed combination. Allen stands in at 6-feet-3-inches tall and ran a 4.48 40-yard dash leading up to the 2017 NFL Draft.’
Watch: Stephen Hauschka’s release breaks heart of young Bills fan
‘Charlotte may be heartbroken for now about Hauschka, but hopefully Tyler Bass can win her over in the next few years.’
Daboll says confidence in QB Allen is sky high; Bills’ OC gives update on offense after Thursday’s scrimmage
‘“These scrimmages are good scrimmages because you can go out there and execute some things that maybe players don’t have on the script (during) practice,” said Daboll.’
Bills sign cornerback Brian Allen
‘Allen will have a tough time making the team, depending on how many corners the Bills decide to keep.’
Daboll, Frazier see progress as Bills continue to prepare for 2020 season
‘”Josh is a guy that’s come in, worked hard, aims to improve every day, and has done that since he’s been here,” Daboll told reporters Friday morning. “He’s dedicated to his craft, he’s an excellent leader, he understands what we want, and tries to do it on a daily basis. I have a lot of trust and faith in Josh.”‘
Bills training camp has shown who can help fill leadership void left by Lorenzo Alexander
‘“We needed to find out who are leaders were gonna be going into this season and just seeing Mario Addison step up and provide some leadership for us. Losing Lorenzo [Alexander] that was big piece from a leadership standpoint and that was one of the things that’s been going through my mind who’s gonna help fill that void in that absence of a guy like Lorenzo similar to what happened when Kyle [Williams] retired,” Frazier said on a zoom call with reporters.’
Bills OC Brian Daboll’s confidence in Josh Allen will ‘never waver’
‘“The decision making is what you thought it would be going into his third season. He’s grown so much in that area protecting the football, and making good decisions whether to take the ball down field or take a checkdown or should I throw it away versus taking the sack I mean that’s a big part of quarterback play,” Bills defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier said on a zoom call with reporters.’
Bills DC Leslie Frazier: “You can’t ignore what’s going on in our country”
‘“Hopefully we can stay focused on what we have to get done but you can’t ignore what’s going on in our country. We’re not putting our head in the sand and pretending like the world is not going on. We’re well aware of what’s happening but at the same time we walk into this building we know we have a job to do, we have to focus and concentrate on what we have to get done.”’
Bills OC Brian Daboll’s confidence in Josh Allen will ‘never waver’
‘“The more things you can do on a consistent basis you give yourself a better chance. It’s always important to have chemistry with, particularly in the passing game with the guys that you’re throwing the ball with and throwing to. There’s different body languages and different indicators on breaks so that’s really the important thing and the thing that we work on every day,” he adds.’