‘“It honestly has been emotionally, I mean, one of the hardest things I’ve had to do, and maybe that means I’ve had a sheltered life or something,” Phillips said. “But when you care about something this much and have it taken away from you — and again, it’s so much bigger that myself. Last year, we had such an amazing team and not being able to contribute. Who’s to say, we might not have won another game or two, if I was able to play. I’m not saying I’m a giant playmaker or anything like that, I’m just saying you think those things into existence sometimes.”’
Archives for August 18, 2020
Bills Notebook: Frank Gore weighs in on his lone season in Buffalo
‘“I feel if they would have let me play, I would have had over 1,000 (yards). I jumped out there. I was having a great year,” Gore told New York reporters after practice with the Jets, who signed him to a one-year contract this offseason. “They had Singletary, who’s … very talented and going to do great things in this league. As long as he keeps working, I know he will. I understand they drafted him, so they had to get him ready. But I felt the games I did play, I did some great things.”’
Bills camp observations: Josh Allen ends with big throw to John Brown
‘Because training camp is closed to fans throughout the NFL, the league and players union agreed to new rules that limit reporting by media that normally takes place each summer. Personnel groupings, who’s playing with the first or second units, specific formations and situational alignments are not allowed to be reported daily by media. General observations about noteworthy plays still are allowed.’
A long time coming, but Bills finally conducted an actual training camp practice
‘While contact was minimal as it often is even in non-COVID-19 21st century NFL times, there was bumping and pushing and shoving, and it looked like football. Up to this point all they had been allowed to do was strength and conditioning work, and then walk-through style drills without pads, essentially touch football as they installed their systems and dug into the playbooks, mainly from the mental side.’
Bills DT Harrison Phillips fought through anxiety, fear to make it through 2nd torn ACL rehab
‘“Just to be back in the huddle,” he said. “And look around at all my brothers being out there playing with them again. It’s the same reason that brought me into the game when I was 11 years old. …I got to play football with my friends again and it’s truly indescribable how great of a feeling it is”’
Ed Oliver, Levi Wallace among Buffalo Bills not practicing on Monday
‘McDermott informed the media that defensive tackle Ed Oliver, cornerback Levi Wallace guard Jon Feliciano and tight end Tommy Sweeney would not practice on Monday. According to McDermott, Oliver is dealing with a sore hip while Wallace is dealing with a sore back.’
Bills training camp 2020: Josh Allen hits deep ball to John Brown (Day 1 observations)
‘By my count the Bills had four 11-on-11 sessions during practice and the offense made some plays and the defense made some plays. Allen seemed to heat up as practice went along and started finding guys pretty consistently in the later portions.’
Bills express worry over lack of preseason games
‘“When those games got canceled, that was frustrating for me. I know it’s frustrating for some of our players (too),” said Bills’ general manager Brandon Beane before the beginning of training camp. “I talked to a few of them that are looking for that chance to prove their worth to either make this roster or to win a starting spot or special teams spot, whatever it is.”’
Levi Wallace facing All-Pro challenger for spot in Bills’ lineup
‘“Myself and (defensive-backs coach) John Butler and the rest of our defensive staff, we always talk to Levi,” Frazier said. “People are going to look at him as an undrafted free agent, so you’re going to find yourself in these situations maybe year in and year out — someone trying to come in and say, ‘I can beat out the undrafted free agent.’’
Ferris State’s Justin Zimmer of Greenville finds new NFL home
‘He helped lead the Bulldogs to an 11-1 overall record for the second-straight year in 2015 as Ferris captured the school’s second-straight GLIAC championship while capping off back-to-back unbeaten regular seasons. Ferris State also stretched its regular-season win streak to 25 games and posted its first playoff victory in 19 years during Zimmer’s senior campaign.’
Diggs shows skills of No. 1 wide receiver on first day of padded practice
‘Diggs looks every bit the part of a true No. 1 wide receiver. From the very first few minutes when he was catching red zone passes from Josh Allen to 1-on-1 drills, Diggs ran terrific routes and made difficult catches look easy.’
It’s go time! Observations from One Bills Drive as players practice in pads for first time
‘We’ll do our best not to get carried away, after all, it was just one day of practice. But Diggs looks like a game-changer when he’s on the field. Josh Allen looked for him early and often Monday, and the two seemed to be on the same page.’
“It’s truly a blessing”, Bills DT Harrison Phillips returns to the practice field after 2019 ACL injury
‘”I think the saying in the NFL is the next-man-up mentality,” he said. “The sky’s the limit for this defense. Our standard is extremely high and no one wants to settle for second-best. We have high aspirations and we are putting in the work right now.”‘
Marv Levy Stadium? 3,000 Bills fans sign petition to Kim and Terry Pegula to rename Bills home stadium
‘After New Era and the Buffalo Bills ended their naming rights agreement earlier this summer, the stadium formerly known as “New Era Field” has not been given a new name. On the team’s website, it is known simply as “The Stadium.”‘
Bills HC Sean McDermott: “It’s return to real football” as pads come on at training camp
‘“It’s return to real football. When you grow up around this game whether you’re coaching or playing, the first day of pads is always kind of monumental if you will,” head coach Sean McDermott said on a zoom call before practice.’
Bills LB Tremaine Edmunds says his confidence level is ‘real high’ heading into this season
‘“I think it’s confidence. I think it’s normal for somebody that’s just stepping into a situation to not exactly have the amount of confidence they want. I’m a very confident person but I had to get adjusted to it and learn the system and get back to my normal self so I can play fast like I wanted to. Now it’s just like my confidence level is real high,” Edmunds said on a zoom call with reporters.’
After emotional 330 days of rehab, Bills DT Harrison Phillips puts pads on again
‘“I just kept saying a lot of prayers and I really just kept looking down I was like “wow this is really it” like no training wheels, no Harrison come to the side we’re gonna do it at half speed. “Just so much emotion that goes into it but I looked at the pads, came out, took a knee, had a nice little prayer and then kind of flipped a switch and it was go time,” Phillips said on a zoom call with reporters.’
Buffalo Bills begin padded practices
‘“To be out there and just to fly around and actually hit each other, I mean that’s the game that we play,” said Edmunds. “You know it’s going to take some getting use because it’s really just been awhile since we been out there competing with one another.”’
After grueling rehab, Harrison Phillips is back on the field
‘“Five, six-hour days. Working, sweating, crying, throwing up from how hard I was going,” says Phillips. “There was definitely some depression through there. There was definitely anxiousness, anxiety, fear. I remember having a conversation with a couple of trainers, a very emotional rehab day where I was sitting there like, ‘What if I can’t play again? What if this doesn’t get better? What if I don’t get stronger?’”’
Bills ‘return to real football’
‘”The first day of pads is monumental,” said the Bills head coach on a Zoom call Monday. It’s an exciting part of any training camp, but it marks a slice of normalcy that pushes us (hopefully) closer to really real football in September.’
Sean McDermott’s secret to team building this training camp
‘The organization set up a tent on the far side of one of the practice fields. And while the idea isn’t earth shattering, it’s a space McDermott has established for players to get to know one another.’
Injury report: Ed Oliver and Levi Wallace among Bills not practicing
‘Also of note, rookie receiver Isaiah Hodgins and linebacker VoSean Joseph wore red jerseys meaning they were non-contact for the day of practice.’
Bills hold first padded practice
‘Furthermore, the Bills set up tents along their practice field so players could have outdoor space to eat and recover from practice all while maintaining social distance.’
3 takeaways from Sean McDermott’s pre-practice press conference
‘”And so we’ll go out there this morning, for example, we’re going to have our whole team tackle, including our offensive line, our offensive players. So, you know games are won and lost in particular in the early part of the season because of fundamentals. And so, we are going to go live (in practice) this year. Normally we go live a little bit every year. Obviously with no preseason games, we’re going to go live a little bit more.”‘
Top 3 things to know from Day 1 at Bills Training Camp
‘”We’re making each other better. That’s the goal of training camp is to make each other better so when we go out there on the days we play, we can just dominate. I think that’s the whole thing, we just want to compete. Just continue to strive for excellence and continue to see good things out of each side of the ball. I think we’re only going to be as good as we push each other.”‘
Bills Today | Confidence continues to rise for Tremaine Edmunds
‘”I think it’s confidence,” he said. “I think it’s normal for somebody that just stepped into a situation to not exactly have the amount of confidence they want. I’m a very confident person but I had to get adjusted to it and learn the system and get back to my normal self so I can play fast like I wanted to. And now my confidence level is really high. But it’s always something that we always can get better with, but that’s with everybody in life. I’m my harshest critic. So, I know out there when I mess up on something I know things that I have to get better with.”‘