‘”Obviously, having Lee Smith has been invaluable,” second-year tight end Dawson Knox told reporters on a video call earlier this month. “He’s been incredible. He’s probably one of the best blocking tight ends ever. Having him has been incredible for that aspect of the game.”‘
Archives for September 2020
Bills announce no fans at home games for foreseeable future
‘Poloncarz said the Bills were prepared to take extra precautions to ensure against large crowds entering or exiting the stadium. One step, he said, was timed entry tickets and timed exit tickets. When the game ends, fans would be dismissed by section.’
The Editorial Board: The wait continues for Bills to allow limited seating at home games
‘However, there are any number of reasons for the Bills to hold off on admitting spectators. For one, any gathering of a crowd carries some level of risk. The Tennessee Titans this week reported the NFL’s first significant outbreak of Covid-19. Three Titans players and five team personnel members tested positive for Covid-19 and the team closed its practice facility this week. The Titans host the Bills on Oct. 11. The Titans’ surge of virus cases is yet another reminder that the pandemic is not behind us.’
Bills: No fans for ‘foreseeable future’
‘In a letter to season ticket holders, the Bills said that no fans would attend games at Bills Stadium for the foreseeable future.’
Football: Excitement mixes with empty sense
‘We don’t know if there will still be no fans in the stands for that contest on Thursday evening, Oct. 15, though it will be nationally televised. That option is still, especially this year, better than no football.’
Bills announce no fans at home games for the forseeable future
‘Whether this means with certainty that there will not be fans at the Bills next home game on Oct. 15 against the Kansas City Chiefs remains to be seen.’
Josh Allen apology form starts making rounds on social media
‘Thanks to social media, those who went down the wrong path when it comes to Allen now have their chance to admit their mistake.’
Bills: No change in NYSDOH protocols, no fans at home games for ‘foreseeable future’
‘Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz said Monday he had a call with key stakeholders Tuesday to discuss allowing fans in the stands for the next Bills home game.’
Buffalo Bills: Fans not able to attend home games for the foreseeable future
‘Former News 4 Sports reporter, Tom Martin now works with, Let It Fly Media, a video content agency in Kansas City, where 16,000 Chiefs fans were in Arrowhead Stadium on Week One. “Taking my own views and talking with people who were there, I think the Chiefs did a great job spreading people out. They had these pods that people in their group would sit in and they were distanced from each other.”’
Wyoming has second greatest Bills following, based on Twitter data
‘It’s not shocking that New York showed the greatest amount of support for the Orchard Park-based team. But Wyoming at number two?’
Bills offense leads the AFC in points, yards per game
‘The Buffalo Bills rank first in the AFC in points per game, yards per game and yards per play.’
Josh Allen up for NFL Air Player of the Week for second straight week
‘Allen went 24 for 33, threw for 311 yards and scored 4 touchdowns to rally the Bills in a 35-32 win on Sunday.’
Undefeated Bills crack top 5 in NFL Power Rankings from multiple outlets
‘ESPN: #5. “Through three weeks, the Bills sport the fourth-best offense in the NFL and the second-best passing attack. Josh Allen has looked like an MVP candidate in his first three games, willing the Bills to victory with fourth-quarter comebacks in each of his past two.”‘
Buffalo Bills: No fans in the stadium for the foreseeable future
‘Initially, the Bills announced in August that there would be no fans in the stands for the first two home games in September and that they would reconsider fans after those two games.’
No fans at Bills games for ‘foreseeable future’
‘Excitement for the return of fans was heightened by the next game on the Bills home schedule: October 15th against the defending champion Chiefs. It’s a nationally televised Thursday night game that could match undefeated teams. It’s clear now that gigantic matchup will be played in front of 70,000 empty seats.’
Bills tweet: No fans at home games ‘for the foreseeable future’
‘There was talk Monday that the Buffalo Bills may be able to have fans in the stadium for home games by mid-October, but a tweet from the team Tuesday says there won’t be fans in the Bills Stadium “for the foreseeable future.”’
Josh Allen’s growth is a testament to work ethic, competitiveness
‘Allen’s numbers through three weeks are a testament to his willingness to learn and commitment to improving. It’s an intangible that Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll saw as early as their first meeting in Wyoming, back before the team selected Allen with the seventh overall pick.’
Statement from the Bills on fans in stadium
‘We promise you we are working diligently behind the scenes to ensure we are ready to provide fans with a safe environment should protocols change and we are able to root for the Bills in person.’
Bills Today | Buffalo climbs to No. 5 in ESPN power ranking
‘Sound the buzzer; this take is dead wrong. Through three weeks, the Bills sport the fourth-best offense in the NFL and the second-best passing attack. Josh Allen has looked like an MVP candidate in his first three games, willing the Bills to victory with fourth-quarter comebacks in each of his past two. Conversely, Buffalo’s defense currently ranks 20th in yards allowed per game and 16th in points per game. It’s been a weird year in Orchard Park. — Marcel Louis-Jacques’
Analysis: Wraps officially are off Josh Allen and Bills’ offense
‘Through three games, the Bills’ offense is as wide open as it ever has been, and it is producing at a fantastic pace.’
What we learned from Bills’ snap counts in Week 3 win, game ball and more
‘The Bills spent the entire game in their nickel (five defensive backs) defense. Slot cornerback Taron Johnson played 60 snaps (87%), while safety Dean Marlowe came in for nine snaps (13%), perhaps in an effort to provide a bigger body against the Rams’ running game. Linebacker A.J. Klein, the starter in the base 4-3, played just one snap.’
Five takeaways from Monday’s Bills press conferences
‘“Some things we’ll have to get better at for sure. Being able to be more gap sound and tackle better,” Frazier said, referencing the win over the Rams. “We had a lot of missed tackles in those last four drives that really hurt us. It’s disappointing that we could start so well and not finish how we started. Something we’ll have to work on for sure.”’
Position grades: Rams’ wonderful scheming made for long day
‘This was one of the toughest matchups of the season for the interior D-line, and the stoutness at nose tackle was a problem. Quinton Jefferson, arguably playing out of position when he lines up as the 1-technique, got pushed around. Harrison Phillips was slightly better but had a rough day at the point of attack, too. They combined to hurry the QB to force a field goal in the second quarter. Jefferson played 44 snaps, Ed Oliver 39, Phillips 29 and Vernon Butler 26. Rams left tackle Andrew Whitworth has allowed just one sack in his last 24 regular-season games. Mario Addison beat him for a hurry to force an incompletion early in the third quarter. That was the only one Whitworth yielded. All the Rams’ rollouts negate pass rush. Jared Goff was averaging a league-high 8.5 rollouts a game and averaging 10.9 yards per attempt on them the first two weeks, according to Sports Info Solutions. Against the Bills, he rolled out 10 times and the Rams averaged 9.0 yards per play.’
Jim Kubiak: How Bills QB Josh Allen maximizes the schemes being called
‘Offensive coordinator Brian Daboll devised a balanced attack in the first quarter, equally rushing and passing in 14 plays. Allen’s first two attempts were incomplete and Buffalo went three-and-out on the first possession. On the second drive, however, Allen was nearly perfect, leading the Bills on an 11-play drive for the only score of the quarter.’
Erie County will lobby state to allow up to 7,000 Bills fans into the stadium
‘The Bills had originally lobbied for 17,000 fans to be allowed in, then dropped the figure to 9,000, Poloncarz said. But county officials said they thought 7,000 was a safer number, based on the size of the concourses, public spaces and restrooms.’
A ‘great’ Bills game could have used a higher-ranked Fox team
‘It was such an exciting game that it was unfortunate that one of Fox’s top announcing crews wasn’t on hand rather than the last of its six regular teams.’
NFL: Bills might be allowed some fans next home game
‘The Bills initially requested an allowance of 17,000 fans, then lowered that number to 9,000. However, the Erie County Health Department has amended that number to 7,000, or 10% of the stadium’s full capacity. Another note in the proposal is that fans will have to abide by a timed entry and exit process. After the game, fans are expected to be released by section, with each section being required to exit a certain gate.’
Bills are 3-0, but no thanks to the defense
‘The Bills are scoring an impressive 31 points per game … but give up a way-too-generous 26. The last two games it’s even worse. In wins at Miami (31-28) and home with the Rams (35-32), Buffalo’s ‘D’ averaged surrendering 30 points and 444 yards in those games. The cliche is that “defense travels” so that isn’t good news for the Bills, who are at Las Vegas and Nashville the next two weeks.’
Focus on Bills: Can Raiders slow down Josh Allen?
‘“The quarterback is eye-opening. He’s a fun guy to watch, man,” Gruden said Monday about the man the Bills drafted seventh overall in the 2018 draft. “He can really throw the ball. He’s got a great playing style. He’s got a lot of John Elway’s playing style. He can scramble, he’s strong, he’s tough. He’s a big-time player.”’
Thurman Thomas Sees Bills’ Allen Developing Into True Leader
‘“He’s becoming a True Leader for this team,” the Hall of Fame running back wrote in a text to The Associated Press on Monday. “Showing maturity, confidence and now some touch in his passes, looking like an MVP candidate for years to come.”’
After Week 3, Buffalo Bills’ Josh Allen Seems To Be An MVP In Waiting
‘The Josh Allen results after three games are off-the-charts good, but it’s always wise to remind people this is still a small sample size and the season is 16 games long. Not three.’
McDermott on Allen’s growth: “You’re seeing what we’ve seen in practice”
‘“You learn through experiences,” McDermott said. “We as a team have learned through shared experiences.”’
How Tony Romo played a role in Josh Allen’s torrid start to season
‘Allen said he spent the offseason tweaking his mechanics with his coaches and offseason tutor Jordan Palmer – another former quarterback who works with several quarterbacks around the league – and Allen said that Romo wanted him to “feel your head is on a stake through the ground and you’re just trying to rotate it around and use [the torso] as an axis.”’
Are you not entertained?!
‘This is what we’ve all been asking for. Not just winning football games, but doing it by throwing the ball, scoring points, having a quarterback who gives you a chance every time he touches it. Being aggressive… and entertaining.’
Limited capacity crowd could be on the way for Bills home games
‘”I am comfortable saying now that the conversations I’ve had with the Bills and the state is a belief that 10%, which would be a little over 7,000 fans, would be safe. As long as you had time for entry and exit. Which means the game may end and you would not be allowed to leave until your section until your section is called.”‘
Poloncarz: Talks underway to allow Bills fans to attend next home game in October
‘The negotiation process is continuing, he said. Right now, the state restricts fans from attending any professional sporting events due to COVID-19. That mandate was put in place at the height of the pandemic in New York.’
Buffalo-based Oxford Pennant teams up with Buffalo Bills
‘“We’ve always felt that Oxford Pennant has a home in the NFL and this is an opportunity for us to continue our ongoing partnerships in professional leagues,” said Dave Horesh, Co-founder of Oxford Pennant. “Buffalo is one of the most creative, dynamic cities in the country and we hope that our partnership demonstrates that as we celebrate each victory.”’
Bills head coach weighs in on hopes to bring fans back inside the stadium for the next home game
‘“There’s a marks difference,” he said. “Then I’ve watched some games where there’s been some fans and again even though those numbers are smaller compared to what we’re used to, there is a noticeable difference in the stadium and the environment, the atmosphere.”’
Daboll praises Bills willingness to fight
‘“Everybody’s got to get their mind right when things aren’t going perfectly. It’s a full 60 minute game, and you’ve got to be a relentless player, just keep on playing,” Brian Daboll said on Zoom on Monday. “Some of those plays that those guys made, it’s not just a throw and a catch, credit the line too, they had to block a pretty good front and one of the best guys I’ve ever seen play, he’s unreal. To do it with four minutes left and go down there and overcome a 3rd and 22, then a 3rd and 25, it takes everybody. It’s not easy.”’
Bills defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier: “It’s better for our team when we have balance”
‘“Then those next four series man we just couldn’t find a way to get off the field. We couldn’t stop the run game, all of a sudden they’re making plays with the bootleg that we had been containing and when it rains it pours. It just kept coming. So there’s some things that we’ll have to get better at for sure, being able to be more gap sound and tackle better,” Bills defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier said.’