Two Bills Drive

'So this isn't a tank, like the Sabres three and four years ago, or the Browns and Jets the last two seasons. In typical fashion, the Bills are middling it this season, looking to win in the short term while looking to get better down the road.'

'But throughout their news conferences at One Bills Drive, McDermott and Beane acknowledged they hurt their chances of winning this year.'

'The moves also close the door tighter on the Doug Whaley era. Whaley's biggest blunder was trading the 2015 first-round pick to move up a few spots and take Watkins fourth overall in 2014, a draft that was deep at receiver.'

'Stockpiling draft picks makes perfect sense. Bills fans should be thrilled that the new regime has two No. 1s, two No. 2s and two No. 3s in next year's draft.'

'This is not easy. I’m an emotional, personal guy and I want to get to know all these guys personally. That’s the hard part of it. Business is business, but when you have to call these young men and it affects their lives, that’s not easy.'

'"I need the ball at least 10 times — I need 10 targets — and I’ll be fine with however many yards I get," Watkins said. "And that’s what I addressed in talking with my agent. We reached out to a couple people and tried to pull some strings like, ‘Hey, I need my targets. You came up to draft me and I’m not getting targets — that’s a problem. You’re making me look bad and you’re making yourself look bad. Why not make both of us look good?’”'

'While Buffalo received starters at both positions, as well as draft picks, in return, local football fans reacted passionately on social media – many negatively, but others were more optimistic about the direction of the franchise.'

' Zay Jones, Anquan Boldin run with the starting offense. With Watkins out of the picture the Bills went with Jones – a rookie second-round draft pick – and Bolding – a 15-year veteran signed earlier in the week.'

'Eddie Yarbrough — Getting the start in place of Shaq Lawson, Yarbrough showed his strong practice performances haven't been a fluke. He got a third-down sack of Vikings quarterback Sam Bradford to end Minnesota's first possession, and finished the night with three tackles and two quarterback hurries. He has quickly moved into the role of top backup to Lawson and Jerry Hughes at defensive end.'

'Well, number one, it was good to see the fans come out and support the football team. It’s always good to play at home. We look forward to making this a tough place to play and embracing that. After that, or in addition to that, I thought there [were" target="_blank"> a lot of good things on the football field, a lot of good moments. That said, good teams don’t beat themselves and we beat ourselves numerous times tonight and we’ve got to get that corrected in order to go where we want to go.'

'The three-hour game in Coach Sean McDermott's debut had a 20.0 rating on WKBW-TV (Channel 7), the local ABC affiliate. That was only slightly down from the 20.3 rating for the 2016 preseason opener.'

'After these deals, the Bills now own two picks in each of the first, second and third rounds of 2018, a draft that is expected to be rich in quarterback talent, so naturally, the arm-chair GMs started rolling through possibilities.'

'What Beane did Friday in sending Watkins and a 2018 sixth-round pick to the Los Angeles Rams in exchange for cornerback E.J. Gaines and the Rams’ second-round pick in 2018 was a master stroke. And when he traded Darby to Philadelphia for wide receiver Jordan Matthews and the Eagles’ third-round pick in 2018, the double-barrel deal looked even better.'

'Matthews is one of only five players in NFL history to record 65-plus receptions and 800-plus receiving yards in each of their first three seasons, joining Odell Beckham Jr. (2014-16), Mike Evans (2014-16), A.J. Green (2011-13) and Randy Moss (1998-2000).'

'Gaines was involved in a couple of skirmishes earlier this week, including one with former Bills defensive back Nickell Robey-Coleman when the Rams and Chargers got physical in a combined training camp practice.'