Two Bills Drive

'"Oh, it crushed me early on," McDermott said. "It crushed me from the standpoint of, I looked introspectively, just looked at myself and said, 'What did I do wrong?' I didn't place any blame, no. It was, 'What did I do wrong?' I feel like that period of my career, that period of my life, had I not gone through that, I don't know if I would be here now. What I mean by that is, my whole career had been going like this every year. You guys see the resume. Every year was going like that. What I learned from that is, the game is more than just X's and O's. It's more than just scheme. That to me, as I've said over the years, that setback was a setup really for a comeback for myself and the mental toughness part of life."'

'"I just felt something," Beane said in a June interview. "Seventeen years. These people are dying for a winner. I believe in myself. … I want nothing more than to watch this community go ape nuts that the Bills are back in the playoffs. And I have no doubt."'

'The playoff drought has been the elephant in the room for every player, coach and executive who has walked through the doors at One Bills Drive. Previously, Rex Ryan and other players grew defensive about the drought, fairly claiming they hadn't contributed to the entire thing. McDermott and Beane are taking a different approach.'

'"In this league, not just Brady, whoever, you have to get after the passer," Beane said. "You have to make them uncomfortable. You have to get them off their spot. I think what the Giants did to them in the Super Bowls, that is not a shot at Tom Brady, that's anybody. I don't care how great you are, if you're getting hit, you're not gonna be as accurate. So we have to find ways to make him uncomfortable. He's super smart. There's nothing that schematically that we're probably going to throw at him that he hasn't seen. We'll have to be dialed in. You have to get to him, you have to affect the quarterback. If he's back there playing 7-on-7, you're not gonna beat him. You have to get him out of the pocket, flush him, hit him, hands up, batting balls. You got to do everything right to knock this guy down."'

'In the past, the Pegulas have dealt with coaches who didn't get along with the general manager and the power vacuum that created. So the big question for Beane, McDermott and the Pegulas is how they will all communicate on a weekly basis. The Pegulas will trust Beane and McDermott to run the football operation, but Beane recently provided some clarity on how the Bills' new leadership plans to keep ownership in the loop every step of the way.'

'“I just want to prove to all the teams that called me or gave me any attention that I could have been a part of what they have going on,” Lewis said. “I’m proud and appreciative that the Buffalo Bills selected me.”'

'In May 2014, Hardy was arrested and charged with felony resisting arrest after a fight with police officers in Los Angeles that left two officers with minor injuries. A judge ruled that he was mentally incompetent to stand trial. TMZ later reported that Hardy had been involuntarily committed to a mental institution.'

'The Allen County Coroner's Office said Wednesday that the 31-year-old Hardy died of "asphyxia due to drowning." Michael Burris, chief investigator for the coroner's office, says the determination of suicide was based on Hardy's medical and psychiatric history, his contacts with law enforcement and other evidence, including some found on his body.'

'Chief Investigator Michael Burris said the determination of suicide was based on Hardy's medical and psychiatric history, his contacts with law enforcement and other evidence, including some found on his body.'

'Following his NFL career, Hardy was arrested in 2014 for attacking three police officers. The judge ruled he was not mentally competent to stand trial.'

'“We’re implementing a 4-3 scheme and the guys have really bought into that and that’s what we’re practicing and that’s what we’re looking forward to,” said Frazier. “[It’s] what we’re both most comfortable with, and we think it fits our players well.”'

'Perhaps it’s premature to saddle Jones with such expectations. Considering all he’s got working for him, though, it’s understandable.'

'Banyard will compete for a reserve job behind LeSean McCoy. In all likelihood, that will be the No. 3 job, provided second-year veteran Jonathan Williams fills the No. 2 role.'

'On its own, Andy's tweet would be a decent response. But Ch. 2 sports anchor Jonah Javad went the extra mile. For the 6 p.m. newscast, he compiled a lowlight reel of Gilmore's time in Buffalo, showing everybody what they missed with the Bills not being on TV.'

'"The culture change was needed," Incognito said. "I love Rex, I love what he brought to the team, but I don't think our locker room was ready for it. I don't think we had a veteran enough group to be able to adapt to Rex's system and to be able to make that work. So now we have a young and hungry team, and with coach [Sean] McDermott coming in and being detail-oriented and holding guys accountable, hopefully that helps us take the next step."'