Olean Times Herald

‘Rousseau, 6-foot-7, 265 pounds, helps answer the team’s biggest need … an edge rusher who can help increase Buffalo’s middle-of-the-pack sack total from last season. He was the third defensive end tabbed in the first round following Phillips and Houston’s Payton Turner (28th).’

‘The best offensive teams have a quality tight end and the Bills don’t. Dawson Knox, taken in 2019’s third round, in two seasons, has played 27 games but started only 18, totaling 52 catches with five touchdowns and a disturbing number of drops. It’s becoming clear he’s not the guy.’

‘And, can you imagine the mob scene at entrance gates before kickoff or the opening faceoff with fans – especially tailgaters at Bills games who wait until the last minute – frantic to have apps scanned, ticket holders who inevitably forget their phones or those who merely protest the vaccination policy and gum up the entry process?’

‘For the record, Buffalo has made a deal involving draft picks every year since 2016, so don’t be surprised if that happens between April 29 and May 1 when the NFL, for the first time, holds its 86th annual “Player Selection Meeting” at Cleveland’s First Energy Stadium and the Rock ‘N Roll Hall of Fame.’

‘It’s possible elusive wide receiver Isaiah McKenzie will be re-signed, especially with Buffalo needing a kick returner in Roberts’ absence.’

‘Do you really think any of that trio wouldn’t have tested free agency had the Bills gone 4-12 this past season?’

‘My final point in the first piece was that, with the team’s vast phalanx of attorneys, did nobody in the Bills’ marketing department anticipate blowback in attaching itself to a patently (excuse the pun) offensive phrase?’

‘As noted in this space back in September, for the first time in 48 years, I was not credentialed for Bills home games. The NFL had decreed that Buffalo needed to drastically reduce numbers in the press box, which normally holds between 200-250, including media, stat people, club personnel, scouts, etc. A friend in media relations, who sympathized with my situation, sent me a seating chart which contained 54 names for the season opener. The press covering the Bills consisted of print, radio and TV people from Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse. There were no small- or medium-market newspapers or broadcast outlets. Yet, in my mind, there wasn’t a single member of the team’s credentialed press corps ahead of whom I deserved a seat.

‘Buffalo has less than $4 million in projected salary cap space based on an estimated total of $185 million this coming season.’

‘As for Super Bowl LVI, the Chiefs, despite their loss to the Bucs, are favored to win it at 5-1, followed by Tampa Bay (9-1), Buffalo and the Rams, both 12-1, San Francisco (14-1) and Baltimore (16-1). No other team is below 20-1, the odds for both the Browns and Seattle.’

‘This defeat, offensively, was squarely on an offensive line that had three starters in new positions after losing two first-stringers to injury, including the all-important left tackle.’

‘How many times will we hear Belichick? Over/under 1.’

‘And though in the stadium, I never saw Scott Norwood’s 47-yard field goal attempt slip 18 inches wide of the right upright in person. At the two-minute warning, Larry Felser of the Buffalo News and I headed for the Buffalo locker room. We stopped at a TV stationed outside the door and at first thought Scott’s attempt would hook a bit left, which it usually did. But not this time.’

‘And there is this. Had the Bills gone for the TD both times, and succeeded, they’d have eight more points. Buffalo lost by 14 … in short, even scoring those two touchdowns would hardly have ensured victory.’

‘What’s certain is Allen, who led the team with 88 rushing yards versus KC, most of them running for his life, got zero help from the ground game, unless you count 32 yards on nine carries from his backs as being productive.’