Olean Times Herald

‘“I’M MAYBE a little bit different than some defensive head coaches. A lot of defensive head coaches, and maybe head coaches overall, have a tendency to pad their side of the ball personnel-wise. I don’t want to do that,” McDermott said, although, of the 23 free agent, trade and draft additions made by the Bills this offseason, 13 were defensive players with eight on offense and two kickers. “I know you’ve got to score points in this league to win games. To have a balanced football team, we need to score points and that’s been an emphasis and a theme we’ve talked about since the end of the season. I’m encouraged by what we’ve added personnel-wise to help us in that category.”’

‘“We’re all professionals,” McDermott said. “This is where passion and discipline play a big part. If you’re passionate about what you do, you shouldn’t need a kick in the butt to get up every morning and go to work. The longer this has gone on, and I’m sure you guys feel the same thing, the more discipline it’s taken.”‘

‘“There were guys on both sides of the ball with 10 picks left that were in the mix, including Epenesa. We never tried to trade up in the second round. We liked who was on the board and we had good grades. Obviously Epenesa, you’ve seen his production. I assume he fell because of his 40 time (at the Combine, a slow 5.04 seconds). Some people knocked him a little bit on that, but I’m looking for football players and he’s a damn good football player.”‘

‘Finally, there’s his inaccuracy on the deep ball. It matters little whether Diggs, Brown, McKenzie, Foster, Davis and Hodgins can stretch the field if the ball doesn’t get to them. Despite Allen’s big arm, his struggles with accuracy are amplified when throwing long.’

‘“It was fun (but) weird on Thursday,” he said of having his wife and boys nearby. “I was like ‘I gotta get to work … what are you guys doing here’? Everything you used to do. “But I was able to get some charts (done), and my sons did the board for a while. It got long at times so Haley actually jumped in and I had her managing the board, so that I could be doing stuff on our computer, but it was a family effort. I think fun for them, too, to just see how it works. They obviously were hearing some of the Zoom calls with the scouts. It was a draft that I don’t think any of us will ever forget.”’

‘Smart and competitive quarterback with an accurate arm but doesn’t have the arm-strength, mobility and deep accuracy that would allow him to ascend to the next level. Fromm projects as a sufficient quarterback as a borderline “win with” or “win in spite of” player. He isn’t necessarily a guy who will be the main reason a team wins games, but he won’t normally be the reason his team loses them. His leadership and smart decision-making will be his best assets.’

‘In a poll of ESPN, Ourlads Scouting, Pro Football Focus, CBS Sports and Bleacher Report, the consensus was that the two-time All-Big Ten selection was the 19th highest graded player in the draft. He was also the third-ranked defensive end behind Ohio State’s Chase Young who went second overall, and K’Lavon Chaisson of LSU taken 20th, by Washington and Jacksonville, respectively.’

‘But he also admitted that when the lottery got to the fourth or fifth round, the picks would likely be decided by need, noting that a fifth-rounder, for instance, who was the best player on the board, might not make Buffalo’s roster. Thus, Beane indicated, those last five choices would likely be selections at positions where depth was needed.’

‘The broadcast also turned a negative into a positive. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, the last few drafts, has been booed unmercifully. This year, Bud Light turned it into a COVID-19 fundraiser with a promotion called #BooTheCommish. And every time Goodell appeared in front of a wall of screens showing a team’s fans, he encouraged them to boo.’

‘“Day 1 will be hard,” Beane admitted of tonight’s opening round. “We’ve just got to play some videos of Stefon Diggs when 22 comes up. We’ll just be patient and watch it all and when Day 1 is over, whether (we trade back into the first round) or not, we’ll stare at the board … ‘What’s (there) that we like’?’

‘“All the time we hear rumors,” Beane said. “It was pretty open that we were snooping around (last) midseason to make a trade for another receiver and we just couldn’t find a deal that worked for us.”‘

‘Sure enough, Las Vegas has the Patriots and Bills in a virtual odds tie to win the division with the Jets and Dolphins a toss-up for last.’

‘“I’m very confident in Josh. I’ve had conversations with him … just life stuff. He reached out to Diggs and some of these guys we signed and he’s working. Josh is not going to leave a stone unturned. He’s his own worst critic. I know he has many critics out there … some which I just think are way off base. Sean’s confident. Our team is confident. Our fans and everyone else should be confident in Josh Allen. I have no doubt — he took a big step from Year 1 to Year 2 — that he will continue to grow. He’ll have to. I know he’ll figure it out … how to make improvements to some of the things that didn’t go perfect for him last year. But I thought he took some great strides and he’s looking forward to taking that next step and proving any of the doubters and naysayers wrong.”’

‘“Everyone would love to get back to normal, but right now, this crisis and the health of our country and our world is No. 1. My focus right now is what’s in front of me and that’s the draft. When we get done with that, maybe I’ll dig in a little deeper and see where things are on May 1 … then June 1, but we’re going to be ready for all scenarios.”’

‘Still, it’s worth noting that since Sean McDermott took over as Buffalo coach in 2017, while the Bills are 0-6 against New England, Brady was hardly the executioner. In those six games he’s thrown four touchdowns and been intercepted five times with a passer rating of 80.2 … profoundly pedestrian. Buffalo has lost those games because it hasn’t scored against the Patriots, averaging under 11 points in those meetings with a high of 17.’