WGR

‘It might be an indication the team wants to keep Cody Ford at guard and not have to have him continue to get reps at tackle, so he can focus on one position. He played both spots on Thursday night.’

‘What I was most impressed with was Ford’s awareness, which I noted a couple of times. He had a very good understanding if where defenders were going from, and who to help and when to do it. He never looked lost or searching for answers. He’s a really strong guy and that certainly comes out when he gets his hands on a defensive player and can just lock him out or drive him, which he did several times. Where I thought he struggled was when he was trying to read the defensive tackle at the snap, causing him to be slower to react to the defender’s first move, putting him on the defensive and at a disadvantageous position.’

‘McDermott also said that wide receiver Zay Jones was cleared by team doctors after taking a scary hit to the head on the goal line last night.’

‘In the first quarter, Buffalo’s starting defense forced a punt on the first series of the game. However, Buffalo could not get much going on their first drive either. Buffalo did let Josh Allen throw it on every play of the opening series, 2-for-5 for 17 yards in their opening drive. Following a Colts three-and-out, Allen led the Bills offense down the field with big plays to Zay Jones and John Brown, but Buffalo fizzled out in the red zone and then missed a field goal, keeping the game scoreless. Allen’s day was over after that second drive, finishing 6-of-11 for 66 yards.’

‘We hear a lot about the depth the Bills have at cornerback, but we saw it against the Colts. Lafayette Pitts did a terrific job breaking up a fourth down pass in Bills territory and another pass in the end zone where he knocked the ball right out of the receiver’s hands. With E.J. Gaines out for weeks, there is opportunity for some of these young players.’

‘Lawson is going into the final year of his contract and played right away like a man who wants to have a big year and get paid. He was in the Colts backfield twice on the first series, causing problems for them, and did a great job of setting the edge against the run.’

‘Jackson has, at best, had an inconsistent training camp, and has done nothing to make anyone think that he could overtake Matt Barkley to be the Bills’ backup. Could that change in the preseason? From what it sounds like, Jackson would have to light it up, beginning to end to make that a possibility.’

‘Both McCoy and Gore will be Hall of Famers and there’s reason to believe both can defy age to be productive this season. The Bills just don’t need both to do it here.’

‘I don’t think I’m breaking any new ground here when I say, McCoy has always been really good at football. He’s used to being the best guy out there, so being doubted is new to him, “Since I’ve been nine-years-old I’ve been the top guy, so it’s weird to hear something like that, but it comes along with it, but the good thing is I’ve learned how the media is, how people are, how fans are, how fantasy team owners are, My brother, who’s a sports agent, he sends me clips or whatever of [people] doubting [Aaron Rodgers] or Tom [Brady] and it’s like, we’ll see on Sundays and I’m fine with that, I know who I am, I know how I play and my teammates know who I am.”’

‘Since finishing his college career with Notre Dame in 2017, Jones has yet to play a snap in an NFL game. The 25-year-old has spent time primarily on practice squads with the Lions, New York Giants, Seattle Seahawks, Dallas Cowboys, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Washington Redskins.’

‘“I just have to balance things by taking it one day at a time and one play at a time,” is how Pitts said he’s been handling things lately. “The coaches put me in, I have to go and perform at the best ability I can and just hopefully everything goes well. Like I said, just playing, doing what the coaches ask me to do, and just being a team player.”’

‘If you’re looking for some good news in all of this, Morse was at least able to attend practices as opposed to being directed to stay in a darkened dorm room and avoid all interactions. He has been out doing some exercise while the Bills have been practicing so it appears that Morse is already in stage three of the five stage NFL concussion protocol. Assuming he has no symptoms from the jogging and other work, Morse can move to stage four which includes non contact football and position specific activities. If Morse checks out okay after that he can be cleared for a return to practice.’

‘Ed Oliver is going to be really, really good. I’m not proclaiming the rookie defensive tackle and All-Pro already or anything like that, but he was already showing why he was in Outland Trophy winner and considered a Heisman Trophy candidate prior to last season even as a defensive lineman. It took a couple days, but once the pads came on Oliver showed the explosiveness, power, and lateral movement that made him the ninth-overall pick in the NFL draft. After being on the second-team defense through most of camp, Oliver took a starting role over Jordan Phillips the last several days. I can’t see anyway he’s giving that back from here on out.’

‘Once again, Cody Ford was the starting right guard, with Ty Nsekhe starting at right tackle.’

‘“I went hiking every Wednesday, so that was part of my workout and I worked out Monday through Saturday, so I just tried something different to try to help me out this year.”’