Two Bills Drive

‘“What I’m most proud of is when I got let go, I didn’t place blame on anyone else,” he shared with The Buffalo News. “I had a job to do, and I didn’t do my job well enough. It allowed me to find my blind spots and look at everything with a red pen. I realized, ‘OK, when I get this opportunity again, whenever it may be, what would I do differently?’”’

‘The Bills open the season needing to shut down running back Derrick Henry. That’s no small task. “He’s a tough person to contain. Tough runner,” Bills coach Sean McDermott said of Henry. “There’s very few who have been able to do that. You try and put a plan in place to do that. There’s a lot of people who have tried and haven’t been able to do it, so saying it is one thing and doing it is another. It takes all 11 guys on the field to be able to do it.” In Henry’s first season with the Ravens, he ran for 1,921 yards – second most in his career – on 325 carries with 16 touchdowns.’

‘There is reason to be nervous about this game for the Bills, starting on the defensive side of the ball, particularly in the secondary. Cornerback is a potential problem spot with Maxwell Hairston on injured reserve and Tre’Davious White dealing with a groin injury. The rebuilt defensive line also has a lot to prove. The Bills still have Josh Allen, though, and a crowd that helped them to an undefeated home season last year. That streak continues. Bills, 30-27.’

‘I don’t think there is a team in the league that can say it has quality depth across all positions. The salary cap makes it such that it’s difficult to pay everyone. That means letting some players go who you would prefer to keep. That, in turn, means filling those holes through the draft with young players. In examining the Bills’ current depth chart, I would consider the depth at linebacker and cornerback – particularly at the moment – to be lacking.’

‘The Buffalo Bills star quarterback’s endorsement deals continue to pile up and his reach as a national pitchman gets even longer. So much so that Allen is not just the NFL’s reigning Most Valuable Player, he’s also becoming one of the most recognizable of any celebrity pitching brands.’

‘“We wanted to bring the intimacy of the old stadium here,” he says, “but we’re adding to it.”’

‘“Yeah, it feels big, doesn’t it?” Collinsworth said. “You never want to overhype, whatever it may end up being, and it’s Week 1 of 17. But you never know. But there is no question that (quarterbacks) Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson have been two of the best players in the league. They’ve been the most recent MVPs. Their teams seem totally dependent on them, and they both are exciting in their approach to the game.”‘

‘No. 1: Bills 51, Raiders 3.’