‘Coulda. Woulda. Shoulda.’
BillsBeat - January 24, 2024
Ryan O'Halloran: Free-agent, cap situation means Brandon Beane has to get defensive in draft
‘The draft is the best place – maybe the only place – to replenish the depth chart. Beane doesn’t have any cap space to shop with; he quipped he wouldn’t be visiting “Main Street” of the market in March.’
Bills notebook: Brandon Beane provides injury updates; Bobby Babich requested to interview with Giants
‘On defense, the team notably finished the year without linebacker Matt Milano, who injured his right leg in Week 5, and cornerback Tre’Davious White, who tore his right Achilles in Week 4. Neither would have returned to the lineup even if the Bills were to advance. “I didn’t get an update here as of the last couple of weeks just with our focus on the playoffs,” Beane said. “So, I would say, both are improving. But neither one was gonna be eligible to play even if we had made it to the Super Bowl, so there’s still time. “I feel like Matt’s probably closer to being through rehab than Tre the last time (I heard), but I don’t know specific timelines or dates. They’ll keep working here until they’re fully healthy and ready to roll.”’
Donations exceed $100,000 to Ten Lives Club cat adoption group for Bills kicker Tyler Bass
‘“That’s when we kind of learned that he was receiving a little hate today from yesterday’s football game,” LaRussa said. “And we were just so saddened to hear that, because everyone at Ten Lives Club, all our supporters, when they watch the Bills game, they’re all rooting for Tyler. That’s because he loves cats, and he helped Ten Lives Club last year.”’
Mom defends Gabe Davis after viral video of argument with fans
‘After Sunday’s loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, Davis got into an expletive-laced argument with fans behind the Buffalo bench right after the game ended, according to video posted on social media.’
Alan Pergament: Bills-Chiefs gets record viewership; Taylor Swift overload with local angle on 'Today'
‘The game had a tentative local rating of 54.9 on WIVB-TV (Channel 4), the CBS affiliate. That was 1.8 points below the 56.7 rating on Channel 4 on Monday afternoon, Jan. 15 for the Bills’ 31-17 wild card victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers that was delayed by a day because of a snowstorm. That was the highest-rated Bills game since meters came here in 2000.’
What Bills coach Sean McDermott has to say on Diggs, Bass and coordinator openings
‘“This is not a situation where you strip it down to the studs and start all over,” McDermott said. “Every year is a challenge to figure out how to put it back together again to put yourself in position to win. When you’ve had the success we’ve had – six out of seven years in the playoffs is significant and hard to do as well as four AFC East titles and now five years of 10-plus wins is impressive and did not come easy. We look forward to continuing to reach for and strive for that ultimate goal of winning a world championship.”’
Where did big-play Bills offense go?
‘No, despite racking up 368 net yards Sunday night, the Bills did not have a 20-yard play against the Chiefs. Their longest play? An 18-yard Josh Allen scramble late in the second quarter. The second-longest? Allen’s scramble and lateral pitch to Ty Johnson for 16 on the first drive of the game. Allen’s longest pass plays were two 15-yard gains, also both in the first half, to Diggs and running back Latavius Murray. We still saw his big arm, of course, in how he rifled that touchdown pass to Khalil Shakir.’
Was hot water shut off in Kansas City Chiefs’ locker room at Buffalo Bills stadium?
‘“This is false,” the county press secretary said. “There is no way to turn hot water off on one side or the other. There are two huge hot water tanks which feed both home and away locker rooms.”’
Mel Kiper Jr. changes Buffalo Bills’ first round pick following loss to Chiefs in mock draft 1.0
‘I made a late change with this pick after I watched Josh Allen average 4.8 yards per attempt in the home loss to the Chiefs. His receivers struggled to get open and didn’t make enough plays after the catch once they did. Stefon Diggs hasn’t had a 100-yard game since mid-October, and Gabe Davis is now a free agent. General manager Brandon Beane can find a useful pass-catcher here.’
Beane addresses McDermott's future, potential Bills personnel changes and more during hour-long end-of-season presser
‘“I think Sean did a really good job,” said Beane. “And I think if he hadn’t done a good job or he had lost this team, I think when that stuff came out that you were talking about, you know, I think I spoke to you guys, and I said, we’ll find out the character of this team. And really, you know how much they believe in their head coach. And we won every game until we lost on Sunday here.”’
McDermott's season-ending address touches on state of the Bills, many significant storylines entering offseason
‘“Good season overall,” McDermott said on Tuesday as he met with the media from One Bills Dr. “Obviously not the ultimate goal we were looking to accomplish. When you can have the success that we have had, it’s significant and hard to do. I applaud the organization — all involved, the team, the players, the coaching staff and we look forward to continuing to reach and strive for that ultimate goal of winning a world championship.”’
Brandon Beane, Sean McDermott determined not to take a step back despite Bills salary cap woes
‘And yet the Bills are a team that has lost 18 games by an average of six points per game over the last three years, with 16 losses by one score. There is no questioning the Bills are close to getting over the edge, but they also can’t deny the shortcomings that have kept them from getting there.’
Sean McDermott offers praise for Joe Brady, stops short of removing interim play-caller tag
‘“I thought Joe did a really nice job coming in and building great communication, collaboration, a vibe with Josh,” McDermott said. “And then I think you saw the results of that through the course of I believe it was six games and so I thought he did a very nice job in that regard.”’
Giants request interview with Bills’ Bobby Babich for defensive coordinator opening
‘Babich, 40, was the safeties coach in 2018 in Buffalo when Daboll arrived as the offensive coordinator and they spent four years together on Sean McDermott’s staff.’