1 - Eric Wood thinks Bills are 'trending up'
Buffalo's 2018 season hasn't gotten off to a picture-perfect start.
Through the first two games of the regular season, the Bills are 0-2. Despite their less than ideal record, Buffalo showed signs of life in the second half of their Week 2 matchup with the Los Angeles Chargers. In the third and fourth quarters of last Sunday's contest, the Bills scored 14 points on offense and limited the Chargers to just 65 yards.
Former Bills center Eric Wood saw things that Buffalo can build upon moving forward in Sunday's second half.
"It's been a slow start for the Bills, and that's well documented, but I liked what I saw in the second half [Sunday]," Wood told One Bills Live. "I think, what I saw and heard is McDermott started calling the plays on defense, the defense seemed to be playing really well in the second half and the offense got going a little bit too. I saw some bright spots from Allen [Sunday]. Showed off his arm a little bit. Still kind of a combination of pass protection and him holding onto the ball a little bit, which caused some negative plays. But, it seems like they're trending up, obviously from Week 1."
Wood also liked what he saw from quarterback Josh Allen, who completed 18 passes for 245 yards in Week 2. Wood thinks that Allen is only going to improve as the season progresses.
"A lot of it is just trusting your eyes, getting comfortable within the offense," Wood said. "I think you'll see that as the season goes on, Josh will get rid of the ball faster and faster, and with his arm strength and arm talent and the leadership qualities I'm seeing and how smart I'm hearing he is from people within the building, I love the trajectory of the season for him."
2 - Sean McDermott happy with Star Lotulelei through two games
Star Lotulelei and the Bills were seemingly a match made in heaven.
The defensive tackle, who signed a five-year deal with Buffalo in the offseason, previously played under Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott in Carolina, where McDermott was the defensive coordinator from 2011-2016. Lotulelei also had a familiarity with Buffalo general manager Brandon Beane, who had been in the Panthers organization for nearly two decades before joining the Bills.
Through his first two games in a Bills' uniform, Lotulelei hasn't shown up on the stat-sheet. This doesn't concern McDermott, however. The coach feels as though Lotulelei is shining in his intended role.
"When you look at the position he plays, and you've heard me say this before, it's the most unselfish position on the football field, the defensive tackle position, in particular the one-technique, which is typically where he plays," McDermott said. "A lot of the time he frees up, the way the game works is he frees up the linebackers to make plays by absorbing and taking on double teams and what not. I thought our run defense inside, which is where Star works, was mostly solid [Sunday]. Outside, we could've done some things better but inside, I think for the most part he played a solid game."
3 - Robert Foster taking advantage of 'earned' opportunities
Robert Foster entered Bills training camp with a National Championship ring and a chip on his shoulder.
After going undrafted in the 2018 draft, the former Alabama wide receiver signed with the Bills due in part with his familiarity with offensive coordinator Brian Daboll. Daboll, who joined Buffalo's coaching staff in January, previously served as the Crimson Tide's offensive coordinator, helping the team with the National Championship in 2017.
Foster impressed Daboll and others on Buffalo's coaching staff in camp and the preseason, earning a spot on the team's 53-man roster. He's already made an impact in the regular season, catching two passes for 30 yards in the Bills' Week 2 matchup with the Los Angeles Chargers.
Daboll feels as though Foster is simply being rewarded for his hard work.
"Robert's earned everything that he's gotten here," Daboll said. "He's up there every night with [offensive assistant] Chad [Hall] and [wide receivers coach] Terry [Robiskie] working at fundamentals, watching tape, trying to learn the opponent, go through his plays. He's a very, very hard worker, he knows he's young. He's got to be hungry. There's a lot to work on, obviously his speed, but he's making incremental improvement every week and we need him to. "
Foster was viewed as a deep threat throughout his time at Alabama. Daboll feels that the 24-year old is working to round out his game at the professional level.
"He's got good speed but there's a lot of other things that he's working on to try and develop," Daboll said. "And he's just like other young players. It's early in the process, but he's a grinder, which is good for a wideout."
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