1 – McDermott weighing options for final preseason game
Traditionally, in the fourth and final preseason game of the year, teams tend to play starters sparingly, if at all. Bills head coach Sean McDermott realizes that his staff still has some evaluations to make, but he noted that it is important to find a way to evaluate your team without putting players at risk for injuries that could damage their prospects of playing in the regular season. When asked how he would decide who plays and who does not in tomorrow's game, McDermott talked about finding the right combination for the Bills trip to Chicago.
"We're still working through that," he said. "At the end of the day, we've got to make sure we're healthy going into this season as well, so there's a delicate balance there."
That delicate balance is utterly important in the NFL, as teams cannot afford to lose star players in a game that does not count towards their overall record, often opting to allow younger players to showcase their talents instead.
McDermott further emphasized player safety and stressed that it is the most important issue to him and his staff throughout training camp and the preseason. He also noted that there are a number of young players who will have a tremendous opportunity to play significant time against the Bears.
"Number one [of importance] is player safety, number two is handling distractions or potential distractions as a football team," said McDermott. "We've got to make sure that we're organized and ready to go. It's a great opportunity for some players to put their best foot forward as well and show us what they can do."
2 – Daboll earning national recognition
Although Brian Daboll is in his first season as the Bills offensive coordinator, he is already beginning to receive praise on a national level. Recently, Sports Illustrated writer Conor Orr published a story on seven NFL coordinators, both offensive and defensive, to watch in 2018. The list notes that the transition from coordinator to head coach could come sooner rather than later for the seven listed in the article. Daboll was listed at number six, here is what Orr has to say about the St. Francis High School graduate.
Imagine if Josh Allen has a decent season. Imagine if, on the fly, Daboll is able to adjust his base and patch some of his mechanical issues. How attractive might that be to a team that will be making a change at head coach and will likely have a high enough draft pick to take the top QB in next year's class?
Daboll's work with Allen has already paid off, as Allen has shown mechanical improvements to his stride when throwing and a bevy of other minor tweaks. Working alongside Bills quarterbacks coach David Culley to help Allen along his journey will surely turn some heads in the industry, but Orr notes that Daboll's background may be further reason to believe in him; as his connections to prominent coaches has been well documented.
The league is full of Josh Allen's right now—young quarterbacks who have a promising set of tools but not nearly enough time to hone them. Anyone, like [Sean] McVay, who can create a system that negates those flaws and produces a productive offense, is going to get brought in to meet owners and general managers.
Plus, Daboll has ties to both Bill Belichick and Nick Saban. Those aren't bad letters of recommendation.
3 – Bills OT headlines PFF list
Recently, Pro Football Focus writer Neil Hornsby compiled a list of the NFL's "secret superstars," or high-caliber players who do not receive the recognition that their play might suggest. His list includes names such as former Bills wide receiver Marquise Goodwin and Cleveland Browns running back Duke Johnson, but the headliner on his list is Bills second-year left tackle Dion Dawkins. Here is what Hornsby had to say about the Temple product.
Trading a player of the caliber of Cordy Glenn to the Cincinnati Bengals was a bit of a surprise, but the reason the Bills felt comfortable doing so has been the play of Dawkins. Last year he was thrust prematurely into the spotlight because of an ankle injury to Glenn just 56 snaps into the season. With one of the best left tackles in the game down, Dawkins was left as his fill in. He performed better than should be expected of any rookie, grading a solid 72.4 (26th overall) up to Week 8. However, from the halfway point, things only got better. From Week 10 of 2017 onwards, he was our fourth-ranked player with a 84.6 grade behind only Joe Staley, Nate Solder and Ryan Ramczyk.
Dawkins was a second-round pick, number 63 overall in last year's draft and he has performed admirably at one of the toughest positions in football. Protecting the blind side of your quarterback is of the utmost importance, especially after using the seventh overall pick in this year's draft on Josh Allen.
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