1 - Saints HC has respect for McCoy
New Orleans Saints head coach, Sean Payton, commended LeSean McCoy and his career on Wednesday when he spoke to the Saints media. Payton's seen a ton of tape on McCoy, but this will be his first time facing him as a member of the Buffalo Bills.
"He is very elusive and you don't see a lot of hard contact hits on him and I think he is someone that can quickly get to top speed, his acceleration, his burst," Payton said. "He has very good instincts and I think with him there's that dimension of flexibility where in the passing game he can hurt you, in the running game he can hurt you."
McCoy's coming off a game where he rushed for 25 yards and didn't score a touchdown. He'll be looking for a score on Sunday against the Saints to help the Bills improve to 6-3. The nine-year veteran has a touchdown against 26 of 32 NFL teams in his career. New Orleans is one of six teams that has kept him out of the end zone.
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"Good thing is we're still 5-3. [We have] another opportunity this Sunday, going against a really good team. It's a big challenge for us, but we've had big games before," McCoy said. "[We] win this game, we're 6-3. Things are a lot different if that happens. We just have to make sure we take care of business."
The last appearance McCoy made against the Saints came on Nov. 5, 2012. He was still a member of the Philadelphia Eagles. That game he had 19 carries for 119 yards. Payton still sees McCoy as that same player he was with the Eagles.
"He's had a fantastic career," he said. "You put on the film and you see the same player we saw way back in Philadelphia the last time we played him, he's dynamic."
2 - Taylor praised for play in the pocket
In his third year as Buffalo's quarterback, Tyrod Taylor has proved he's capable of being a pocket passer in the NFL. He's finally receiving recognition throughout the league for his pocket presence.
Shaun O'Hara, of the NFL Network, recently broke down film on Taylor. O'Hara highlighted some of the strong plays Taylor made against the New York Jets in Week Nine.
"I thought Tyrod Taylor with two throws showed me what a great pocket thrower he is," he said. "Everybody wants to talk about his legs and athleticism. I think Tyrod Taylor has got the gift."
The first throw he referenced was a 10-yard touchdown pass from Taylor to Zay Jones. He stepped up in the pocket well and delivered a strike to Jones. The next impressive play from the quarterback was 26-yard dime to Deonte Thompson. Taylor threw the ball before Thompson was even halfway through his route and it eventually led to a touchdown.
Taylor's completed over 65-percent of his throws this season for 1,628 yards. He's tossed 10 touchdowns and just two interceptions, resulting in a 95.8 passer rating.
"When you really look at what Tyrod's done, I don't think he's got enough credit for how good his arm and how good his vision has been with these receivers," O'Hara said.
3 - Johnson the NFL's highest graded cornerback from Week Nine
A solid takeaway from the Bills loss to the Jets was the strong play from cornerback Leonard Johnson. His performance was good enough to crown him the highest-graded cornerback in Week Nine.
According to Pro Football Focus, Johnson was given an 86 grade and elected to their Team of the Week. The top-four cornerbacks were: Johnson (86.0), Robert Alford (85.7), Patrick Robinson (85.7), and Jimmy Smith (84.5) His lock-down defense led to his top grade. He didn't allow a reception during his 31 snaps played.
"Just trying my hardest to compete and play within the defense. Being in the position that I'm in I have a lot of help and a lot of guys I can give credit to for that performance. It's just doing my job and trying to go out and compete day after day," Johnson said. "Even though the game didn't turn out as we expected, there was some good in the game from every position. The focus going forward is capitalizing on the opportunities at hand."
Johnson's performance was nearly flawless in Buffalo's last game. If you could knock him for one thing it was a missed opportunity early in the game to intercept a pass. He appreciates the recognition from his great game, but that's a play he wants back.
"It feels good. But, it'd feel better if I would've taken that ball away," Johnson said. "I'm using that as motivation this week. Just seeing that it lit a fire underneath me to come out this week and perform again on a high level."
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