1 - Tre White talks sophomore improvement, Pats' offense
Buffalo's coaching staff has an incredible amount of confidence in cornerback Tre'Davious White.
The unit has asked the sophomore defensive back to shadow the opposition's top wide receiver each and every week, and thus far, the results have been beneficial. White has largely been able to lock down his targets, and through seven games this season, the 23-year-old has recorded 20 tackles and four pass deflections.
White has improved off of his stellar rookie campaign and attributes his progression to his mental growth.
"I feel like it's just me being more football smart as far as just studying more film and just knowing what my opponent's going to do before it happens," White said.
White's not sure which wideout he'll be placed on in the team's Week 8 matchup with the Patriots. This, however, is not a problem for him, as learning the ins and outs of the opponent's offense is part of his weekly routine.
"I tend to try to go to the overall team and try to look at formations, certain stuff they're going to run out of certain formations," White said. "Then I go in and try to study one guy. I try to get a feel for the overall offense before I just try to key in on one guy."
White realizes that covering anybody next week will be difficult, as ultimately, one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time is getting the ball to them.
"That's what [Tom Brady] does well," White said. "The running back is the most targeted guy on the team. Goes to show that he goes to the guy that he trusts. He's got [Josh Gordon] coming in, 10's gaining a little bit of his trust. So it's going to be a big time challenge for us."
2 - Belichick praises the 'excellent' Hyde, Poyer
The Bills have a pair of ballhawks patrolling their defensive backfield.
Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer emerged as one of the best safety tandems in the league last season, combining for 177 tackles and 10 interceptions. The two have continued their strong play into the 2018 campaign, totaling 61 tackles and three pass deflections as a duo through seven games. Poyer has already intercepted two passes.
Buffalo's safeties will be tasked with containing the likes of Josh Gordon and Rob Gronkowski this Monday when the Bills go up against the Patriots in a primetime matchup. New England coach Bill Belichick is accounting for the talented pair of safeties in his game plan.
"Hyde and Poyer do a good job," Belichick said, per Henry McKenna of PatriotsWire. "They work very well together. It's hard to talk about one without talking about the other one. They do an excellent job of disguising their coverages and the blitzes because they do pressure a pretty fair amount.
"They are both very instinctive and make some plays based on anticipation, experience, recognition of offensive formations or plays as they develop. They react to them pretty quickly. Both of those guys do a real good job."
Belichick also praised Hyde's versatility.
"He has corner experience, so when they're in man-to-man coverage situations and he's asked to do that he's pretty competitive as a coverage player as well as a zone player, both short and deep," Belichick said, per McKenna. "Middle of the field or half the field because they play both split and post-safety coverages. He's a pretty versatile guy."
3 - Kenneth Davis to 'Lead the Charge' in Week 8
The Bills will retire Hall of Fame running back Thurman Thomas' jersey number at halftime of their Week 8 matchup with the Patriots.
It's only fitting that Kenneth Davis will be in attendance.
Davis, who served as a complementary running back for Thomas from 1989-1994, will 'lead the charge' for Buffalo ahead of the Monday Night Football contest. Thomas announced Davis' role in the ceremony on his Twitter account Wednesday afternoon.
Davis played as a running back and kick returner in Buffalo, rushing for 2,460 yards and 23 touchdowns throughout his six seasons with the team. His best season came in 1991 when he ran for 624 yards on 129 carries.
A key role player for the Bills, Davis participated in all four of the team's Super Bowl appearances in the early 1990s, leading the team in rushing in Super Bowl XXVII with 86 yards.
Davis joins Stevie Johnson and Eric Wood as former players who have led the charge this season.
