1 – What this Tennessee All-Pro thinks about the Bills offense
Rookie quarterback Josh Allen is a difficult player to plan against.
Although he is still developing, Allen's physical tools are second to none. His arm is one of the league's strongest. Although the deep ball is an impressive part of the rookie's game, he's not afraid to check the ball down. Allen is athletic, as well, as he's Buffalo's leading rusher through the first four games of the season.
Tennessee Titans safety Kevin Byard has realized this.
Byard, an All-Pro safety who controls the defensive backfield of Buffalo's Week 5 opponent, has been impressed with what Allen has accomplished thus far in his rookie season. During an appearance on NFL Network's Good Morning Football, Byard praised Allen's arm strength and athleticism, also complimenting the team's offense as a whole.
"This guy has a very strong arm," Byard said. "I think that's something that pops out immediately on film. This guy will stand in the pocket and launch it 60 yards downfield. And he's a great athlete, I think that's something that's also underrated. I've seen this guy hurdle Anthony Barr from the Vikings, that was pretty impressive, as well. He has a lot of great talent around, LeSean McCoy, he has Kelvin Benjamin, he has the second-year pro Zay Jones, so they have a lot of skill positions, a lot of skill guys to get the ball to."
2 - Jordan Phillips excited to learn from this Bills DT
The Bills improved at the expense of a division rival earlier this week.
On Wednesday, Buffalo claimed fourth-year defensive tackle Jordan Phillips off of waivers. Phillips is no stranger to the Bills, as he's faced off against the team six times in the past three years as a member of the Miami Dolphins. Miami waived the former second round pick on Tuesday.
Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott liked what he saw out of Phillips in the lead up to the 2015 draft, which is part of the reason why the team placed a claim on the defender.
"I remember him coming out," McDermott said. "You see the skill, big, long. Can play both the one-technique and the three-technique. Really took a look at him today a little bit, thought he did some good things just in his first day, just got here at 9 a.m. or whatever it was. We'll just take another step tomorrow hopefully."
The Bills were not the only team interested in Phillips. According to ESPN's Field Yates, the Pittsburgh Steelers, New Orleans Saints, and New England Patriots also placed claims on the interior defender.
Phillips was ultimately awarded to Buffalo, and he's excited to get started with his new team. The 25-year-old is looking forward to the opportunity to learn from veteran tackle Kyle Williams.
"I know Kyle [Williams] from hearsay," Phillips said. "I know he's a great vet, works hard, someone I need to learn from . . . It looks like a good room and it should be fun."
3 - Bills players support Sabres in season opener
For the first time in a few years, there's excitement surrounding the Buffalo Sabres.
It looks as though the team's long and interminable rebuild is finally complete. The Sabres have franchise cornerstones on both offense and defense in Jack Eichel and Rasmus Dahlin. Buffalo added even more firepower to its already young and explosive offense in the offseason, acquiring Jeff Skinner and Conor Sheary through trades.
There are plenty of reasons to be excited for the Sabres' 2018 season. Even a few Bills are buying into the hype.
A number of Buffalo players attended the Sabres' 2018 season opener on Thursday night. Josh Allen, Tremaine Edmunds, and other Bills supported the Sabres at KeyBank Center.
"It's huge [to see the fan support for the Sabres] – we are One Buffalo," said Allen. "We're really in this thing together. We're the two major sports teams here and we want to play as well as we can day in and day out, week in and week out. Obviously, we're in a similar situation to the Sabres – we're a young. We're building, we're learning [and] we're growing."
