It's been just over a week that Corey Coleman has been a member of the Buffalo Bills. With the regular season opener just a few Sundays away, time is short for the speed receiver to demonstrate progress and put his playmaking ability on display. He knows the clock is ticking, but he's hopeful his dedicated approach and extra time on task will yield positive results against his former team.
"I have big expectations for myself and I'm just going to do what the coaches have planned for me," he said. "They haven't really talked to me about how much I'm going to play. I know I'm going to get out there and play hard for this team and this organization."
Coleman has found the atmosphere in Buffalo's locker room very welcoming, especially the receivers room.
"They're all great. There are no selfish receivers in there," Coleman said. "They're asking me questions and I'm asking them questions and that's one thing I really like about the locker room. Everyone is so nice and so helpful."
Naturally, the biggest hurdle for Coleman is adapting to the Bills offensive playbook. The former Brown doesn't see much carry over at all from the system he left in Cleveland to the one he must master now in Buffalo.
"You can learn an NFL playbook if you're pretty smart," he said. "The playbook is kind of hard, so you really have to put in time and effort."
Coleman has spent most evenings after team meetings going over plays with offensive assistants as well as quarterbacks to make up for the time he never got to learn and rep the offense in the spring.
"At night time we're going over plays. Nate (Peterman) has been helping me out. He's spent extra time," said Coleman. "I can call on any of them and they'll do an excellent job trying to help me as much as they can."
"We're working on it," said Peterman. "We'll continue to work on it. I think he's done a great job trying to get in there and know what he's doing. We were studying late at night going through sessions with him. I think he's done a good job of attacking the playbook so he knows what he needs to do so he can come out on the field and go full speed."
This team has high expectations for me and I also have them for myself. Every time I’m out there I’m going to give 100 percent and do my job. Bills wide receiver Corey Coleman
As for tonight's game against the Browns, head coach Sean McDermott hinted that they may keep Coleman's assignment list short, so he can play fast. In the same breath he also gave indication that the receiver must get up to speed very soon.
"We're getting to the point now where it needs to be, 'Here's the playbook, you've got to know it.,'" McDermott said. "There will be some clarity around what his role is Friday night, so the biggest thing is we want him to come out, play fast, and play physical."
Coleman brushed off any notion that playing against his former team will have him more motivated to make plays. His passion for football is what pushes him.
"It's emotional every time I'm out there because I love this game," he said. "Every time I'm out there it hits home for me. I feel like a lot of people are not in a position to play football, so every time I'm out there I don't take it for granted."
More important for Coleman is to prove to the Bills that he can be a viable weapon for them in the passing game and bring a field stretching element to their offense.
"There's always something to prove when you step on the field," he said. "This team has high expectations for me and I also have them for myself. Every time I'm out there I'm going to give 100 percent and do my job."
