Clay out multiple weeks after knee scopeIt didn't look good when TE Charles Clay was carted off the field in the first quarter Sunday. Diagnosed with a knee injury Sunday, the Bills wasted no time addressing the injury as he had a surgical procedure performed on his left knee Monday.
"Charles underwent a (knee) scope this morning and he'll be out multiple weeks," said head coach Sean McDermott.
Buffalo's head coach stated that there is no other choice than to move forward while Clay is out of the lineup.
"I never want to see a guy get hurt, let alone a player of Charles' caliber," said McDermott. "But it's next man up. That's what we do. That's what happens in this league. We've gotten hit a little bit by the injury bug."
Clay joins WR Jordan Matthews on the team's injury list. Matthews was also described as week to week with his thumb injury suffered in the game against Atlanta, as was CB E.J. Gaines.
Set to fill the void for now is third-year tight end Nick O'Leary, who posted single-game career highs Sunday with five catches for 54 yards after Clay left the game.
"I thought Nick did a good job Sunday in the passing game and made some key catches for us," said McDermott. "He's a guy that Tyrod trusts and he's made some big plays this year so far. I like the direction he's heading right now."
Getting O-line set might take timeAt the outset of the season the starting offensive line appeared as though it would be the same as it was last season. But Cordy Glenn's ailing foot proved troublesome through the first month of the season forcing rookie Dion Dawkins into the lineup. And this past Sunday the coaching staff chose to insert Vladimir Ducasse into the starting five at right guard in place of John Miller.
In the first year under Sean McDermott, Buffalo's head coach admits it may take them a bit longer to find the right combinations that they feel make them most effective on offense.
"You'd like to be able to go out there and have your 22, with 11 on offense and 11 on defense and 11 on special teams on top of that 22 and know what you've got. That's not always the case early on in the process when you're trying to build and develop a team.
"You're adding pieces, taking pieces away, sometimes intentionally and sometimes due to injury. Yes, that is the ultimate goal that you can have that continuity and the chemistry that comes from that continuity. At this point we haven't had that, but that's what we're driving at. To find that right combination and build that continuity and chemistry that comes from it."
Cordy Glenn is getting healthier and was active Sunday, but only played four snaps on special teams while Dawkins made his third straight start at left tackle. Coming out of the bye it's likely that Glenn is as healthy as he's been all season, but McDermott is not promising the starting job will be re-assumed by Glenn or handed to Dawkins.
"We're going to continue to evaluate that," he said. "With respect to Cordy's situation as well. Dion has come in and done a really nice job at that left tackle position. He's going up against some good pass rushers and he's got some plays that he wants back. We'll continue to evaluate that moving forward."
Self-scouting a big part of bye weekEvery bye week is a time for NFL teams to self-assess everything from game planning, to play calling, to the construction of the practice week, to halftime adjustments to player evaluation. It's called self-scouting and McDermott and his coaching staff will be busy at it this week.
"I think that's huge. Building self-awareness as to what we're doing well, and what we're not doing well enough," McDermott said. "Our hope is that should allow us to grow and evolve into the team we're trying to become. That's a process that will take time, but that's important.
"This will be a big week to put in our work, a lot of it being off the field. It starts by being humble and honest with ourselves and determining what I can do better."
McDermott said the coaching staff will begin with self-evaluation and take it from there.
"That's part of what this week is about," he said. "We evaluate ourselves first. I've got to evaluate myself and the coaches will all do that and then we'll evaluate personnel."
