Josh Allen, Stefon Diggs, Tre'Davious White, Mitch Morse, and Jordan Poyer spoke with the media Wednesday in advance of the Buffalo Bills' Week 2 matchup with the Miami Dolphins.
Here are the highlights.
Allen on ball security
Allen acknowledged that he needed to take better care of the football after fumbling twice in Buffalo's victory over the New York Jets, an otherwise strong performance in which the quarterback threw for a career-high 312 yards. He was asked was he can do in practice to work on his ball carrying.
"Well, one is working on good habits and developing good habits whether I break the pocket and run, making sure the ball is tucked and where it's supposed to be," Allen said. "Two, it's designed drills which coach [Ken] Dorsey puts us through and forces us to kind of get in weird positions, but also maintaining good ball security. So, really a combination of those two things. You don't get a lot of live reps at it because it's practice and we're not really getting hit, but I think you can make strides in those two areas."
Scroll through to see the best photos from Buffalo's practice as they prepare for Week 2 against the Miami Dolphins.
Playing in front of fans
After playing in an empty Bills Stadium during Week 1, Allen was asked how he felt about playing in front of an audience in Miami. The Dolphins will welcome 13,000 fans into the game against the Bills.
"I mean, the couple times I played in Miami, the Bills had a really good show out in the stands," Allen said. "I don't know if I expect anything differently this week knowing that, you know, it's limited ticket sales and I'm not sure how many people they're letting in. But I'm sure there's going to be a good amount of Bills fans, too."
Expectations for the Dolphins defense
Allen was asked about his expectations for a revamped Miami defense that added cornerback Byron Jones, linebacker Kyle Van Noy, defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah, and former Bills defensive end Shaq Lawson, among others.
"We got our old buddy Shaq down there," he said. "It will be fun to play against him, he was a really good guy in the locker room last year. We hated to see him go. But, you know, it's a team that added a lot this offseason, especially the secondary so we've got to make sure we're good with decision-making. They've got some guys that can go make some plays, a couple ballhawks out there."
Diggs was asked about going up against Jones and fellow cornerback Xavien Howard, both of whom have Pro Bowl appearances on their resume.
"They're an athletic group, fast group," Diggs said. "You're going to see press man-to-man. I went against Byron Jones a little bit in Dallas but in this kind of system, they're going to play a lot of man. If you're going to beat man-to-man coverage, you've got to beat man-to-man coverage. You've got to just execute at a high level as far as doing everything you need to do to get open.
Poyer on playing Ryan Fitzpatrick
Dolphins quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick is no stranger to Buffalo and has played against the Bills in many games, with his time with the Jets and the Dolphins. The next matchup between Fitzpatrick and the Bills comes on Sunday, and Jordan Poyer had some praise to give the veteran quarterback.
"A guy like Fitzpatrick, he's a savvy veteran that's been playing a long time," Poyer stated. "So you got to give him his respect. He's been out there a while and he's won a lot of football games. A guy that can throw the ball and can put the ball in really good spots for his receivers to go get the football, is a savvy veteran. He's a confident football player, and he's confident in himself so it's going to be a big task to come down to Miami and get a win."
Mitch Morse on playing first road game of the year
For a lot of the Bills players last week it was their first time playing an NFL game with no fans in attendance. This week will be different when the team travels to Miami where there will be some fans at the game. A maximum of 13,000 fans will be allowed at the game on Sunday, which is not as many compared to the max of 65,000 people they normally allow. It will be an adjustment for the Bills, as they go from playing at home with no fans to playing on the road with fans in the stands. Mitch Morse said that they aren't worried about the crowd and that they are focused on getting their individual jobs done and doing it at a high level.
"It's one of those things that will definitely be different than last week," Morse said. "But like any game, you have to hone in on the specifics of what's going on. You need to drown out [the noise] if there is a crowd or if there isn't and try to focus on your goals and your tasks. So, it will be different, but this year has been so wild and unique it has given us an opportunity to get used to it. We'll have the opportunity to see how it plays out this week and just go with the flow."
Tre'Davious White on the team's energy level
During last week's game it didn't take long for the Bills sideline to become their own cheerleaders with no fans there. With a lot of high-energy playmakers on this team, there will always be someone playing the role of hype-man throughout the games. Tre'Davious White explained where they get their energy from, and how they continue to motivate each other."
"It's just something that we do in practice," White explained. "Cheering each other on, competing against one another and trying to make each other better. On Sundays, you get to let it all out, all the hard work you put in Monday through Saturday, just preparing for the game. You go in on Sunday and you get to see your teammates do the things that they did on the practice field throughout the whole week. To get to see them do that actually in the game, it's pretty exciting and that's why we like to keep the energy up. This is a time where you're going to need your teammates because you don't have the crowd, so all we have is each other and so if we continue to lean on each other I think we will be fine."