Head Coach Robert Saleh, 11.2
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Opening Statement: Corey Davis, he won’t practice today, and then Duane (Brown), (Nate) Herbig, C.J. U. (Uzomah), and Lamarcus (Joyner) are limited. I’m not worried about the game for those last four.
Connor Hughes, SNY: Corey (Davis) still a little bit away?
He’s going to be day to day, we’ll see. It’s on the fence.
Brian Costello, New York Post: Does having the bye next play into the decision at all, Robert? Because you could give him another week?
Not necessarily. If Corey (Davis) can go, he’s going to want to go.
Brian Costello, New York Post: What jumps out when you turn on the Bills film?
Probably the most complete football team we’ll see all season. Offense, defense, special teams, they’re deep, they’re littered with Pro Bowlers in all three phases, very well coached, they play hard, and quarterback’s outstanding. Their defensive front is very deep, disruptive, it’s a damn good football team.
Brian Costello, New York Post: Did you coach against Josh (Allen) early in his career? Those first two years when you were in San Francisco?
We got him, I think it was his third year. That would’ve been 2020? That was his third year. Yeah, that was the only time.
Connor Hughes, SNY: Can you ever recall a quarterback that, you’re probably aware of some of his struggles early in his career, can you ever recall a quarterback that made that substantial of a leap like with his completion percentage and just passing, and what he’s capable of doing on the field?
I’m not sure. All players, d-line, quarterback, they cook a little bit differently. I mean look at Geno (Smith) over in Seattle, he’s doing his thing. Back in the day I can recall Alex Smith, coming in later in his career, Rich Gannon’s probably the latest, Kurt Warner. So, some guys just take a little bit longer, but Josh, he always had the wheels, he always had that, it was just a matter of getting comfortable and I know he put a lot of work into his arm in terms of try to work with different people. From an accuracy standpoint, he’s done a great job, he’s put the work in.
Brian Costello, New York Post: Who does he compare to? Is there anyone you can think of that has the blend of running and passing like he does?
People say Big Ben (Roethlisberger), a younger version of Big Ben. He stands in there and people just bounce off him, he can make every throw, he can work off schedule, and he can work on schedule, so he’s arguably one of the better quarterbacks in football right now.
Al Iannazzone: Is your team better equipped for this matchup now when you look at improvements on the secondary and other things you’ve done?
Yeah, we feel good about our defense. We feel like we’ve added speed, there’s a lot more experience, it’s year two, so we’re a lot more precise in how we do things. It’s still going to be a great challenge too. Gabe Davis is a lot better than he was a year ago, and Stefon (Diggs) obviously goes without words, their skill guys are fantastic, they do a great job scheme wise. So, yeah, it’s going to be a great challenge, it’s going to be our biggest challenge to date, but I do think it’s a challenge that our guys are ready for.
Connor Hughes, SNY: Josh obviously played a pretty big role in that offense, taking off, but I think when they got Diggs too that kind of made a significant difference. I mean did you see that and just how much of a difference is it?
Absolutely, anytime you surround, the quarterback is a cog to a bigger machine. The more you surround them with great players, the better he’ll get. Stefon (Diggs) is one of the best in football, excellent route runner, violence, plays with intensity, plays with swag, so he’s really good. Gabe (Davis) is just a big, big body and then their backs are all really good, out of the backfield, tight ends really good, o-line does a nice job. So, he’s surrounded by the right pieces, and you take a guy like Josh (Allen) who’s already, by himself, fantastic, it just makes for a really good offense.
Antwan Staley, New York Daily News: Adding a guy like Nyheim Hines, how does that change what they want to do?
He’s fast, gives them another element out of the back field. I think he’s got like a 4.3 play speed, so he’s got wheels, we saw him last year unfortunately on Thursday Night Football. So, he’s a really good football player, a good addition for them.
Tom Rock, Newsday: Robert, when you look at the different moves that were made yesterday, does it feel like the division got a little tougher?
Oh, yeah. Miami did a really nice job; I feel like they’ve done a really nice job with their draft capital and ending up with the players that they’ve ended up with. Buffalo’s already fantastic and then you add a little bit more speed, so it’s a division that’s got, in my opinion, four really, really good football teams, and four teams that are capable of making a run, and credit to Miami and Buffalo being able to add a little bit.
Rich Cimini, ESPN.com: Robert, with Elijah Moore. Obviously, not going anywhere now with the trade deadline passing. What can you anticipate for his role? I mean 10 plays kind of jumped out because he’s been playing pretty much every down.
No, for sure we’ll find a way to make sure that it balances out the way we want it to, but at the same time like I said with Corey (Davis) being down, getting (Denzel) Mims out there, keeping a bigger body out at the Z, and Garett’s (Wilson) playing at such a high level right now to give him the opportunity to play football too, but you’re right we’ve got to make sure we find more opportunities to for E (Elijah Moore).
Joe Mauceri, PIX11: Robert, obviously Buffalo already had a really good defense up there, but can you talk about what the addition of Von Miller has meant to them and how you plan to attack him or preventing him from attacking you?
Yeah, their front, similar to ours in the sense of it rolls, they keep rolling guys and they keep guys fresh, and they play hard, they play violent, they penetrate. Von (Miller) is, you watch the tape, and he can still rush the passer as good as anybody and it adds a whole element because the quarterback is the head of the snake, if you don’t need to blitz to disrupt the head of the snake, then you’re living a good life and that group that Buffalo has is pretty good.
Bruce Beck, WNBC: How do you score on that group that’s given up only 98 points all year, number one in the League?
That’s going to be the challenge, that’s going to be the challenge for sure.
Zack Rosenblatt, The Athletic: After, what happened Sunday with Zach (Wilson) with the interception stuff, he’s obviously taken a lot of criticism this week whether it’s locally, nationally, or whatever. Do you ever worry about that, like getting too bad for a young quarterback because if he just goes online, he’s going to see it?
For sure, it is a good question. We’re all human, right? And they grew up on social media, so it’s a fabric of their lives and, so as much as you try to ignore it, he knows, but at the same time I think these young kids are more equipped than say me who didn’t grow up on social media where one person says something and you’re like “Oh my God”, but they’re able to compartmentalize. It’s pretty interesting, this is the way they grew up, so we’re not worried about Zach (Wilson). These kids more and more understand process, they understand what it takes, they know how to block out noise, they know how to stay focused. Is there a human element that he wants to prove to the world that he’s a good football player? Absolutely, they all have that, but with a guy like Zach (Wilson) who comes in and works his tail off day in and day out and is trying to figure things out, I think once he figures out his swing, it’s going to be really cool.
Connor Hughes, SNY: How is he going to balance like wanting to prove to people that he’s legitimate while also playing within the structure of the offense and not having happen what happened against the Patriots where he started just throwing balls up there trying to make plays because he didn’t want to keep throwing it away?
Yeah, that’s good. It goes back to the comment I made, and I forget when I made it, referencing C.J.’s (Mosley) breaking of the team on Friday. It’s okay to be boring and sometimes being bored is good enough, and to understand that all those throw aways over the last four weeks and weeks prior to last week, all those throw aways, all those scrambles that got us out of trouble helps, that’s making a play, and sometimes the best play is making the boring throw away that he was doing a really nice job of four of the last five weeks, so the balance is to understand that we have a pretty good team, you’re surrounded by really good players, and that if we could just live to play another down, eventually we’ll get to where we need to get to and our playmakers will make plays, and so he’s learning every day, he’s getting better every day, and knowing him he’s going to be relentless in that pursuit.
Rich Cimini, ESPN.com: Do you anticipate Jermaine Johnson being active this week? Also, could you just elaborate on that comment you made last week, you said rookies forgetting stuff when they’re out a little bit, maybe you could just elaborate on that?
Yeah, he will be active. Rookies, when they come into the League there’s a lot of stuff going on for these young men, and some when you get them in a groove, they could be pretty good. For Jermaine, we’ve had a very deep defensive line, and if it’s not 100% crisp, and it’s for all of them, they all deserve to play, then we’re going to roll with the guys who can, so he came back obviously just not 100% with his injury, but we just wanted him to have a clean, confident week of practice, so he can go out and execute the way he was before he got hurt.
Bruce Beck, WNBC: Robert, it’s November and you have a very meaningful football game, what does that say about the growth of this team and this franchise?
Feel like we’ve gotten a lot better from a year ago. I think Joe (Douglas) and his staff have done a fantastic job bringing in the right players, guys with the right mindset, guys who want to get better, and guys who can focus on the moment. Feel like the schemes are a lot better than they were a year ago in terms of just the cohesion between the coaches and players and understanding verbiage, so yeah, I feel like it’s a lot better, the results are showing it’s a lot better, but at the same time it doesn’t matter unless we continue to stay focused on the moment, continue to stack up good days.
Brian Costello, New York Post: Robert, there was a lot of stats off the game about Zach under pressure, and not having time. When we focus on him making better decisions, is that also an area of focus this week, is trying to figure out a way to protect him more back there?
For sure. Timing and rhythm, protection, running your routes, in a manner where it’s efficient enough to be within the rhythm and the timing of the play, so it’s all encompassing, it’s not always just the offensive line, sometimes it’s, like I said from a route running standpoint, sometimes we can be better with the play calling, in terms of making sure that the protection is there. Then sometimes the o-line has got to be better in protection, and the quarterback obviously plays a part in it. But again, there’s no excuses, it is what it is, we’ve had some shuffling, but those guys got to get ready to go play, and we have to find a way to continue to get better and become more efficient on offense.
Bruce Beck, WNBC: Robert, because of the numbers that the Bills put up offensively, does this make it a harder week to preach being boring to a quarterback who probably wants to go toe-to-toe with these guys?
I guess the game will dictate that. We’re excited for the challenge though.
Al Iannazzone, Newsday: When you have those two guys in the secondary that you now have, what does it allow your defense to do upfront? Especially with Josh (Allen) who’s going to be throwing or running?
I’m assuming you’re talking about the corners?
Al Iannazzone, Newsday: Yes.
Because those two safeties are pretty good too. No, it does, it allows you the flexibility where you feel confident, you don’t have to force the issue of traveling guys, you can remain structured and still mix up your coverages where there is no tell and so because of them we’ve been able to be a little bit more versatile in terms of our coverage system, and I think Brich (Jeff Ulbrich) and his staff are doing a fantastic job, in regards to creating that balance, and the predictability aspect of it, to limit it.
Joe Mauceri, PIX11: Robert, you talk about Zach finding his swing there, but we talked about Josh Allen and Geno Smith, who’ve had, Josh obviously had the early success, Geno now finding it, do you look at yourself and your coaching staff here and the way you’re teaching him, because I know that the timeline in the NFL is never very long, about do you change anything in your approach to teaching him so that it fits him better?
Yeah, absolutely, I do think Mike (LaFleur) and his staff are doing a great job trying to figure out, okay what does he do really well now, and how can we continue to emphasize or not focus on the weaknesses, but continue to build his weaknesses up, but focus on the strengths that he has and take it to the football field, so our offense can move at a high clip, but there is all that, obviously there’s the scheme and then there’s the player, doing what the player is comfortable with along with the rest of the offense. I do think those are things that we’re all continually working on, and things that we can all get better at.