Buffalo Bills' starters use week of practices to stay sharp
The decision by Buffalo Bills coach Sean McDermott to shut down his starters – and other key players – ahead of Saturday’s preseason finale against the Carolina Panthers should be viewed as equal parts wise, reactionary and forward-thinking.
The decision by Buffalo Bills coach Sean McDermott to shut down his starters – and other key players – ahead of Saturday’s preseason finale against the Carolina Panthers should be viewed as equal parts wise, reactionary and forward-thinking.
Wise: The Bills’ padded practices plus two games provided the key players with enough work to be ready for the Sept. 8 opener against the Arizona Cardinals.
Reactionary: McDermott saw his best defensive player, linebacker Matt Milano, tear his biceps in practice on Aug. 13 and sat quarterback Josh Allen before the game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Aug. 17 because of wet field conditions. Once the starters were productive against the Steelers, there was no need for McDermott to gamble.
Forward-thinking: The Bills play two games in five days to start the season, traveling to Miami on Sept. 12 after hosting the Cardinals. A dozen snaps against the Panthers would do little good and potentially much harm.
McDermott made the right move. The Bills put the starters through heavy work in practice on Tuesday and Wednesday. Did he like the work?
“I (did),” he said before Thursday’s non-padded practice. “The unique part about it is, for us who have been around the league when there were four preseason games, you would usually take that fourth game and you would back your starters off and go with the other players.”
The three-game preseason, introduced in 2021, generally creates a three-week gap from the starters’ final tune-up time (second preseason game) and the regular season opener. The Bills will have 22 days between. But having a joint practice against the Steelers created a semicompetitive environment was ostensibly like playing the Panthers in a game.
Here's a look at the total number of snaps played by key players during the Bills’ preseason games against the Chicago Bears and Pittsburgh:
Bills quarterback Josh Allen, left, and left tackle Dion Dawkins talk during practice on Wednesday. Harry Scull Jr., Buffalo News
Offense: Allen (eight); running back James Cook (27), receivers Curtis Samuel (12), Khalil Shakir (19) and Keon Coleman (51), tight ends Dalton Kincaid (11) and Dawson Knox (14), and 37 for the starting line of left tackle Dion Dawkins, left guard David Edwards, center Connor McGovern, right guard O’Cyrus Torrence and right tackle Spencer Brown.
Defense: Ends Greg Rousseau (17) and A.J. Epenesa (34), tackles Ed Oliver (11) and DaQuan Jones (12), linebacker Terrel Bernard (eight), cornerbacks Rasul Douglas and Taron Johnson (19 each) and cornerback Christian Benford and safety Taylor Rapp (23 each).
The Bills could practice as many as three times this week before getting Labor Day weekend off. One of those workouts is allowed to be in full pads.
“I think the important piece for us is not only do we stay sharp, but we focus on taking another step,” McDermott said. “I saw some of that this week, and we have to continue to do that next week.”
The on-off switch argument is long-standing and has merit. Can a player or unit who didn’t play much in the preseason suddenly swing their figurative lever to “on”?
Two years ago, the Bills sat 37 players for the preseason finale at Carolina, but it didn’t matter. They routed the Los Angeles Rams 31-10 in the opener.
Last year, McDermott was so perturbed by the starters’ clunky play at Pittsburgh that he rolled out all but two starters for the Chicago game. Two weeks later, the Bills lost their opener in overtime on the road against the New York Jets.
During the first two practices leading into the Carolina matchup, the Bills had a mock game week, which meant first- and second-down on the first day and situations on the second day.
Allen said last week was too early to look at Arizona.
“We’ll get through (the Carolina game) before we actually get into what they’re doing, and it’s Game 1. We can watch all the film we want from last year, but who knows what they’ll do,” Allen said. “We have to understand we can have a plan going into it, but if (the Cardinals’ defensive plan) is completely different, we have to adjust and make in-game situations, which I think is something we do very well and (offensive coordinator) Joe (Brady) is adaptable at.”