1. Frank Gore will take most of the first-team snaps vs. Colts
Head coach Sean McDermott joined One Bills Live to talk Thursday's preseason game and reflect on camp. McDermott said he likes the depth in the running back room and plans to start Frank Gore for the first preseason game.
"What we're going to do is give Frank most of the work this week and then what we will do with LeSean is give him most of the work, at this point the plan is the following week," McDermott said. "Part of that is we know LeSean a little bit. This is our first time around Frank and the other piece of it is making sure with two experienced running backs that we keep these guys fresh for the season."
One of the younger running backs has caught McDermott's eye in training camp.
"From the young guys you watch for maturity and you see some of that with Cody Ford and you see some of it with Devin Singletary in the backfield along with some of the others," McDermott said. "Then you see it you're like wow it's really amazing to think about because this is professional sports, professional football and a lot of people call it a grown person's league and it's a tough sport. So, to watch some of these young kids fresh out of college, some of them coming out as juniors 20, 21 years old compete with these guys that are playing at such a high-level world class is amazing."
With camp in the rear-view mirror, McDermott believes the team has taken a step in the right direction.
"It's an overall feeling that our roster has improved and that should be the case as we go from one year to the next," said McDermott. "We want to continue to build our roster and I think the biggest thing I'd take from that is we've built it with guys that are unselfish. They're team-first guys and they work hard."
2. Brian Daboll says Josh Allen is a different player in year two
Ahead of the first preseason game, offensive coordinator Brian Daboll joined One Bills Live to discuss his thoughts on training camp at St. John Fisher College. Daboll said it was all about establishing consistency on offense.
"The more you can work together, see the game through the same set of eyes, communicate well with one another," Daboll said. "You know be on the same page with an option route the way Cole sees it as a receiver and Josh sees it as a quarterback. You know it's a day by day process. The guys have proven that this has been a good camp at St. John Fisher."
Going into camp, one of Josh Allen's goals was to be better at decision making. Daboll saw Allen take a step forward in his execution at camp.
"He is a different guy from year one to year two," said Daboll. "We got to understand that he's only had 11 games still under his belt which is good experience, but he's still a young player. He's smart, he works hard, he understands what we are trying to do. We're always in constant communication about situational football and the decision-making process. He has been a joy to work with, glad we have him."
When asked if anyone has surprised Daboll in camp, he pointed to the offense's chemistry.
"The comradery within the guys that we have and the new guys that we've brought in, you know we brought in a lot of different guys in and you know chemistry is very important both on the field and off the field," Daboll said. "These guys have been true pros, very good in the meeting rooms, not complainers. It's been a really good group to work with both on the field and off the field."
On the field during Thursday's game Daboll says he's looking for good, clean football and excellent communication between players on coaches. Daboll will be on the sideline for Thursday night's game against the Colts.
3. Tremaine Edmunds has a better grasp of the defense heading into sophomore year
With training camp over, second-year linebacker Tremaine Edmunds is feeling more comfortable as the quarterback of the defense.
"I feel good you know calls are coming to me better, moving around better," Edmunds said. "Just getting an overall feel for the defense, I feel better with it. You know football, things come up every day so I'm still learning, learning from the older guys. Still learning from things that I mess up on and things that I may see and just get better with it."
An insightful Edmunds is also taking on a new leadership role this season. Leading by example, Edmunds knows putting a priority on the playbook will create a better product on the field.
"It's still early right now, we are just trying to get better," said Edmunds. "It's always new things that come up and that's just football. We're trying to learn more every day. The things that do come up, talk about it and just get better. Our main focus is to continue taking strides forward."
To continue to move forward as a defense, Edmunds wants to see a lot of communication in the first preseason game.
"We are looking forward to it, you know nothing changes for us," Edmunds added. "Continue to do the things that we've been doing here all camp and everything will take care of itself. Just playing as a team, playing as a unit, communicating, executing and following the things that got us to this moment."
