Here's the Bills news of note for Dec. 15th.
**1 - Kyle hopes back cooperates for Sunday
**Bills DT Kyle Williams was having a renaissance type season until his lower back seized up last Friday leading to a muscle strain and his first missed game of the year. Williams didn't practice Wednesday, but was at the team facility and is hopeful his back will improve each day leading up to Sunday's game against the Browns.
"That's the plan. That's what I'm working for," said Williams. "Just trying to work through it and get better."
Williams would only say that his back is better than it was last week.
2 - McCoy feeling young and freshHe's the engine on which Buffalo's offense runs. LeSean McCoy represents just under 30 percent of the team's total yardage this season and has accounted for more than a quarter of the team's touchdowns this season. At age 28, outside observers wonder if he'll soon be hitting that point in his career where his production dips like most running backs.
McCoy, however, has never considered himself like most backs.
"I feel young, I feel good," he said. "I'm not like other backs that really take a pounding. The way that I maneuver out of different tackles, you see my playing style. I don't really take any big blows, knock on wood. And thank God especially, for not having too many injuries. The most I've ever been hurt, was here, with hamstrings and small things, so I'm really excited about the running. I think we have enough talent in the players that we can get it done."
Set to turn 29 next July, McCoy's carries have been kept in check so as not to overwork the feature back and have him fresh for the final quarter of the season. Through the dozen games in which he's played he's averaging 15.5 carries per game and another 3.5 touches on average in the passing game.
That approach has proven beneficial for McCoy and the Bills. The back currently leads the league in yards per carry average (5.25) and in 100-yard games with five so far this season. He also ranks eighth in the NFL in rushing yards (976) despite having just 186 carries. For reference, leading rusher Ezekiel Elliott (287) has over 100 more carries than McCoy.
3 - Zach Brown makes top free agent listPro Football Focus took a look at how those NFL players who signed in free agency this past spring have fared in the 2016 season. They then assessed which players were the top 10 in terms of teams getting the best bang for their buck. Bills LB Zach Brown made the list. Here was PFF’s assessment.
10. Zach Brown, LB, Buffalo Bills
If you saw Brown finally emerging as a playmaking linebacker in his fifth season in the league, congratulations, you're smarter than just about every GM in the NFL. Brown was signed for a measly one-year, $1.25 million deal this offseason after his career never quite got off the ground in Tennessee. Blessed with immense physical gifts, Brown was never quite able to translate them to the football field until Rex Ryan got a hold of him. Brown's 122 total stops are the third-most in the league, and he's earned the 14th-highest-grade of any off-ball linebacker this season.
Brown also has 10 tackles for loss, three sacks and two forced fumbles this season.
