Here's the Bills news of note for Sept. 21th.
1 - Tough test for Bills 'D' against red hot Broncos
One of the Denver Broncos biggest holes this season was supposed to be at the quarterback position. Through two games, Trevor Siemian has shaken that misconception and teams are now preparing for him. Siemian has a league-leading six touchdown passes this season; he'll be a tougher test than most anticipated for the Bills defense.
"He's a good quarterback. When I was in Carolina a year ago, we went against Trevor [in the] opening game of the season last year. He's smart, very intelligent player… I think those around the league that know the league, know what he's capable of doing," Sean McDermott said.[
Siemian's four-touchdown performance against the Dallas Cowboys this past Sunday has received national attention. It doesn't hurt when he has weapons all around the field: Demaryius Thomas, Emmanuel Sanders, and C.J. Anderson are just a few. He has also guided the offense to having the league's highest third down percentage (56.7%).
"He's got a well-established supporting cast around him, in particular the skill players, the receivers, the backs. He does a good job of keeping them in third-and-manageable situations and being smart with what he does with the football," McDermott said.
The Bills defense had a day against the Carolina Panthers offense in Week Two. They'll look for that and more against the Broncos this Sunday.
2 - Taylor calling passing game a 'work in progress'
After Week Two's touchdown-less performance, the glaring issue for the Buffalo Bills is with their new corps of wide receivers. Quarterback Tyrod Taylor is putting in the work with his new passing targets, but he knows it won't click overnight.
"It's a work in progress. I mean, you're not going to learn guys within two weeks or three weeks. Sometimes, it takes a full season. But, we're doing our best to get on the same page day in and day out. Staying back after practice, talking over film, just trying to get on the same page and making sure we're seeing the same thing," Taylor said. "But it's not going to be something that happens overnight. It's over time and like I said, we're working hard. That's for sure; to get on the same page."
The Bills passing attack ranks 27th in the league through the first two weeks. Things won't get much easier moving forward, especially with the stout Denver Broncos defense coming to town this Sunday. Taylor and company will need to have a productive week of practice to work out the kinks that were evident against the Carolina Panthers.
First-year Bill, Andre Holmes, came to the team via free agency this offseason. He caught a touchdown from Taylor in his debut game, and he has confidence in the chemistry they've built so far.
"I think it's good, we just haven't really shown it… we have to show it week in and week out. We didn't show it last week, we have to get better," Holmes said.
With most teams stacking the box against running back LeSean McCoy, the passing game will quickly have to find its groove to avoid falling to 1-2.
3 - ESPN NFL Live co-host discusses Bills offense
The co-host for ESPN's NFL Live, Trey Wingo, joined The John Murphy Show to discuss what he's seen from the Buffalo Bills through the first two weeks of the new season.
"There are some concerns about the Bills offense, there's no doubt about it. You took on a Carolina team which is yet to give up a touchdown in two… there are things that have to get better with the Bills offense and obviously trying to expand on the passing game is one of them," Wingo said.
Against a solid Carolina Panthers defense the passing game was non-existent for a majority of the game. Tyrod Taylor only managed 125 yards passing in the game; his leading wide receiver was Jordan Matthews with three receptions for 30 yards. The clock is ticking for Taylor's new cast of receivers to step up.
"You lost a bunch of receivers this offseason. The guys you're trying to replace them with have yet to step up, which is not to say they can't… they've got to find some diversity on offense. You're going to be fine as long as Shady is okay, but they're going to have to have something to go along with that," Wingo said.
The Bills offense will need a boost in productivity on Sunday. They'll be looking to start the season 2-0 at home for the first time since 2011.
SOCIAL MEDIA POST OF THE DAY
Watch as Bills running back LeSean McCoy takes the stage on MTV's hit show "Wild 'N Out." The episode will air tonight at 11 p.m.
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