Tag: Bills Dolphins

Josh Allen reveals what Sean McDermott told offense

The Bills offense hasn’t been great in 2019 or in recent years. 

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The Bills offense hasn’t been great in 2019 or in recent years.

Quarterback Josh Allen is the centerpiece of that unit, which is ranked 23rd in the NFL in yards per game and 25th in points per game.

Allen has made some strides in Year 2. He’s not throwing as many interceptions and his completion percent, while not great, is up from 52.8 to 59.9 percent.

But perhaps those trends are indicating Allen is playing it safe and as a result, the scoring is down because the offense isn’t taking many risks. According to the QB on Wednesday, Sean McDermott sent a message to the offense which indicates the head coach wants to perhaps start rolling the dice.

“At the beginning of the year, I wasn’t doing a good enough job of protecting the football. I’ve made that very important to me,” Allen said. “[This week], Coach sat us all down today and said ‘play fearless.’ To have that green light and that confidence from him still, that means a lot. Not saying I’m gonna go out there and be reckless, they’re two different terms for a reason. Just being very aware of what’s going on but not trying to be gun shy about anything.”

Earlier that same day, McDermott spoke to reporters prior to practice. After fielding numerous questions about the offense, the coach walked out of his press conference. It was not a famous, headline-grabbing, fist-slamming type of exit, but McDermott answered a question with 14 words and left in under 10 minutes of his presser. Usually his press conferences last double that.

But heck, maybe that’s a good sign. We don’t know when McDermott told his QB to “play fearless.” Was he pissed about the presser that just ensued and it lit a fire in him? Most observers of the Bills would be fine with that.

Had the coach already told that to him at press conference time? Well that probably explains some frustration. In McDermott’s mind, he was probably figuring, “Guys, I know.”

Now we wait to find out what playing fearless is.

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Bills at Dolphins: Wednesday injury reports

Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins Wednesday injury reports ahead of Week 11.

As the Bills and Dolphins get set to wrap their 2019 season series, only one team has any injuries to report of.

Here are the Wednesday injury reports for both the Bills and Dolphins ahead of Week 11:

Buffalo Bills (6-3)

Notes:

The Bills have a full 53-man roster healthy.

Miami Dolphins (2-7)

Did not practice

  • CB Ken Webster (ankle)

Limited

  • DE Taco Charlton (elbow)
  • DT Davon Godchaux (shoulder)
  • S Reshad Jones (chest)
  • LB Raekwon McMillan (knee)
  • DE Avery Moss (ankle)
  • TE Durham Smythe (knee/ elbow)

Notes:

Reshad Jones told reporters he “hopes” to play vs. Bills. … Jones, Ken Webster and Avery Moss missed Week 10. … Raekwon McMillan hasn’t missed a game since the start of the 2018 season.

Sean McDermott shows frustration, abruptly leaves presser

Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott displayed some rare frustrations in front of the camera on Wednesday.

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Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott displayed some rare frustration in front of the camera on Wednesday ahead of his team’s game against the Miami Dolphins in Week 11.

It’s no secret that the Bills have a better defense than offense. The defense is the NFL’s third-best, while the offense ranks No. 23 out of 32 teams.

The Bills’ bench boss was asked about any frustrations he may have with how the offense looks so far. After answering numerous questions about the unit, McDermott abruptly, for his standards, ended his press conference early.

“Am I concerned with… am I concerned with, the success of our offense?” McDermott responded when asked about his level of frustrations with the unit. “Move the ball, score points. If we don’t do that, I’m frustrated… Simply put.”

The press conference was then over at about nine minutes in length. McDermott walked away without fielding another question after this answer when such press conferences tend to last in the 15-20-minute range.

Here’s McDermott shutting things down via WKBW-TV:

While not quite a Herm Edwards’ “you play to win the game,” or Dennis Green’s “they are what we thought they were,” this isn’t usually the calm, cool, and collected public relations wizard the Bills have as their coach. A full video of the interview shows McDermott asking for the question to be more specific.

McDermott also was asked to compare Josh Allen and Tyrod Taylor, who McDermott decided to move on from. The coach wouldn’t do that, and it’s worth noting that Taylor was 11-9 in his last 20 starts with the Bills. Allen is 11-9 in his first 20.

Everyone can have their opinion on Allen or Taylor, but one thing seems for certain: McDermott wasn’t happy with the line of questioning.

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9 things to know about the Bills’ Week 11 opponent, the Dolphins

The Bills and Dolphins will complete their 2019 pair of games on Sunday in Week 11 from South Florida. These aren’t your father’s Dolphins, and they’re not your Dolphins from like a few weeks ago when Buffalo topped Miami in 31-21. Things have …

The Bills and Dolphins will complete their 2019 pair of games on Sunday in Week 11 from South Florida.

These aren’t your father’s Dolphins, and they’re not your Dolphins from like a few weeks ago when Buffalo topped Miami in 31-21. Things have changed in three short games since then.

With that, here are nine things to know about the Bills’ Week 1 opponent, the Dolphins:

Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott and Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores meet following the game at New Era Field. Credit: Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports

Red hot Dolphins

The Bills were huge 15.5 opening favorites against the Dolphins in their first meeting. Buffalo took a 31-21 win and didn’t cover that. Actually it was nearly just a three-point win had it not been for a goofy onside kick score from Micah Hyde late.

But since then, it’s been smooth sailing for the Dolphins. After topping the New York Jets for their first win of the season, 26-18, Miami beat the Colts last week 16-12.

Yes, the tanking Dolphins are on a winning streak. Buffalo is still the favorite, but hey, if they’re hot, they’re hot. Along with their winning streak, the Dolphins have led in four-straight games as well, dating back to that loss in Buffalo.

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Oddsmakers: Bills road favorite vs. winning Dolphins

Buffalo Bills Miami Dolphins Week 11 odds

The Dolphins enter Week 11 as the winning team in their meeting with the Bills. At least in a “what have you done for me lately” sense.

Despite their best efforts to acquire draft capital and increase its value via losing, the Dolphins are winners of back-to-back games.

The Bills are fresh off losing as an underdog to the Browns, 19-16, in Week 10. The Dolphins recently beat the Colts 16-12.

Despite that, the Bills are the favored team this week over the Dolphins. Per BetMGM, the Bills open as 6.5-point favorites against the Dolphins in Week 11 on the road.

The Bills won 31-21 against the Dolphins earlier this year, but were assisted by a very random Micah Hyde score late in the game after he recovered an onside kick.

Buffalo opened as 15.5-point favorites in their first meeting.

The over/ under for the game is set at 39 points.

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What Ryan Fitzpatrick was mad about during latest Dolphins’ win

Ryan Fitzpatrick, Brian Flores mad about NFL concussion policy during win vs. Colts.

The Miami Dolphins will host the Bills in Week 11. Once thought of as an easy win, the home team is actually on a two-game winning streak as Buffalo enters the game on the heels of a loss to the Browns.

Former Bills quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick led the Dolphins to a 16-12 win over the Colts. Albeit was a win over backup-QB led team as Brian Hoyer started, a win is still a win.

But Fitzpatrick wasn’t all happy after this one. Why?

Late in the fourth quarter, Fitzpatrick was forced to undergo a concussion test. The NFL spotters made the call to yank him from the game.

Fitzpatrick didn’t like that.

Colts defender Grover Stewart caught Fitzpatrick with a helmet-to-helmet hit causing the concussion test. But Fitzpatrick’s problem was the timing of the test, not the test itself.

Stewart hit Fitzpatrick, then two more snaps took place for Fitzpatrick, including a sack. There was then a field goal by Miami, an ensuing kickoff, and a quick Hoyer interception. At that time, Fitzpatrick was trying to go on the field but was pulled back to the sideline for the test. He wanted the test to be somewhere a bit earlier when he wasn’t needed on the field.

“I understand why they call down and have spotters. But I sat out the game for five minutes,” Fitzpatrick said.“I understand the process, but if they are going to do it they need to do it right away.”

After the interception, backup Josh Rosen handed the ball off three times and the Dolphins added another field goal. So things weren’t all bad but sending in an ice cold backup doesn’t help.

Miami head coach Brian Flores was also unimpressed and was seen upset on the sidelines as the situation unfolded.

“Once they call down it’s out of everyone’s hands,” Flores said. “They call down when they call down.”

In the win Fitzpatrick was 21-for-33 passing for 169 yards with an interception. He added another 23 yards rushing and a score on the ground in the win.

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