Tag: Damar Hamlin

Bills’ Damar Hamlin on return to football: ‘I really love this’

#Bills’ Damar Hamlin on return to football: ‘I really love this’

Bills safety Damar Hamlin completed his journey back to NFL gameplay in Buffalo’s preseason opener win against the Indianapolis Colts on Saturday.

After the win, he spoke of the game being a “step in the right direction”, while sharing how it felt to return to football.

“Just my first few plays in being pressures, and there’s my number being called,” Hamlin said to the press. “So, all of the jitters, all the nerves, that was like out the window right there, like right then and there. But it was good for me. It was able to get me going.”

The 25-year-old suffered a cardiac arrest on January 2nd during a Week 17 “Monday Night Football” game last season against the Cincinnati Bengals. He’s now succeeded in working his way back to the field.

“When I’m feeling those nerves and I’m feeling those emotions, it just means I, it means I love, I really love this,” he continued. “I love this, like, I want to be here. I want to play, I want to do good. I want to be one of the greats. I want to be remembered as somebody who, you know, stood for something and who made a difference when I was out there on the field.”

The third-year safety has been a full participant since the Bills OTAs in June and played with no hesitation during Saturday’s contest, seeing time at both special teams and finishing the day with 20 defensive snaps with the second unit to go with four special teams snaps.

He recorded three tackles, the first of which came on the second of consecutive blitzes where he made the tackle on Colts running back Evan Hull on fourth-and-1 to get the ball back for Buffalo.

“What we just witnessed, to me, is remarkable,” head coach Sean McDermott said to the media after the game. “It really is. It’s a true sign of a young man’s courage and obviously, everyone who helped him get to this point. I know there was a football game going on out there today, but I mean truly remarkable display of courage and strength and faith. I had a chance to communicate with Damar a little bit last night, and he assured me he was ready to go. So, he trusts his preparation and God. I think that shows a lot about who he is.”

In all, Hamlin found his love of the game through the experience.

“It was super fun,” Hamlin said. “It was a great experience. Just another milestone and a step up just getting back to myself as far as in the football space and in the NFL.”

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Bills’ Dane Jackson on CB battle: ‘It’s always going to be a competition’

#Bills’ Dane Jackson on CB battle: ‘It’s always going to be a competition’

The Buffalo Bills hosted the Indianapolis Colts in Orchard Park on Saturday, quickly providing rookie quarterback Anthony Richardson with a proper welcome to the NFL.

Just under two minutes into the contest on Indy’s opening offensive drive, CB2 Dane Jackson read Richardson and positioned himself for a pick on an off-balance missed throw to set up the Bills first touchdown of the day. 

The interception came when Bills head coach and defensive coordinator Sean McDermott called a blitz on a second down play that saw defensive back Saran Neal pressure Richardson to throw.

“I felt real good, you know what I mean, I was able to just end with a good play” Jackson said after the game.

The interception was timely for the corner.

While he filled in effectively for CB1 Tre White while he recovered from an ACL injury and across from White for much of last season in the CB2 role, he is in a position battle competing with 2022 first-round pick, Kaiir Elam and sixth-round pick, Christian Benford.

Jackson got the start and only played the first series, leaving the game along with the rest of the starters, at which point Elam and Benford took over, with Benford also running first-team gunner with the punt unit on special teams.

“I feel like it’s the same,” Jackson shared about the competition. “It’s always going to be a competition I mean picking preseason unfortunately it don’t really matter, you know what I mean, so just got to keep stacking you got great competition between UCB and Kai here as well so I know they’re going to keep taking steps so I got to stay on mine as well.”

A seventh-round pick by Buffalo in the 2020 NFL Draft, Jackson has been longtime friends with S Damar Hamlin as they are both from the Pittsburgh area and teammates in college at PITT.

When he caught his interception Hamlin ran all the way over from the sideline to the endzone to celebrate with him. He even filmed Jackson’s locker room interview on his phone behind the press camera postgame.

“One thing about Dane, he’s always going to make a play,” said a smiling Hamlin after the game. “Just today, that was good for me, that kind of loosened me up a little bit just him having that interception so early. I’m always extra, extra happy for Dane.”

As for seeing his teammate and friend return to gameplay for the first time since his January 2nd cardiac arrest, it was meaningful as well.

“It was great to see him back out there.”

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Bills’ Sean McDermott ‘working through’ return to coordinator duties

#Bills’ Sean McDermott ‘working through’ return to coordinator duties:

The Buffalo Bills beat the Indianapolis Colts at home 23-19 in their preseason opener.

The game was the first of the preseason for the team and head coach McDermott, who made his return to defensive play calling in the contest. The last time that McDermott was a defensive coordinator was with the Carolina Panthers from 2011 to 2016 prior to becoming the Bills head coach.

He is known for being an aggressive play caller as a DC, which was noticeably on display during Saturday’s game.

The Bills defense mirrored that aggressiveness on the field, attacking the pocket and logging six quarterback hits and three sacks on the day in a strong showing despite a high number of penalties.

McDermott spoke after the game about those strengths, the need for consistency, and clean play.

“I thought there were some good things, we showed moments of our standard that we hold ourselves to, but not enough though,” The head coach said to the press. “We have to be more consistent starting with penalties, more discipline on pre-snap penalties because it hurts you.”

McDermott’s playcalling on defense helped make a difference early, opting to blitz on a second down play during the game’s first series in which defensive back Saran Neal forced rookie Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson to throw an interception that set up the Bills’ first touchdown.

“I’m still working through the communication piece,” McDermott added. “A preseason game is a little bit different than a regular-season game. We’ll go back, just like we do with the players, and evaluate that and talk about some areas that we’ve got to improve on. It was just kind of getting on the same cadence, when I’m going to be in certain spots and when I need information at times, and make sure that information is readily available when I need it.

Still, the coach noted, “It was a pretty good first game.”

The Bills defense is aiming to bounce back from last season’s injuries and return to the upper ranks of the NFL once again under McDermott and the teams’ coaching staff.

“It was fun to be back out there, rolling up my sleeves a little bit but still working through the communication piece.”

 

17 great photos of Damar Hamlin making his incredible return to the NFL

Damar Hamlin made his incredible return to the NFL on Saturday.

Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin made his truly incredible return to playing in the NFL on Saturday.

Hamlin suited up to play for Buffalo for the first time since his on-field cardiac arrest event in January.

His recovery has been one of the most inspiring sports stories of the year, and it has sparked to a wonderful comeback. Hamlin actually got on the field for Buffalo and even helped get a fourth-down stop during the preseason game against the Indianapolis Colts.

Everyone in the NFL world is thrilled that Hamlin was able to return to pursue his football career. Check out some great photos of Hamlin’s triumphant return to football.

Instant analysis and recap of Bills preseason win vs. Colts

Instant analysis and recap of #Bills preseason win vs. #Colts (via @jdiloro):

The Buffalo Bills opened the preseason with a 23-19 win against the Indianapolis Colts while the majority of starters played limited snaps. The performance was buoyed by James Cook’s eight-yard touchdown rush and Matt Barkley’s two touchdown passes.

Here is Bills Wire’s instant analysis of all the action:

Damar Hamlin helped get the Bills a fourth-down stop in his triumphant NFL return

Damar Hamlin is BACK.

After suffering a cardiac arrest episode during a Monday Night Football game in January, Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin has made his triumphant return to the football field.

Hamlin suited up for Buffalo’s home preseason game against the Indianapolis Colts on Saturday, completing his miraculous comeback after suffering his life-threatening health scare.

His story has become one of the most inspiring in the NFL in some time, and it’s even sparked an advocacy effort to get life-saving automated external defibrillators in all athletic facilities across the country.

Hamlin has already received a hero’s welcome from Bills fans during training camp, and his return to actual NFL gameplay stands as one of the best moments we’ll see in sports this year.

Hamlin even helped his team’s defense get a fourth-down stop on the Colts during the game’s first quarter.

Hamlin’s jersey also adorned the windows of a game ambulance in the tunnel at Buffalo’s Highmark Stadium, honoring the men and women whose swift medical actions helped save Hamlin’s life.

After such a long journey to get back on the field, Hamlin can finally get back to his NFL career. This time, he’ll have fans from all 32 NFL teams cheering on his success.

WATCH: Pat McAfee Show loves Bills’ Damar Hamlin

WATCH: Pat McAfee Show loves #Bills’ Damar Hamlin:

The Pat McAfee Show had an extended segment about Bills safety Damar Hamlin and his return to football.

Since suffering cardiac arrest in front of the world on the biggest of stages, Hamlin has openly become an advocate for CPR training. He has shed light on the topic and the show discussed how much they admire Hamlin for his efforts since returning to Bills training camp.

The Pat McAfee Show clip can be found below:

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Damar Hamlin is back: DB records pick-six interception at Bills camp (video)

Damar does it:

Day by day, quite literally, Damar Hamlin is taking positive steps in his return.

The defensive back had been a full participant at practices dating back to the spring following his cardiac arrest during the 2022 season. However, none of those workouts involved full pads and hitting… until this week.

Monday was the first time that happened, and Hamlin admitted it was “rollercoaster of emotions” playing all-out football again.

Tuesday had to be nothing short of exhilarating.

In another fully-padded practice… Hamlin did was defensive backs are there to do: Take the ball away. He did so in style, picking off backup quarterback Matt Barkley and returning the interception for a touchdown.

Check out Hamlin’s score below:

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