Tag: damien harris

New Bills RB Damien Harris: “Buffalo is a special place”

New #Bills RB Damien Harris: “Buffalo is a special place”

As training camp is fully underway for the Buffalo Bills, the roster features a new addition in their offense’s backfield.

With that, also comes the first full week of live-action and of free-agent addition at running back, Damien Harris.

Harris joined the team from the AFC rival Patriots this offseason and is competing for playing time with second-year back James Cook, and fellow free agent addition Latavius Murray.

“Buffalo is a special place, it’s one of the most special places in America,” Harris said to the media about his new playing home. “You only get to truly experience it as a Buffalo Bill, the right way.”

Ideally, Harris will be the physical, big back the team has been missing under Sean McDermott and help take the ball, and the pressure off QB Josh Allen, on third down and goal line plays.

The front office and coaching staff are hoping he’ll do just that, as are the fans whose support Harris has already begun to feel in his first training camp with the Bills.

“We had a practice in Rochester the other day in the rain and no one flinched or moved a muscle, it was a full, packed house,” The RB added.” So it’s just things like that that mean a lot to you and it just makes you want to win for them that much more.”

The 26-year-old was drafted by New England in the third round of the 2019 NFL Draft, after playing college ball at Alabama where he backed up Derek Henry before winning the starting job after Henry left to go pro. After four years with the Patriots, a fanbase like Buffalo’s has been a positive change.

“This is crazy, it almost made me late for practice, but this is great, these are the best fans in the world, so it was great to come out here and strap it on front of them for the first time in our stadium, my first time here on the good side. Obviously, the energy is electric and I’m glad to be here.”

Though last year’s second-round pick, RB James Cook has seen most of the first-team reps, Harris gained more time with the starters on the seventh day of camp. While he’s learning the offense, it’s the endzone that continues to catch his eye.

“It does, it does, anytime you can get into the box, you always want to touch that money so as runningbacks especially,” Harris shared. “When you get the ball, it’s the hardest yard in football to gain, it’s the most on the line and you want to touch that paint so your heart starts beating a little bit faster, but you’ve got to be able to maintain your composure, red your key, do your job and hopefully get into the end zone.”

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37 days till Patriots season opener: Every player to wear No. 37 for New England

Here’s a list of every Patriots player to wear the No. 37 jersey number

In 37 days, the New England Patriots will host the defending NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles in their 2023 regular season opener. So we’re continuing our countdown series by listing every Patriots player that has ever worn the No. 37 jersey.

The last player to wear the number in New England was former Patriots running back Damien Harris, who now plays for the Buffalo Bills.

Harris was a powerful runner on the field and an even better leader off it. The former Alabama standout led by example and paved the way for young players like Rhamondre Stevenson to carry the franchise into the future.

Yet, the player most Patriots fans immediately think of when looking back on the No. 37 is New England Patriots Hall of Famer Rodney Harrison. The former three-time All-Pro defensive back played a key role in two of the franchise’s six Super Bowl victories.

He was without question one of the greatest defensive players in franchise history. That alone gives the No. 37 significant value in New England.

Here’s every player that has ever worn the number for the Patriots: (via Pro Football Reference):

What Ken Dorsey said is new about the Bills offense

What Ken Dorsey said is new about the #Bills offense in 2023:

The Buffalo Bills offense experienced some ups and downs during their 2022 campaign and offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey’s first year in that playcalling role.

Dorsey, previously the team’s quarterbacks coach, was promoted to take over the coordinator position following the departure of OC Brian Daboll, who left to become the Giants head coach after a successful run with the Bills.

What’s more, the receiver group was depleted by injuries and their depth at that position ran thin while opponents double-teamed Stefon Diggs.

This offseason, GM Brandon Beane set out to bolster the offense, doing just that at the offensive line, running backs, and receiver positions.

He added TE Dalton Kincaid in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft and WRs Deonte Harty and Trent Sherfield in free agency to a group that includes Diggs, Dawson Knox, Gabe Davis, and second-year pros James Cook and Khalil Shakir.

These additions create a deeper pool of versatile talents who can play multiple positions in the passing game while creating holes and opportunities against opposing defenses for QB Josh Allen and each other.

Dorsey has noted these differences and spoke to them during training camp this week.

“That’s what we really look for, whether it’s Dalton, whether it’s Harty who we signed, whether it’s Trent Sherfield who we signed, all these guys have the ability to be used in different ways,” Dorsey said to the press. “You look at not only Dalton but a guy like Trent and a guy like Harty, those guys who have both played inside and outside and they’re multiple, they played X, Z, and F, so I think those are always things that you look for so that you’re not handcuffed.”

Beane has made it a point to draft players with multi-positional experience and potential to create versatile options for the Bills offense, even suggesting in his own presser that the slot receiver position could be filled by the committee with the talent they have on the roster.

One of the biggest developments on the offense is the addition of Kincaid, who allows the Bills to play defense-dictating two tight end sets, creating mismatches with his elite potential and skill set. He, along with Sherfield and Harty, gives Buffalo threats in the slot and outside and prevents teams from double-teaming Diggs.

Beane has been looking to add talent to the tight ends group since last offseason to allow Buffalo to run two tight end sets. Those formations require opposing defenses to play different coverage than they normally would on account of the multiple position and skill versatility of Kincade.

Count TE1 Dawson Knox among those who, like Dorsey, see the immediate impact of the versatile rookie.

“When we’re in there at the same time, he plays the F, which is kind of like a slot guy, but you can also bring him in in line,” Knox said to the media. “A little more versatility. I’ll be more in line if we’re both on the field. But at the same time, we like changing it up, where he goes in line, I spread out, and there might be a linebacker coming out to match me. So, it just adds a whole different layer that the defense has to prepare for, and it’s gonna make it hard on the defensive coordinator.”

The team has been running these two tight-end sets frequently during training camp thus far and is seeing some good early returns on their top draft selection.

“He’s already a very natural route runner,” Knox added. “Great feel for the defense, great hands. He’s shifty. He’s got some good speed. So I think his route-running capability is already pretty incredible for being a rookie.”

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Stefon Diggs on Gabe Davis: “If I’m not here, Gabe is easily WR1”

Stefon Diggs on Gabe Davis: “If I’m not here, Gabe is easily WR1”

Buffalo receiver Stefon Diggs has seen his fair share of noise in the press this offseason, so if anyone knows that feeling it may be the Bills WR1.

Like Diggs, however, the team’s WR2 role has been a hot topic since last season’s end.

Some outside the organization have questioned whether the team has a legitimate second threat in the passing game for QB Josh Allen.

Gabe Davis, who is entering his fourth year at the pro level and a contract year as well, has connected for some big plays with Allen over his past two campaigns, particularly in the postseason.

During 2022, however, an early season ankle injury and inconsistency with dropped catches. While some believe in the Diggs and Davis duo, others began to wonder if the Bills had a viable WR2 on the roster and to call for the team to select one in the first round of this year’s draft.

You can count Diggs as a believer, as he said this week that he thinks Gabe Davis is in for a big season during his first press conference of training camp.

“I feel like Gabe Davis will have a breakout year,” Diggs said. “I feel like he had got nicked up a little early last year, but I think this year he’s gonna have an amazing year. He’s damn near wide receiver one in my eyes. I feel like if I wasn’t here, Gabe Davis would be a WR1 and it’s something that I can hang my hat on when I say that. He’s an extremely hard worker.”

It’s worth noting that Davis still had a good receiving year in 2022, second only to Diggs in that respect, as he caught 48 passes for 836 yards with seven touchdowns.

What brought his play more into focus was that he also had nine dropped passes, more than his first two seasons combined (8). Only four receivers in the NFL had more in the NFL last season, and his his drop percentage on catchable targets (11.1%) was the highest among players with at least 90 targets per Pro Football Focus (PFF).

High-ankle sprains are rotational injuries that can impact and limit a player’s explosiveness and strength and can take months to fully heal.

“Hurting my ankle the way I did … I just felt like I lost a step,” Davis said to the press this week. “Really couldn’t do the things that I wanted to do that I was doing early that (training) camp. So it definitely was something that I was struggling with mentally, just having that pain on my ankle, trying to figure out ways to get my head out of it and kind of just play my game.”

The mental impact of a player experiencing an injury after preparing for a role like WR2 was not lost on him either.

“It pulls you a little bit just because the type of work and sacrifice you put into the offseason to be this player you’re trying to be then all of a sudden something like that ends up happening and everything feels great but it really messes with your head,” Davis added.

In addition to his teammates, his offensive coordinator voiced his support as well.

“He’s a very big piece of what we’ve got here,” OC Ken Dorsey said to the media. “He goes in there and he runs the deep routes, and he obviously doesn’t get a huge volume of targets in the last couple of years, but he’s still produced some really big numbers. And again, trying to maybe get some more easy ones for him and allow him to catch and run. The way that he works is very inspiring. Guys see that, and it makes guys work harder.”

As Davis aims to bounce back from last season, the support of Diggs was noted as well. He has trained with and mentored Davis over his young career, helping him with his route running and development, 

“He’s like a big brother to me,” Davis said of Diggs, before commenting on the WR1s support of him.

“He’s the best of the best to do it. If a guy like that is saying that, a guy that knows football, then everyone should be saying the same thing.” 

Apon making that remark, Davis paused in thought then walked off in a sort of mic drop moment, where he appeared to believe there was nothing that remained to be said on the topic.

Davis’s focus, of course, will be letting his actions on the field speak instead.

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Bills players poised for breakout season in 2023

#Bills players poised for breakout season in 2023:

With training camp underway and position battles beginning, it’s time to see which players on the Bills roster could be poised for a big year.

Younger players and developmental talents are looking to take the next steps at the pro level, move up the depth chart, and compete for playing time, and in some cases, starting duties.

Other players who’ve seen the field during the regular season may be looking to elevate their level of play to a yet-to-be-reached potential.

With questions to answer on offense and on defense, here are the Bills players poised for a breakout season in 2023…

Our biggest questions about the Bills offense in 2023

Our biggest questions about the #Bills offense in 2023:

The Buffalo Bills are looking to make a run at a Super Bowl berth and NFL Championship in their 2023 campaign, and a key to that run will be how the offense performs.

The offensive unit struggled on and off the field in the team’s final outing of the 2022 season, highlighting inconsistency from offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey in his first year which translated into the on-field play.

The scheme appeared to lack a run-game strategy and leaned heavily on Josh Allen, who played through a UCL injury in the second half of last season.

With a new year comes new opportunities, and the deepest group of offensive talent yet under head coach Sean McDermott thanks to GM Brandon Beane’s offseason moves.

With that, here are our biggest questions about the Bills offense in 2023…