A column by CHUCK POLLOCK, Sun Senior Sports Columnist
Last Wednesday afternoon, as the Bills opened training camp at St. John Fisher University, Buffalo general manager Brandon Beane conducted a session with the media.
He used a third of the 18-minute press conference partly in making the obligatory thank-yous to school personnel but most of it venting over an unnamed NFL executive calling quarterback Josh Allen “overrated” as part of an ESPN poll. (You read about it HERE last week).
BUT, EVENTUALLY, he got around to what is a transitional training camp for the Bills.
“There’s been some years where they say we’re the favorite or we’re supposed to win but that doesn’t mean anything,” Beane said. “Every team is a new team … I know that’s coach speak or GM speak (but) this is a team that has a lot of new faces on both sides of the ball.
“You’re going to have new faces. If you look at NFL rosters, four years ago to today, it’s crazy … you don’t realize the turnover.”
Indeed, four seasons ago, 2021, a mere 12 players were on the Buffalo roster then and that’s if you count tackle Tommy Doyle, who has played only 12 games due to various injuries over that span, and backup quarterback Mitch Trubisky, who was with Buffalo in ‘21 and after two years in Pittsburgh, returned this season.
BEANE ADMITTED, “This just happens to be one of those years (where there’s more change) … we tried to get over the top in 2021 and we brought in Emmanuel Sanders and a couple of pieces but we had a lot of constants. In (2022) we brought in Von (Miller) and we tried to add a couple of pieces each year to keep the band together. But due to age, contracts, the business itself, this was just one of those years there was a little more turnover of bigger names.”
He added, “There were a lot of guys (six of eight) who had a ‘C’ (captain) on their chest and now we’re counting on more of our younger players to step up in some of these leadership roles.”
AS FOR THE season, Beane pointed out, “Some years there are going to be newer faces but we also have a good number of guys that weren’t in key starting roles that are here and we have brought in competition. I think it’s so important to find as much competition as you can at every single position — that you can afford — that will challenge each other to be the best you can be.
“That’s why camp is so important and I love being here. We can work on the game from the practice field (in Orchard Park) but we can bond here and that’s what Sean (McDermott, coach) and I really value about going away … you see the players focused solely on doing their job and getting better.”
He added, “The thing that I love now is we’ve had these guys since April, May for the rookies, but it’s shorts and t-shirts. I’m always excited to watch the padded periods (which begin today) and the plays that matter. We’re not bringing guys to the ground but one-on-one pass rush, 9-on-7, who’s coming in there thumpin’…
“We’ll also be interested in the first couple of preseason games how this kickoff thing (major rule changes) is going to unfold because I think that’s going to determine some of the roster spots on all 32 teams.”
BEANE CONCLUDED, “This is a new team that will have to define itself whether people predict us to be 6-11 or 11-6, it really won’t matter. Once games start that’s what you guys are going to be writing and reporting about.
“(This year’s camp) has a different feel. I told an agent (earlier in the day) that it’s totally different from years ago where you would come out here and do 9-on-7 hitting drills 30 minutes off of vacation just because coaches wanted to see who had been working and who hadn’t. The rule (limiting contact) is probably better from an injury-prevention standpoint. But to me, this is just a continuation of OTAs (organized team activities) until we get into pads and evaluate the 9-on-7 drills, the one-on-one pass rush. This is not flag football, it’s tackle so there’s a lot of evaluation coming up once we get through this acclimation period.”
(Chuck Pollock, a Wellsville Sun senior sports columnist, can be reached at cpollock@wnynet.net.)
Read more columns from Chuck:
• Beane responds to Josh Allen critic
• Chuck Pollock with a historical look at Bills training camp for fans and the media
• Tony Hunter’s passing evokes memories of Jim Kelly in the draft
• Mark Schmidt on the NIL deals and the Bona NIT mess
• Pollock on listening to the radio and the days of Willie Mays
• Houghton’s Phil Stockin gets Cazzie Russell to the Castle in Olean and then a title for the Knicks?
• The right hire for St. Bonaventure to lead the athletic department
- Bill Walton was must-see basketball when he played in Buffalo for the Braves
- • Memories of the Indy 500 and a look at racing NASCAR on the same day
- • Looking ahead at another rebuild for Coach Schmidt and St. Bonaventure basketball
- • A look at the early and late schedule issues for the Buffalo Bills
- • John Murphy left a legacy in broadcasting for the Buffalo Bills
- • Beane assesses the Bills’ draft picks
- • A look at the first three picks by the Bills
- • Will the Bills regret trading out of the first round?
- • A look at the Buffalo Bills going into the NFL draft
- • Pollock on the Bonnies and the need for a defensive lineman in the NFL draft for the Bills
- • O.J. Simpson left a mixed legacy … in the wrong order
- When do we hear from Schmidt?
- • Barb Questa to the rescue once again for St. Bonaventure with the AD situation
- • Bona’s Manhertz’s self-inflicted NIT embarrassment ended his tenure
- • St. Bonaventure made every excuse to skip the NIT except the eclipse
- • A look at the current Bona player situation and how it relates to the past
- • The Buffalo Bills have had darker days with cuts during off-season
- • Caitlin Clark brings up memories of St. Bonaventure women and men’s basketball players
- • St. Bonaventure primed for strong finish in Atlantic 10
- • Feature on the Bonnies as the season winds down
- • What to make from the Super Bowl
- • A look at free agency with the Buffalo Bills
- • Don’t blame Bass for the playoff loss
- • St. Bonaventure coach Mark Schmidt was right about the Atlantic 10 and the Bonnies
- Why the Bills and Steelers might be the best wild-card game this weekend
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- • It’s 2024 and the Bonnies season starts for real
- • The inside story on why WPIG left the Bonnies after 74 years and a Gary Nease update
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- • Pollock’s playoff picture
- • It wasn’t pretty, but it was a win for the Bills
- • The Bills need a win, not a blowout
- • McDermott deserves praise after win vs. the Dallas Cowboys
- • On this day, the Bills manhandled the Cowboys
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- • Why Chuck Pollock returned to writing and covering the Bills after a two-week “retirement”
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- • POLLOCK PREDICTION: McDermott will fire Dorsey next
- (You can support the work of our journalists and keep this site free with a PayPal donation HERE)
- • Awkward press conference for the Bills and McDermott
- • If season ended today, the Bills are out of the playoffs
- • Are the Bills a playoff team?
- • Bills produce a third straight stinker
- • An ugly win for the Buffalo Bills
- • The AFC is wide open with Buffalo injuries
- • Injuries were worse than a loss in London
- • Bills prepare for Jacksonville
- • The passing of Russ Francis and what it was like covering the Bills in the 1970’s
- • News and notes from a costly win by the Bills over Miami
- • A look a high school, college and NFL blowouts
- • Did the Bills find a middle linebacker in win vs. Washington?
- • Pollock Predicts: Take the Bills over Washington
