By Clint Brooks / Billswire.usatoday.com
There will be a new starter at quarterback for the Buffalo Bills in Week 7, for the third time this season.
Derek Anderson was anointed the starter by coach Sean McDermott during his Wednesday press conference, and to say the least, the 14-year veteran will have his work cut out for himself come Sunday.
The Bills’ offense has struggled mightily through six games. With Anderson’s experience and veteran leadership, the hope is he’ll provide more stability and consistency to the offense than Josh Allen and Nathan Peterman offered so far.
Buffalo will travel to Indianapolis to take on the Colts to conclude their three-game stretch against the AFC South. Anderson spoke to the media following the official announcement of his new starting role, and he stated that he’s physically ready to go at the age of 35, but mentally there are things to clean up in grasping the entirety of the offense.
“Physically, I feel good. Last week, I pushed myself quite a bit just to kind of see where I was at, and I knew where I was at and what I was doing. [I] pushed myself pretty good through the week, ran pretty hard, [on] Sunday did all my normal stuff. [I] felt good on Sunday, today I felt good. Legs feel good, arm feels good.” Anderson said. “Mentally, we’re working on it. [I’m] putting a lot of hours in just trying to catch up with these guys. They have obviously all been together and doing things since April. It’s my job to do what I can to catch up to where they’re at.”
Anderson started two games for the Carolina Panthers during the 2016 season. He lost games against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Seattle Seahawks. Anderson threw for 453 yards, two touchdowns and five interceptions in his time at quarterback in 2016.
It has been two years since the veteran quarterback started an actual game. One concern with his time away from the football field is whether he’ll be able to adjust to the speed of the game. Anderson acknowledged that he’ll have to adjust quickly in order to gain comfort and familiarity within offensive coordinator Brian Daboll’s offense.
“Hopefully, very quickly.” Anderson said. “It’ll take a minute to get used to it, but we’ll have a good plan and I feel good about the things we got in today. Just getting out there and, like I said, just talking and playing. Football is football to me. You’re out there with your guys. My comfort level with those guys will be good by Sunday.”
Daboll’s scheme is known to be a run-first, multiple offense that installs college-like concepts into its game plan. So quite a bit of the offense will be foreign to Anderson. One aspect that’ll be vital between Daboll and Anderson will be their communication in how to formulate a successful game plan against the Colts (1-4). The journeyman quarterback referenced that they’ll call plays that he’ll feel comfortable executing on the field.
“Well, I told him if I can’t see the picture in my brain when I say it, it’s not in. By Sunday, I see a picture of an overlay on the field, that visual, if I can’t see it, if I can’t see that picture, I don’t feel comfortable with it, I’m just going to [tell him] I don’t feel comfortable on that, and he’s okay with that.” Anderson said. “Obviously, we’re going to have to work through that as we go.”
Since joining the team last week, Anderson has been studying the in’s and out’s of the offense. However, getting on the same page with the personnel and grasping the terminology will be one of his priorities before game day, as Anderson is confident that his football smarts and experience will assist him in executing what he’ll be asked to do.
“I’m not a rocket scientist, but I’m pretty smart. The biggest thing for me is being able to talk to the guys, terminology-wise, right? The terminology that we had with Brian the first time has changed a bit, but I’ve been studying like crazy since I got here last week. Initially, it was just so I could talk to Josh during games and he knows what I was talking about. Obviously, all the work I put in last week, that helps this week.” Anderson said. “Something’s, no, because some plays we’re not running this week, but we’re getting there.”
A couple things Anderson has going for him is his prior experience with wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin and the privilege of playing with an elite running back in LeSean McCoy. His familiarity with Benjamin can potentially spark his production and Buffalo’s passing game as a whole while McCoy and the running game can relieve the pressure off of himself.
Anderson will have a lot on his plate heading into Week 7. At 2-4, he’ll be counted on to lead the Bills at a critical point approaching the halfway mark of the season. With a loss, Buffalo’s hope’s of salvaging their season will slip away. So it’ll be the utmost importance for him to ignite and get the offense in a rhythm the unit has yet to see so far in 2018.