Bills head coach Sean McDermott has close to a dozen quality players at his disposal to help develop a new culture at One Bills Drive. Here’s a look at those who are likely to foster uniform support of the head coach and his plan for the benefit of the team’s fortunes.
Buffalo Bills Insider Chris Brown provides the details. Here is his report:
For the Bills to become a consistent winning franchise again it must start with a new approach. That approach will be the brain child of head coach Sean McDermott. As sound as the plan of the Bills new coach might be every new NFL head coach needs a support system to help put it into action.
We’re talking about the so called “glue” players who keep your roster together as one functioning and harmonious unit. They must be mobilized to enforce the coach’s clearly defined structure.
Step one for Bills head coach Sean McDermott was signing three free agents from the Carolina Panthers roster, who had worked with and around him before, and could reinforce his messaging. Step two is finding players who have been on the Buffalo roster, who can help in the same capacity.
It appears McDermott has close to a dozen quality players at his disposal to help develop a new culture at One Bills Drive. Here’s a look at those who are likely to foster uniform support of the head coach and his plan for the benefit of the team’s fortunes.
LB Lorenzo Alexander
The decision to re-sign Alexander as a free agent had as much to do with his breakout season last year as it did with his approach to the game. A consummate professional, who values his own contributions on special teams more than some NFL coaches, Alexander is a revered man in Buffalo’s locker room having carved out a 10-year career the hard way. He’s expected to be a jack-of-all-trades type at linebacker for Buffalo this season, but holding teammates accountable, particularly the younger players is likely to be job 1-A for the veteran.
“The big thing this year is being more boisterous in reiterating his message constantly to guys whether it’s in the team meeting setting, going out to dinner with guys, in our locker room,” Alexander said. “Just trying to reinforce that and make sure that guys are accountable to the message and the goals we set for ourselves, which ultimately is winning a championship, getting to the playoffs and all the little things that fall in line so you can accomplish those goals.”
WR Philly Brown
Brown never played a huge role on offense in Carolina, but working with coach McDermott the past three years has left an impression on the Bills new receiver. Brown believes he’s a better man and a better player thanks in part to McDermott’s influence. Sharing the same Philadelphia roots with his head coach has only strengthened the player-coach bond. Brown is a player McDermott knows he can count on to keep teammates on the right track.
“I am a smart leader and I am an accountable player,” Brown said. “I am a guy who can do anything to help the team win. I am a team-first guy. My ultimate goal is just to win. Get Buffalo back to the playoffs where they belong and ultimately a Super Bowl—but we will get to that talk once we get to the playoffs.”
DB Micah Hyde
Hyde was the team’s biggest free agent investment this offseason as the club revamped the safety position on the roster. Not that safety will be the only position where Hyde is deployed. Capable of playing on the boundary at corner as well as the slot, Hyde offers uncommon versatility. He also possesses valuable playoff experience and is a symbol of turning the page on the last 17 years.
“Seventeen years ago, I was nine years old,” Hyde said. “I don’t know anything about any of that losing and not making it to the playoffs and all of that stuff. Me personally, this is a new football team, new opportunity. I’m sure Sean will say the same thing. I’m sure a lot of guys in the locker room will say the same thing. We’re not looking into the past and the history of the Buffalo Bills, we’re looking to make history.”
G Richie Incognito
He may razz any teammate within earshot, but it’s always done in a big brother kind of way. Couple that with an unrelenting work ethic and there’s instant respect for a 10-year vet who came back from the brink of NFL extinction to make back-to-back Pro Bowls.
“We’re going to be a whole new look team,” Incognito said. “We’re starting to build something special, and we’ve fallen short the last two years but we’re right there. We’re going to have a new identity and I’m excited to lay the foundation for a new season.”
CB Leonard Johnson
One of the Carolina converts to sign in free agency, Johnson worked closely with McDermott. He knows how to translate the message from coach to players having been around Buffalo’s head coach before.
Familiar with the defensive scheme, Johnson can also be a welcome sounding board for fellow DBs trying to get a grasp of the system.
A grinder like Johnson, who is trying to solidify a role on the Bills roster himself, will be easy to follow as his new teammates try to match his level of commitment.
“I’m just coming in to help, man, and this is what I love to do,” Johnson said. “Compete, and make sure everyone around me can be in the right place at the right time. That way, we all hold each other accountable.”
RB LeSean McCoy
McCoy knew that player to player accountability in the locker room was missing last season and it cost the team games in 2016. Now with a nose-to-the-grindstone type coach that he was around during his time in Philadelphia, McCoy seems emboldened to tell teammates what they may not want to hear knowing it’s how coach McDermott wants it done.
“He’s tough, he’s honest and he’s fair,” said McCoy of McDermott. “I think that he’s the right guy for the job. The guys in Buffalo, we need somebody that we can believe in and trust. I think that Sean is a guy that will get it done.”
QB Tyrod Taylor
The quarterback is the unquestioned leader of the offense and much like McDermott always finds something else he can work on. He already proved successful last season at pulling teammates along with him to get extra work done out on the field. After coming back on a restructured contract teammates respect him all the more.
“It’s up to us to hold each other accountable through the offseason program and the start of the season,” said Taylor. “I’m looking forward to seeing how this team is going to progress over the next couple of months moving into the season.”
FB Mike Tolbert
After spending the past five years in Carolina with coach McDermott they know everything about each other. Tolbert is the one who cuts the tension in the locker room and keeps teammates loose. Just don’t mistake it for a lackadaisical attitude when it comes to getting work done on the practice field.
“Nothing’s given, everything’s earned,” he said. “As a player you learn how to go through adversity. You learn that there are days that you don’t want to wake up and get there at 6:30 am, but you don’t turn the snooze off because you have to do it. It’s the way that we feed our families. It’s the way that we take care of our livelihood. Sometimes you got to do it even if you don’t want to.”
WR Sammy Watkins
The dynamic receiver has to get healthy first, but he learned last season that he has to be more communicative with his teammates when he thinks they need to pull on the rope a little harder. Only 23-years old, Watkins was still feeling his way through his new found leadership role and missing half the season didn’t put him in a position to keep teammates in line.
But Watkins is a worker and should at the very least be a leader by example for those new receivers on the roster.
DT Kyle Williams
Williams has been an overachiever from the time he was a rookie fifth-round pick. Not long after establishing himself he also became a respected leader in Buffalo’s locker room. Williams is confident that he and his head coach are cut from the same cloth. They believe in the same principles to ensure success.
“Obviously there are pillars to careers player-wise and pillars to careers coaching-wise. I think a lot of my philosophy and his philosophy are pretty similar,” said Williams of McDermott. “Hard work, discipline, doing your best every day. Trying to inspire your teammates. Make them better. So I’ll do everything that I’ve always done and more if I’m asked.”
C Eric Wood
The Pro Bowl center has been a perennial leader in the locker room. He’s seen his share of coaching changes in Buffalo. His approach to the game would appear to be in lock step with that of his new head coach as well.
McDermott won’t even have to ask Wood to foster team wide support for the cause. He routinely takes up the flag on his own and has always pushed the team-first agenda.
Bills sign QB T.J. Yates
Buffalo has both a starter and a developmental quarterback on their roster in Tyrod Taylor and Cardale Jones. Now they have a veteran backup. On Monday the Bills signed free agent T.J. Yates.
Yates, 29, is a former fifth-round pick of the Houston Texans (2011) and played his first three NFL seasons there. After spending the 2014 season with Atlanta he re-signed with the Texans in 2015 before playing last season with Miami.
The North Carolina product has served mainly as a backup in his NFL career, but made two starts in the playoffs as a rookie for Houston beating Cincinnati in the Wild Card round (31-10) before falling to Baltimore in the Divisional round (20-13).
In his 18 regular season appearances, Yates has thrown for 1,352 yards with six touchdowns and eight interceptions. His career passer rating is 72.8.