Orchard Park, N.Y. (WGR 550) – Sean McDermott only has three preseason games this season instead of four, so he’s going to do things differently. That includes not playing quarterback Josh Allen in preseason game No. 1 on Friday in Detroit against the Lions.
“It will be on an individual basis, so a number of the starters won’t play," McDermott said ahead of Wednesday's practice in Orchard Park. "There will be some starters that do play, and then we’ll go from there.”
Last season, there were no preseason games due to COVID-19. The team seemed to play just fine in the season opener, and Allen had no trouble finding his brand new wide receiver Stefon Diggs for eight receptions and 86 yards.
McDermott said Friday's game will be for the players fighting for jobs.
“For this one, we felt like it was important to take a good look at these young players," he said. "This is the first time with the cuts each week. We want to make sure we’ve got a good handle on who we have and what we need to do going forward.
“It’s beneficial to play against another team. Against looks that maybe you haven’t seen before.”
With no preseason games, the coaches had to figure out how to get evaluation in. McDermott said it was learning on the fly.
“It’s different," he explained. "I think we learned something, and I’m sure if you polled every head coach around the league, we all learned something last year having to shape our own game situations. I think there’s some good to that, and now instead of four [games] we’re down to three. So we’ll learn from this go-around and see what next year brings.”
McDermott also said he knows what many of the players on his team can do, and it’s just getting them the reps to have them ready for the opener.
“We feel like we know a portion of our roster, and from the work that we’ve put in the last two days, and in particular some of those starters, we’re getting them in shape, and they’ve been getting the experience they need in working together with Josh and his receivers. I feel like they’re in a pretty good place," McDermott said.
“I mean, they’re not ready yet, but in order for us to put this thing together the right way, we’ve got to make sure that we know the back-half of our roster, and those opportunities are starting to narrow.”
The tight end position doesn’t get a lot of balls thrown its way in Brian Daboll’s offense. McDermott doesn’t worry about who catches the football.
“Josh is always going to throw to who is open, and he does a great job with that," McDermott said. "It’s important that we stay balanced with that and stay two-dimensional, if you will, as the passing game goes that it’s not just one position, that we can spread the ball around to the tight ends and to the backs.”
After a long bout with COVID-19, left tackle Dion Dawkins was back on the sideline running on his own. McDermott said there are lessons to be learned from this.
“He’s making progress, and it’s good to see him back and know that he’s doing better," he said. "It’s a great reminder for all of us, honestly, so we’re going to continue to work him back.”
Wide receiver Duke Williams and running back Zack Moss were also not practicing on Wednesday. Wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders was outside running routes with Davis Webb, while the team was doing individual drills inside. When the team came outside to continue practice, Sanders went back inside.
Wednesday was a great day for the defense, when it came to coverages. The quarterbacks couldn’t find open receivers on a consistent basis. Where the offense excelled was in the running game. Matt Brieda had three exceptional runs for long gains. I thought Antonio Williams looked good running the football, and Devin Singletary got loose a few times too.
Mitch Trubisky had a couple of nice passes to wide receiver Tanner Gentry and tight end Bug Howard for good gains.
The team leaves for Detroit on Thursday and will likely have a walk through before they leave.
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