Mike McDaniel – September 27, 2023
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Wednesday, September 27, 2023
Head Coach Mike McDaniel
(Will either LB Jaelan Phillips or OL Connor Williams practice today or perhaps this week?) – “It is day to day. They won’t practice today. We’ll press forward and as we gain information back, we’ll apply that information moving forward. But they will not practice today.”
(Where does WR Jaylen Waddle stand?) – “He will practice today. He’ll have a full practice, which upon the results of that, will officially or unofficially clear him from the protocol.”
(Does revenge have a place in Sunday’s game? Or is revenge just something that you don’t buy into in the NFL?) – “I think division opponents, you have what’s been probably under-talked about is an opponent of this caliber coming off a nine-sack, five-turnover day. If you need to be motivated for a game like this, check your pulse, or maybe consider a career adjustment. When you’re playing a quality opponent in your division, there’s always going to be – it’s the Bills. It’s the Bills game. This is the way it feels to us. They have earned the right to be the division champion for several years and they continue to play at a high level. I think it’s a very, very difficult challenge that I think our players are pumped for because you sign up to play the best and I think they fit that.”
(I’m wondering how you felt OL Liam Eichenberg looked in his snaps at center on Sunday?) – “I felt that he rose to the challenge in a very necessary way. I’d definitely put an asterisk. Much like a backup quarterback coming in, it’s a unique situation where you go 0-60 real quick and then you have the ball every play. So there’s stuff that he can improve on for sure, but I was happy with how the game wasn’t too big for him. He executed his assignments, made sure there were a lot of appropriately declared run and pass plays when he was in and that starts and ends with the center. So it was good to see him get some action and do some things that we’ve seen in practice that I hadn’t seen in a game.”
(Going back to the question about Buffalo, do you take anything from those two late games there last season that you can bring over to this year? Or is it just like a new season, where you kind of wash that out? How do you use those games last year for learning experiences this year?) – “I think that you use them for knowing what the experience will be like on the surface level, What you do know is that they’re going to play very hard and together, and they’re not going to give anything away, so you have to earn it. It is a different team so you have to take that with a grain of salt. But I think that being the last game that we played in 2022, which I think technically was 2023, and it was a hard-fought loss down the stretch of the season. Those things, they do live with you in terms of what that felt like. So to me, it really represents the idea of the P’s and the Q’s that we have to be on to have a result that’s different than the one last year. I know one thing. To even conceive that, it’s going to have to be earned. That’s the cool thing about what they do is they make you earn every inch. It will take a group effort for 60 minutes. There’s no doubting that.”
(Bills LB Terrel Bernard won AFC Defensive Player of the Week this week after a big performance. With his emergence alongside LB Matt Milano, how tough does that make this Bills defense in the middle of the field?) – “In a three-game span, I’ve seen as opportunistic of a collective group. You want to talk about making people pay for their mistakes. If they get their hands on any sort of ball, they are turning the ball over. It’s a very, very important thing to be good at. There’s a lot of things that go into play. They’re very well-orchestrated with their assignments and knowing each other’s assignments. They play great team ball, and they really strain each and every play. Part of that straining doesn’t show up in the box score. But a couple of those turnovers were as a result of a quarterback pressure and a guy having to let it go before he wanted to, before he saw things. That’s what they rely on, depend on. They are very good at it and that’s a great way to win a lot of football games, which they’ve done doing that.”
(To follow up then, from a quarterback and an offensive perspective, how do you counter that? Without listing the exact game plan, how do you counter that?) – “Well, I made an important point to the quarterbacks today, specifically Tua (Tagovailoa), to attempt to not throw it to them as best you can. It is a group effort, it’s not just on Tua. It’s literally the entire offense because it’s a collective group. A receiver has to run the appropriate route against the right coverage at the appropriate timing and depth. The quarterback has to be on that and be in sync with them and throw an accurate ball. That can only occur if the protection allows him to execute his technique and fundamentals. So it is quite literally one of my favorite types of football games because with that offense they have and how good they are, and the defense and how good they are, it takes a team win. It takes the entire team to execute. You can’t overcome that teamwork they have with individuals. Those are my favorite type of games, the ones that take an absolute team commitment. So it’ll be fun. Two teams that really want to have no business leaving that stadium with loss. Good players, good coaching staffs, it’ll be a fun one.”
(How did CB Justin Bethel and CB Parry Nickerson do last weekend? Are they the likely starters this weekend in the nickel and dime?) – “Those decisions. kind of like the conversations that we’ve had with the offensive line to a degree, there’s depth there. That affords you opportunities to kind of have matchups and little nuances that drive those decisions. I can tell you one thing, they didn’t do anything to warrant them not having those jobs. Those decisions we make as the week progresses based upon the game plan and how practice reps go. But I was very, very happy with how they rose to the challenge and I thought they proved us right by putting them out there.”
(So WR Tyreek Hill, RB De’Von Achane and RB Raheem Mostert are the three fastest timed players, and they’re all on the same team. That seems unfair. What do you think?) – “We are not having them work against their will. (General Manager) Chris Grier is a madman. (laughter) No, I think that everybody has kind of – I think one thing that we’re afforded and our working relationship, speaking of Chris and I, is that we can functionally move in a direction with vision and purpose. So I think we’ve always shared a commonality for talent, specifically offensive skill positions. I mean, shoot, I definitely wasn’t here when Jaylen Waddle was drafted. But I’m very happy that he was. W have a lot of guys that can run, but there’s a lot of guys in the league in general that can run. It’s different being a fast guy that’s a football player, and I think that’s what people are starting to see is that they can not only flourish as football players independently, but they are starting to find a little groove and how to play with each other. So all of that is cool and fun. And I’m sure that a lot of clippings that are up in Orchard Park right now, but I promise you our opponents could care less that we were able to put together some impressive performances thus far. But no one cares. It’s on to the next.”
(I know some of this predates you, but based on your conversations with General Manager Chris Grier, do you think that this was like a concerted effort? Let’s put together the fastest team the league has ever seen? Or do you think it was piece-meal, where, okay, this guy’s available, he’s fast, let’s get him, and that just happened one after another?) – “I think we approached it with opportunities, or trying to take advantage of the opportunities or the hand dealt. For the most part, I definitely didn’t come here and say, ‘I demand Tyreek Hill.’ But I sure was like, ‘Chris, we have (to),’ and it’s kind of like that. I think those players are getting the notoriety they deserve, because they are fast, but they’ve decided to commit themselves to being football technicians. And that’s what is making a big difference. You guys remember my favorite book? ‘Talent Is Overrated.” The talent is awesome. But what you’re seeing, our guys that are playing team football as football players, and because their teammates are as invested as they are, their skill sets are able to be featured. I promise you Tyreek Hill doesn’t have the production if Tua (Tagovailoa) can’t see or throw it to him because of protection. I promise you the backs are running their butts off, taking advantage of space that maybe looks a lot different if you’re getting contact three yards in the backfield. So I think that they’re doing some cool football player things. That’s what I like, is that it is not just talent. There’s a lot of talented guys in the league. They’re able to separate themselves when their sole focus and commitment is committed to their craft, which is what we’re seeing.”
(I think the last bit of housekeeping is how is RB Salvon Ahmed doing?) – “He’s progressing. We’ll give him some stuff to do today and make sure that we don’t overload him and then kind of assess how that goes from there. But he was playing at a high level before he got hurt, so it’ll be good to see him get going. I know he’s hungry.”
(We saw a picture of QB Tua Tagovailoa very, very happy seeing QB Mike White’s touchdown pass to WR Robbie Chosen. I saw him jumping into other player’s interviews after the game, and other incidents where he’s been very jovial, happy and in a great mood. How have you seen him, from a mental standpoint, kind of absorb everything that’s going on positively for him at this point?) – “Well, obviously he enjoys the positivity from outside looking in, but what I think is, really the source of what you’re seeing is a guy that is 100 percent prepared and committed for him to do – he has a God given skill set that’s very unique and special, and he’s able to showcase that and harbors no regrets or I should have, would have, could have by his daily process. I mean, he is fully invested. Every walkthrough, it’s not like he’s in a great mood joking around. He is so focused. So that kind of vision is for a lot of the guys is to understand how we work. You prepare all week so that Sunday can be fun because that is you. That is a part of your identity that you’ve earned and you should go enjoy it and you’re able to enjoy it when you’re not cramming for a test. On top of that, he’s starting to see the power that he holds at that position when you are in charge of giving the play and executing each and every play with ball handling and assignments. But what it can do for teammates, because that’s the best thing about football, is you’re not an independent contractor where much of life is that. You have a group of people that ‘Wow, how I work and then what my talents are, those combined, have residual effects on a lot of people’s journeys.’ So I think he’s very much leaning into and enjoying that more than – I mean, the results are really cool for him. I know he’s happy with that, but I think he’s more happy with who he is as a man, as a father, and as a husband and a professional athlete.”
(One other injury, WR River Cracraft, will he require IR?) – “We are we are taking a little time to kind of assess that. That’s definitely not a certainty but it’s definitely not out of the question either. We’re just assessing and seeing how his body responds day in day out. But I can promise you this, he will do whatever it takes to be back as fast as possible. I can promise you that.”
