Buffalo Rumblings
The Buffalo Bills haven’t made things easy on themselves over their past two games, but they were able to put their foot on the pedal and comfortably win by two scores against the New Orleans Saints in what felt like a bit of a sleepy start for the Bills — especially on the defensive side of the ball.
It was a fascinating day for Bills rookies who fluctuated snaps from where they had been in recent weeks. We also continued seeing ascending play from a couple of players who are looking like early hits from their most recent draft class.
Hairston is now eligible to come off of Injured Reserve (IR) having spent the prior four games sidelined. But while it seemed Hairston would be ready to return from a sprain he had in training camp, some of head coach Sean McDermott’s recent comments suggest it could take some more time for Hairston to return. It seems that the injury may be lingering, but McDermott also cautioned expectations for Hairston’s missed time. McDermott has always tempered expectations for rookies. Time will tell when (or even if) Hairston returns this year. But he has been working to the side with a large brace within the past week.
Sanders still isn’t playing optimally a quarter of the way into his rookie season in the NFL. But the flashes are still there and there’s no doubting the athlete Sanders is. He had a couple of reps affecting the passer on Sunday. You’d like to see him disrupt the run more as he’s still struggling mightily with finishing plays at the point of attack at the moment. Stack-and-shed is where Sanders can get better. That improvement alone will help his overall game and the comfort will improve with him on game days.
Through four games of the season, Landon Jackson still hasn’t earned a jersey on game day. The return of Michael Hoecht in Week 7 won’t help that goal for the third-round rookie. Despite different combinations of guys receiving active status on game day, Jackson’s status has not changed yet.
Walker has been one of the Bills’ best players on the defensive side of the football the past two weeks. He’s popping more in the run game blowing up interior blockers on his way to the ball carrier. Walker looks tremendous and getting better at a rapid rate in the run game from where he was three weeks ago. It’s been so fun to watch his development early on and he looks like the Bills’ best defensive tackle. His snaps should only elevate as the year goes on even as Larry Ogunjobi returns from suspension.
Despite earning his first active status on game day Sunday, Hancock did not log a snap on defense. He did, however, play eight snaps of special teams. It’s a good sign for Hancock to be in the...
