Based on what we all cringed at Sunday afternoon, the Buffalo Bills do not seem in any way to be ready for the start of the regular season.
Their performance against the Bengals during the first half of their 26-13 loss — when it was starters vs. starters – was atrocious in every phase.
The offense was comically inept thanks mostly to an offensive line that sabotaged any chance rookie quarterback Josh Allen had of impressing coach Sean McDermott and stating his case to win the starting job, let alone achieve first downs or score points.
The defense got picked apart by Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton who made Bills fans remember that while he appreciated all the money that was donated to his charity by western New Yorkers, he still is trying to beat their team. And he did, throwing for 180 yards and two touchdowns as Cincinnati built a 20-0 halftime lead.
Even the special teams were shaky as Colton Schmidt’s first four punts were into the wind and the longest one was 37 yards, plus there were two illegal block below the waist penalties.
“Disappointing” was how McDermott termed the game, but he vastly undersold it. At the very least, the word “very” should have been used before “disappointing.” Or, he could have really told the truth and just said it was flat out terrible.
Four days later, the Bills are back at it as they close the preseason Thursday night against the Chicago Bears, and 10 days after that, they will be in Baltimore to take on the Ravens in Week 1 of the regular season.
There is much to be decided between now and then, not the least of which is lopping the roster down to the mandated 53 players by Saturday afternoon and then assembling a practice squad which can commence Sunday. Here are five questions I have for McDermott.
1. Who is going to be the quarterback?
He may already have made up his mind. Hey, for all we know, he knew before the team ever showed up at training camp, though that’s probably not the case.
McDermott has given Allen, Nathan Peterman and A.J. McCarron fair chances to win the job as all three were given a preseason start. As far as I can tell, it has come down to this: Allen is undeniably the most physically talented of the three, Peterman performed the best in the first three preseason games, and McCarron was simply underwhelming before he suffered a shoulder injury at Cleveland that pretty much knocked him out of the competition.
Logically, that should mean Peterman gets the call against the Ravens, Allen serves as the starter in waiting, and for McCarron, I really don’t know what to make of his situation. He did not sign with Buffalo to be a third-string clipboard carrier, he’s clearly unhappy with how things have played out, and you have to wonder if the Bills might just cut him, or try to trade him (highly unlikely).
The playing time distribution in Chicago may tell us all we need to know about who the opening day starter will be. Assuming McCarron is healthy enough to play, whichever guy plays the least is the man.
More: If Sean McDermott has decided on the Bills' starting QB, he's not saying right now
2. Is Vontae Davis washed up?
The Bills signed the 10th-year veteran to replace free agent departee E.J. Gaines, but he has rarely looked stellar in practice, and was beaten badly by Cincinnati’s John Ross on the first Bengals offensive play Sunday.
Davis sat out two-thirds of last season with a severe groin injury as a member of the Colts, and he may not be the player he once was. If he’s not, the Bills have a big problem because their depth at cornerback is paper thin. Davis shared starter reps with Phillip Gaines against the Bengals, but Gaines isn’t exactly a true upgrade, and no one in the group of Lafayette Pitts, Breon Borders, Levi Wallace and Ryan Carter is starter material.
What about rookie fourth-round pick Taron Johnson? He seems to be the front-runner to be the nickel cornerback, where Gaines is also in the mix, but Johnson is not capable — at least at the moment — of playing on the outside. If Davis continues to stumble, the Bills may have to scour the waiver wire to find someone to start opposite Tre’Davious White.
3. Can anyone catch the ball?
We’ve known this since the end of 2017: The Bills’ wide receiver group is inadequate, and nothing has changed.
Kelvin Benjamin seems to be a player who can look great one week, then completely disappear the next. He’s the best of the bunch. Zay Jones has looked good since returning from his eight-month hiatus from football caused by injury and personal trauma, but Jones looked good last summer as a rookie second-round pick and then cratered during the season. No one knows what he is just yet, but on this team, he’s portrayed as the other starter.
Jeremy Kerley is a veteran who knows how to play and should be useful in the slot, but he’s a limited player who won’t give the Bills anything deep, nor much in yardage after the catch. That’s the top three, and from there, it’s Thelma and Louise flying off the cliff.
Corey Coleman has done nothing since his trade from Cleveland and he may not even make the team; we all want to love underdog Brandon Reilly, but he has a broken rib and hasn’t been able to do much; Ray-Ray McCloud has a catchy name, but he looks like a practice squad player; Andre Holmes and Rod Streater are middle-of-the-road veterans who pose little threat on offense; and Cam Phillips, Austin Proehl, Robert Foster, Kaelin Clay and Malachi Dupre will probably be cut.
4. Can anyone block?
Either Cincinnati has a superb front seven, or the Bills’ offensive line is the worst in the NFL. Come to think of it, both may be true.
The Bengals dominated the Bills all the way across the line of scrimmage. True, left tackle Dion Dawkins didn’t play, but that doesn’t explain the disaster that developed in the middle of the line as Ryan Groy, Russell Bodine, John Miller and Vlad Ducasse kept changing positions and taking turns getting blown off the ball.
McDermott still hasn’t decided on a starting five, and it would not surprise me if several of these players are not afforded the veterans’ treatment of standing on the sidelines wearing baseball caps during the fourth preseason game. They have to play because they are nowhere near a complete nor competent unit.
The best guess is that the Bills will line up, left to right in Baltimore, with Dawkins, Ducasse, Groy, Miller and Jordan Mills. Bodine will be the backup center, and rookie Wyatt Teller — who hasn’t really pushed to be a starter as some thought he might — should be a backup guard.
The swing tackle battle includes Marshall Newhouse, Conor McDermott, Josh James, De’Ondre Wesley, Gerhard de Beer, Ike Boettger and Mo Porter. Good luck figuring that one out.
More: After a horrendous performance, where does the Bills' offensive line go from here?
5. Will there be any surprise cuts?
Every summer there’s always a name or two on the cut list that catches your eye, and there are certainly some legitimate candidates this year.
I see no reason why tight end Nick O’Leary makes the team. Outside of his impressive fourth quarter against players the Browns will be cutting this weekend, he’s done virtually nothing, and the emergence of Jason Croom and Logan Thomas make O’Leary expendable.
Defensive tackle Adolphus Washington just doesn’t seem to be a good fit in McDermott’s defense. Now, he may be spared for the time being because Kyle Williams is questionable for the start of the season due to a knee injury, but the Bills still might just part ways with the former third-round pick and go with someone like Rickey Hatley to join Williams, Star Lotulelei and Harrison Phillips in the four-man rotation.
Bodine, who signed as a free agent after being a four-year starter in Cincinnati, hasn’t been impressive, and given the way McDermott has mentioned young Adam Redmond a few times, maybe he keeps Redmond as the backup center behind Groy. Of course, that assumes Groy has won the job over Bodine because Groy hasn’t exactly been the second coming of Eric Wood.
