–The Bills were one of three teams who were shut out in the Pro Bowl balloting that was announced Tuesday, joining the Buccaneers and Raiders. The Bills are a five-win, non-playoff team that plays in Buffalo, so this should not have been a surprise to anyone. It is a team mostly devoid of elite-level talent and there isn’t anyone who truly deserved to be voted in.
This does not mean, however, that no Bills will play in the game. Every year, several players drop out and alternates are added, and Buffalo has two defensive linemen who will have a chance to play – tackle Kyle Williams who is a first alternate, and edge rusher Jerry Hughes who is a fourth alternate.
This was the first time since 2012 that the Bills didn’t get one player in, but that year, three Bills ended up playing in the game.
–Rookie linebacker Tremaine Edmunds is making incremental progress as the year goes on, and while he still takes himself out of plays by over-pursuing, he has been much sharper with this assignments and head coach Sean McDermott has noticed.
“Sometimes, maybe not in just numbers, but just in terms of his comfort level,” McDermott said. “There’s a lot, when you play that middle linebacker position, as you know, it’s about getting us lined up and about making sure the other people are freed up to make plays if you’re fitting the run the right way. Then, with the pass game. It’s significant the growth that he’s made to this point and I think the arrow continues to point up with more upside.”
Patriots head coach Bill Belichick has noticed a difference, too, since the last time the teams met in late October.
“Fundamentals, basic fundamental techniques in the running game and the passing game,” Belichick said. “I think he’s gotten very good coaching on a fundamental level and from a scheme standpoint. He’s big, he’s fast, he’s getting better every week, he handles a lot of the higher-degree of difficulty plays a lot better than what we saw going into the first game.”
BY THE NUMBERS: 46 – The Bills have allowed that many more points off their own turnovers as compared to the points they have scored when they have taken the ball away. The Bills are minus-8 in turnover ratio which is 26th in the NFL.
