The Buffalo Bills held their annual scrimmage at Highmark Stadium on Friday night in front of 35,000 - including legendary coach Marv Levy, celebrating birthday No. 98. ... and then pushed through the weekend as they ready for preseason Game 1 this week.
The "Good, the Bad and the Ugly'' from the recent workouts ....
The Good The presence of coach Levy at the "Blue and Red'' Scrimmage was about feel-good. The presence of Damar Hamlin was about football . As time marches on, we're betting that as much as Hamlin is comfortable being a symbol of strength, he wants to also be a strength as an actual part of coach Sean McDermott's defense.
Gabe Davis is thought of by his peers as a top-notch No. 2 receiver. His critics seem to want him to be Stefon Diggs 2.0; that's unfair. But consistency? That's not too much to ask for, and as Syracuse.com notes, "Davis has been consistently one of the best players on either side of the ball'' in camp.
Beat writer Matt Parrino is using the word "elite'' to describe Davis' summer work. That's heady stuff ... especially if combined with the word "consistent.''
Is the race back on at cornerback? Second-year guy Christian Benford recorded two interceptions in the Sunday session, maybe pushing himself back into the for snaps opposite Tre’Davious White. ... something that didn't seem like much of an option just days ago.
In the end, the Bills are going to need White and lots of help. Benford contributing on some level must be a part of that.
The Bad Khalil Shakir is dealing with some drops, and on Friday he muffed a punt. The plan here is for Shakir to be the No. 3 receiver. The plan needs to come together soon.
Who's the swing tackle? David Quessenberry and Brandon Shell had problems in the scrimmage, combining to give up a trio of sacks, per beat writer Ryan Talbot, who is suggesting a Bills trade may be in order here.
The Ugly When there's a practice interception, it means ... That the defender gets to be a "good.'' And ... in this case it means Kyle Allen has experienced his struggles. There were mishandled snaps at Friday’s scrimmage and Sunday was a bad day as well.
Josh Allen, like many secure starting QBs, likes having a trusted sounding-board backup. The newly-acquired vet Kyle Allen is that (and he's a close friend of Josh's). But maybe Matt Barkley might want to get ready to be a sounding board, too.
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