Alway's liked McCarron
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Roth: Peterman, McCarron and Allen all deliver for Buffalo Bills in preseason opener
Leo Roth, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle Published 10:31 p.m. ET Aug. 9, 2018
ORCHARD PARK – The early arrivals came to see if Buffalo Bills wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin and Panthers quarterback Cam Newton would exchange words — or punches — during pregame warmups.
(It was the former. But after Benjamin pretty much called his former teammate a lousy player in an interview with The Athletic last week, the cold emanating from their conversation frosted the press box windows).
Others came to see the debut of freakish Buffalo rookie middle linebacker Tremaine Edmunds. The kid is 6-5, 250 and opposing quarterbacks stand a better chance throwing over a giraffe.
The die-hards came to focus their binoculars on the critical competition at center between Ryan Groy and Russell Bodine. Groy got the start, but it’s still too close to call.
Still others came … heck, it was a nice summer night and the beer was cold.
Mostly though, and it will be this way until coach Sean McDermott names his starter, it was all about the quarterbacks Thursday at New Era Field.
It’s not every year the Bills have an all-out competition for the most important position in the game — it’s more like every two or three years after the guy who wins the job goes belly up like a Lake Erie walleye.
Nate Peterman, A.J. McCarron and prized rookie first-round pick Josh Allen hope to be different.
More: Bills lose to Panthers, but there was plenty to like, especially on offense
More: Final score and recap: Carolina Panthers 28, Buffalo Bills 23
More: Kelvin Benjamin gave Cam Newton the cold shoulder then torched his former teammates Since McDermott has wisely chosen to treat Allen like a puppy in potty training, this is really a two-man race between Peterman and McCarron for the honor of keeping Allen’s seat warm.
And both performed splendidly in leading the Bills to an entertaining 17-7 halftime lead before giving way to Allen’s equally entertaining — if not winning — debut with the third stringers.
Carolina Panthers 28, Buffalo Bills 23
Bills receiver Kelvin Benjamin ends up in the stands after his touchdown catch from Nathan Peterman against Carolina. JAMIE GERMANO/ROCHESTER DEMOCRAT
The Panthers, behind three quarterbacks after Newton took a seat, rallied with three second-half touchdowns for a 28-23 victory.
Entertaining is a word not often attached to preseason NFL football.
But new offensive coordinator Brian Daboll gave all three quarterbacks ample opportunity to show off their arms (combined 42 pass attempts) and they didn’t disappoint.
Peterman, a second-year pro still trying to shake the demons of last year’s five-interception folly against Los Angeles, was given the surprise start, not McCarron, the free agent from Cincinnati who most assumed would open with the first-stringers.
All Peterman did was complete 9 of 10 passes for 119 yards and one touchdown. He was 7 of 7 on the Bills’ opening possession, a 75-yard TD drive capped by a perfectly thrown ball to a high-striding Benjamin down the left side.
The drive was the Peterman to Benjamin Show; who knew? Benjamin caught four passes for 59 yards in the drive. Only Obama to Trump would be a more unlikely combination.
Peterman’s night ended with an interception, but it was a tipped ball off running back Chris Ivory’s hands.
Enter McCarron, who had to feel pressure to make the most of his opportunity, albeit with the second unit. Flounder and Peterman’s performance would receive an extra coat of polish.
But McCarron was also sharp, leading a 66-yard drive to a field goal and a 74-yard drive to a touchdown, which included a 59-yard hookup with Brandon Reilly. He would finish 7 of 10 for 116 yards and no turnovers.
As expected, Daboll’s play calling — ripped from the pages of the New England Patriots, his former employer — was heavy on short passes to the right, left and over the middle.
It’s death by a million cuts, with Daboll mixing in midrange routes and the occasional bomb to keep defenses guessing.
Peterman and McCarron showed they have a grasp of Daboll’s system and that between them the Bills (with a running game and strong defense) should be able to walk and chew gum at the same time until Allen is ready.
And he may be closer to ready than we think.
Without surprise, the loudest cheers were saved for the Wyoming flamethrower when he took the field to start the third quarter. And Daboll, like a 50-year-old with a midlife crisis and a sports car, instantly gave everyone what they came for, putting his foot on the gas.
On his very first snap as a Bill, Allen unleashed a bomb.Foster, who was just out of bounds on the left sideline.
Collective groans aside, it was one of the best plays of the night. Later, Allen was given the green light to throw another deep pass to Foster. That ball traveled about 65 yards and just missed Foster’s outstretched fingers.
In the game's closing ticks, Allen again showed what a live arm and legs can do.
Scrambling free, he heaved a 27-yard pass to tight end Khari Lee, who made a phenomenal catch, then followed that with a laser strike to a falling Ray-Ray McCloud in the end zone for a touchdown.
Playing against Carolina’s third-string defenders — no Luke Kuechly covering his running backs, no Julius Peppers in his face — Allen did well.
He showed off his arm (9 of 19, 116 yards, 1 TD, 0 interceptions) and his legs (3 carries, 29 yards).
But in facing defenders targeted for the practice squad or a job at Target, Allen was playing in a glorified college game.
The exams will get tougher. And there will be some failing grades along the way.
But for a "Hello Buffalo,'' the No. 7 overall pick in a draft loaded with QB talent did what he was supposed to — fill the air with footballs and with hope.
Sending the fans home with plenty to talk about. And feel good about.
Roth: Peterman, McCarron and Allen all deliver for Buffalo Bills in preseason opener
Leo Roth, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle Published 10:31 p.m. ET Aug. 9, 2018
ORCHARD PARK – The early arrivals came to see if Buffalo Bills wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin and Panthers quarterback Cam Newton would exchange words — or punches — during pregame warmups.
(It was the former. But after Benjamin pretty much called his former teammate a lousy player in an interview with The Athletic last week, the cold emanating from their conversation frosted the press box windows).
Others came to see the debut of freakish Buffalo rookie middle linebacker Tremaine Edmunds. The kid is 6-5, 250 and opposing quarterbacks stand a better chance throwing over a giraffe.
The die-hards came to focus their binoculars on the critical competition at center between Ryan Groy and Russell Bodine. Groy got the start, but it’s still too close to call.
Still others came … heck, it was a nice summer night and the beer was cold.
Mostly though, and it will be this way until coach Sean McDermott names his starter, it was all about the quarterbacks Thursday at New Era Field.
It’s not every year the Bills have an all-out competition for the most important position in the game — it’s more like every two or three years after the guy who wins the job goes belly up like a Lake Erie walleye.
Nate Peterman, A.J. McCarron and prized rookie first-round pick Josh Allen hope to be different.
More: Bills lose to Panthers, but there was plenty to like, especially on offense
More: Final score and recap: Carolina Panthers 28, Buffalo Bills 23
More: Kelvin Benjamin gave Cam Newton the cold shoulder then torched his former teammates Since McDermott has wisely chosen to treat Allen like a puppy in potty training, this is really a two-man race between Peterman and McCarron for the honor of keeping Allen’s seat warm.
And both performed splendidly in leading the Bills to an entertaining 17-7 halftime lead before giving way to Allen’s equally entertaining — if not winning — debut with the third stringers.
Carolina Panthers 28, Buffalo Bills 23
Bills receiver Kelvin Benjamin ends up in the stands after his touchdown catch from Nathan Peterman against Carolina. JAMIE GERMANO/ROCHESTER DEMOCRAT
The Panthers, behind three quarterbacks after Newton took a seat, rallied with three second-half touchdowns for a 28-23 victory.
Entertaining is a word not often attached to preseason NFL football.
But new offensive coordinator Brian Daboll gave all three quarterbacks ample opportunity to show off their arms (combined 42 pass attempts) and they didn’t disappoint.
Peterman, a second-year pro still trying to shake the demons of last year’s five-interception folly against Los Angeles, was given the surprise start, not McCarron, the free agent from Cincinnati who most assumed would open with the first-stringers.
All Peterman did was complete 9 of 10 passes for 119 yards and one touchdown. He was 7 of 7 on the Bills’ opening possession, a 75-yard TD drive capped by a perfectly thrown ball to a high-striding Benjamin down the left side.
The drive was the Peterman to Benjamin Show; who knew? Benjamin caught four passes for 59 yards in the drive. Only Obama to Trump would be a more unlikely combination.
Peterman’s night ended with an interception, but it was a tipped ball off running back Chris Ivory’s hands.
Enter McCarron, who had to feel pressure to make the most of his opportunity, albeit with the second unit. Flounder and Peterman’s performance would receive an extra coat of polish.
But McCarron was also sharp, leading a 66-yard drive to a field goal and a 74-yard drive to a touchdown, which included a 59-yard hookup with Brandon Reilly. He would finish 7 of 10 for 116 yards and no turnovers.
As expected, Daboll’s play calling — ripped from the pages of the New England Patriots, his former employer — was heavy on short passes to the right, left and over the middle.
It’s death by a million cuts, with Daboll mixing in midrange routes and the occasional bomb to keep defenses guessing.
Peterman and McCarron showed they have a grasp of Daboll’s system and that between them the Bills (with a running game and strong defense) should be able to walk and chew gum at the same time until Allen is ready.
And he may be closer to ready than we think.
Without surprise, the loudest cheers were saved for the Wyoming flamethrower when he took the field to start the third quarter. And Daboll, like a 50-year-old with a midlife crisis and a sports car, instantly gave everyone what they came for, putting his foot on the gas.
On his very first snap as a Bill, Allen unleashed a bomb.Foster, who was just out of bounds on the left sideline.
Collective groans aside, it was one of the best plays of the night. Later, Allen was given the green light to throw another deep pass to Foster. That ball traveled about 65 yards and just missed Foster’s outstretched fingers.
In the game's closing ticks, Allen again showed what a live arm and legs can do.
Scrambling free, he heaved a 27-yard pass to tight end Khari Lee, who made a phenomenal catch, then followed that with a laser strike to a falling Ray-Ray McCloud in the end zone for a touchdown.
Playing against Carolina’s third-string defenders — no Luke Kuechly covering his running backs, no Julius Peppers in his face — Allen did well.
He showed off his arm (9 of 19, 116 yards, 1 TD, 0 interceptions) and his legs (3 carries, 29 yards).
But in facing defenders targeted for the practice squad or a job at Target, Allen was playing in a glorified college game.
The exams will get tougher. And there will be some failing grades along the way.
But for a "Hello Buffalo,'' the No. 7 overall pick in a draft loaded with QB talent did what he was supposed to — fill the air with footballs and with hope.
Sending the fans home with plenty to talk about. And feel good about.
