ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — This is the kind of week it was for the Bills.
At his media day press conference, first-year coach Sean McDermott answered questions for 15 minutes and not once did he deal with the supposed subject of the session … Sunday’s opponent, the Los Angeles Chargers.
That’s what happens when you bench the starting quarterback, a 7-year veteran, in the midst of a playoff push, and replace him with a fifth-round draft choice.
Once McDermott made that announcement, the Chargers game became an afterthought.
But, to refresh your memory, the Bills, who started the season at 5-2 under Tyrod Taylor — the defeats a 9-3 decision at Carolina and 20-16 in Cincinnati — were blown out 34-21 by the Jets in New Jersey and stampeded 47-10 at New Era Field by New Orleans.
And the loss to the Saints convinced McDermott at change at QB needed to be made.
So tomorrow afternoon at the 27,000-seat StubHub Center, a soccer facility serving as the Chargers temporary home until their new stadium is finished, the Bills (5-4), currently holding the AFC’s final playoff berth, will try to win a West Coast game with rookie Nathan Peterman replacing Taylor.
The Chargers (3-6), coached by former Bills offensive coordinator Anthony Lynn, interim head coach in Buffalo’s season finale last year, aren’t quite the patsy their record indicates.
The franchise that had called San Diego home for the previous 55 campaigns, could easily be 7-2. The Chargers lost 3-point decisions at Denver and Jacksonville (6-3) and two-pointers at home to Miami and Philadelphia (8-1) and fell by only 21-13 at New England (7-2).
And while Sunday’s result might well chart the Bills’ future as the season winds down, the quarterback switch dominated the conversation among Buffalo fans.
Of course, members of the team weren’t asked many questions about the Chargers, but plenty about Peterman taking over for Taylor.
“It’s up to the coaches to make the move,” said running back LeSean McCoy one of Taylor’s closest friends on the team. “Tyrod’s a solid teammate, so I’m sure he’ll help Nate out.
with the reads.
“I think everybody was kind of surprised … we’re all together not playing well.
He added of Peterman, “I just let him know, ‘Hey, I’m sure we’ll see something different from (L.A.’s) defense considering that you’re a rookie starting quarterback on the road.’ I just told him to prepare well, prepare hard and just be confident.
“We’ll see how he handles himself. It’s tough for him, because if he does good, then it’s all amazing, and if he doesn’t do well, it’s like ‘ahhh’. One of the things I told him is ‘Know what everybody has to do on the offense, study hard’ because at the end of the day, people write what they want to write, or view you how they want to view you.”
McCoy admitted, “If he does good, it’s like ‘Oh, he’s the answer’, but if he doesn’t do good, it’s like ‘What happens to the Bill’s offense now?’”
Veteran outside linebacker Lorenzo Alexander admitted, “I really wasn’t surprised (at the change). It’s something that’s always been talked about … always been in back of people’s minds because whether we play a bad game or not, it’s been brought up. It happens in this league … guys have been benched before.
“(But) it’s never one man’s fault. But anytime that you’re in a leadership position and that’s the nature of playing quarterback or head coach, you know, when other guys don’t necessarily do their job well, you take the blame for it. Anybody that plays that position understands that. The same thing is when you do really well, you get all the credit. It’s just the nature of one of those spots.”
Even McDermott admitted the change was a “calculated risk.”
And veteran defensive tackle Kyle Williams allowed of that characterization, “(It definitely is) especially at that position … you make a change with a rookie going in there. Nate’s shown pretty well when he’s played and seems to have a good command on what we’re doing. We have a lot of guys that are going to rally around him and play hard for him.”
Naturally, Peterman, the 6-foot-2, 205-pound former Pitt star couldn’t be more excited.
“You always kind of expect to have your opportunity,” he said. “I knew my opportunity was going to come sometime … I’ve tried to be ready since the first day I stepped here in this facility.
“I wouldn’t say I’m walking into it because I feel like I’ve been part of this team the whole season. We’re 5-4, and I’ve tried to do everything that I can on the other side, the behind-the-scenes, to get us (to the playoffs). I’m going to try to do the same thing now that I’m kind of in front of the scenes. The good thing is I’ve seen some live action versus starters, whether it be a game in the preseason where I got in earlier than expected or even this past game with the Saints. I’m a rookie, so I’m sure the defensive coordinator (Gus Bradley) will have something dialed up just for me, being my first game.”
Of course, quarterback change notwithstanding, the Bills have other issues.
Taking away seven kneel-downs at the end of the half or the game, Buffalo has surrendered 498 rushing yards the last two games (301 to New Orleans) for an average of six yards per carry.
As McDermott noted of his team’s defense, “It hasn’t been good … we need to get takeaways (only one the last two games after 14 the first seven), we need to stop the run better than we have.”
To which Alexander added, “You have to worry about our job as a defense first. We have to get better — because what we’ve put out the last two weeks hasn’t been good enough — and put Nate in the best advantageous spots to win games for us by giving him short fields.”
For his part, Peterman admitted, “I expect to win every game I’m out there. That’s the ultimate goal. What I measure myself on as a quarterback is, do we win? It doesn’t matter about stats. For me, it’s just about winning. My goal is to win (Sunday).”
