AFC Notes: Bills, Dolphins, Jets, Patriots

Bills

• Joe Buscaglia of The Athletic notes that Bills’ QB Josh Allen excelled against the Jets, but still has some old habits that he needs to leave in his past.
• Buscaglia also mentioned that the Bills’ decision to pair T Darryl Williams and G Cody Ford together on the right side of the offensive line worked wonders for the team.
• As for rookie RB Zack Moss, Buscaglia says that he seemed to be overthinking things but should settle down as he becomes more comfortable playing at the NFL level.
• Defensively for Buffalo, Buscaglia still sees DE Jerry Hughes as the leader and one of the only constants on a changing defensive line.
• Buscaglia also graded the performance of each Bills player on Sunday and gave his top three grades to Allen, Williams, and WR Stefon Diggs.
• Bills HC Sean McDermott said it’s too early to tell if LBs Matt Milano or Tremaine Edmunds would be candidates for injured reserve, as they’re taking it one day at a time. (Jay Skurski)
• OUT for Week 2: LB Tremaine Edmunds (shoulder), LB Matt Milano (hamstring), LB Del’Shawn Phillips (quadricep)

Dolphins

• Dolphins HC Brian Flores said WR DeVante Parker (hamstring) will be a game-time decision on Sunday against the Bills. The call will likely be made Sunday morning. (Cameron Wolfe)
• OUT for Week 2: LB Elandon Roberts (concussion)
• DOUBTFUL for Week 2: S Clayton Fejedelem (pectoral)
• QUESTIONABLE for Week 2: WR DeVante Parker (hamstring)

Jets

Jets owner Christopher Johnson said he has “full confidence” in HC Adam Gase and feels he has more potential than fans credit him for. 

“I have full confidence in Adam,” said Johnson, via Connor Hughes of The Athletic. “I think he has a lot more in him as a head coach than some of our fans are giving him credit for.”

Johnson believes that Gase is a “brilliant offensive mind” in the NFL. 

“I think, and do continue to think, (Gase is) a brilliant offensive mind, especially,” Johnson said. “He has my every confidence. He really does.”

Johnson also said he is confident that QB Sam Darnold will become the franchise player they drafted him to become. 

“I have so much confidence in Sam,” Johnson said. “He is the best player I know at turning the page. The absolute best. I think he’ll turn the page on this last game and we’ll see an extraordinary Sam. I think we’re going to see him turn into that quarterback we all expected shortly. I think he’s an absolute sterling quarterback.”

• Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News makes the case for the Jets trading for Bears WR Allen Robinson, who is looking for a new contract.
• Mehta mentions that the Jets have the cap space and draft capital to make a serious offer for Robinson. Mehta suggests trading the 2021 first-round pick that they received from Seattle in the Jamal Adams trade for Robinson.
•  Gase announced Friday that WR Jamison Crowder will be out on Sunday: “We’ll have to make some adjustments.” (Zach Braziller)
• Gase mentioned that Braxton Berrios will be their slot receivers in place of Crowder. (Zach Braziller)
• OUT for Week 2: WR Jamison Crowder (hamstring), QB Joe Flacco (neck)
• QUESTIONABLE for Week 2: LB Tarell Basham (hip), RB La’Mical Perine (ankle), LB Avery Williamson (hamstring)

Patriots

Patriots RBs coach Ivan Fears compared UDFA RB J.J. Taylor to veteran RB Darren Sproles given that they are both undersized backs.  

“(His performance was) about what I hoped for and actually what I expected,” Fears said, via Zack Cox of NESN. “The guy is a pretty good player — really a good runner. He’s sort of fits into that mold of small backs like (Darren) Sproles and those guys that’ve been successful. But it’s early. It really is early to tag any kind of title on him or anything like that. But I’ll tell you what, we’re really happy to have him out there. The guy is busting his butt. I’m happy with that.”

Fears nicknamed Taylor “The Torpedo” based on his ability to hide behind offensive linemen and burst out for yards. 

“He can play hide-and-seek really well with the guys,” Fears said. “He’s really hard to find. It’s something that — there are things that could happen. Who knows? Size could be an advantage for him. You never know. But we love what he’s doing. The guy plays big for his size.”

Patriots HC Bill Belichick said Taylor has done “all he can do” for an undrafted free agent addition up to this point, but still has “a long way to go.” 

“He’s done all he can do to this point,” Belichick said. “There’s really nothing more that he could have done. He’s out there every day. He works hard. He’s one of the hardest-working rookies, one of the hardest-working kids on the team, and I think that’s shown up in the improvement and the performance that he’s been able to have through the course of training camp and now into the start of the regular season. But there’s a long way to go. I think we’ll just have to see how he develops and whether he can continue to improve and when he gets his opportunities to play, how productive he can be with those. But he’s earned what he’s gotten to this point, so we’ll see what happens.”

• OUT for Week 2: LB Josh Uche (ankle)
• QUESTIONABLE for Week 2: DT Adam Butler (shoulder), LB Brandon Copeland (knee), WR Julian Edelman (knee), WR N’Keal Harry (shoulder), TE Dalton Keene (neck), WR Matt Slater (knee)