AFC Notes: Bills, Dolphins, Patriots

Bills

Bills’ HC Sean McDermott says the team will continue to work as they position themselves for a strong playoff push this season.

“That’s why we work,” McDermott said, via Matthew Fairburn of The Athletic. “To stop working once training camp is over is not the right approach, at least in our mind. This is why you have to continue to develop as you go through the season — developing the fundamentals, developing and improving how you do things, the execution level, and all that. You continue to grow as a football team so you can play well down the stretch.”

Dolphins

Dolphins OC Chan Gailey praised QB Tua Tagovailoa for having a strong “feel for the game” and presence as a rookie. 

“He has a tremendous feel for the game. That allows him to see some things & do some things & throw the ball in some spots that other people might not do…He doesn’t think about adversity. He thinks about, ‘ok, how can we go be successful?’,” said Gailey via NFL Media’s Michael Giardi. 

• The Miami Dolphins are again bringing in LS Rex Sunahara for a visit, according to Aaron Wilson.

Patriots

Patriots’ RB Damien Harris was having a strong game before suffering an injury following a hard tackle. He noted that he has been being more conscious of taking care of his body and knows that he has to be ready for whatever comes his way as he attempts to carve out a productive career in the NFL with the Patriots.

“To be honest, I’m not really here to talk about that situation,” said Harris, via Steve Hewitt of BostonHerald.com. “It happened, it’s over with. I’m out here trying to get myself ready to play in this game, and that’s what I’m focusing on. We’re playing a good, physical team this week and I’ve just been trying to do my part in getting myself as mentally ready, as physically ready to be able to play in this game and try to help us be successful and help us try to play our best game as an offense. Somebody told me once that one of the best abilities you can have is availability, so having the ability to go out there and be available, be ready for whatever you’re needed, whenever you’re called on. That’s part of being a pro, going out there and handling your business off the field just as much as on the field, that way you can stay ready and stay available.”

Patriots’ OC Josh McDaniels notes the hard work being put in by QB Cam Newton, despite all the miscues that the team has suffered lately. McDaniels says that New England will continue to work hard on making progress as an offense with Newton as their quarterback.

“He works really hard,” McDaniels said. “I think each week he’s made some progress. Again, I’ve said it before, I’m pretty amazed by how humble he is and the amount of coaching he takes. He’s so receptive to anything that you want to work on. He has things that he wants to work on as well. I just think each week at practice, each day, he makes some progress, he feels more comfortable with doing the things that he’s doing in the operation. He checked out of some plays the other day, he got us into some good plays, he’s taking care of the football better as the season has progressed. We’re continuing to try to work on those little things each week. Again, he has made progress. We hope to continue to do that this week.”