The preseason is the time for working out the kinks, so looking bad in the first exhibition isn't necessarily a big deal. But it's hard to put a positive spin on anything the Bills did in the Hall of Fame game Sunday night, so no surprise that no one is trying to do so.
Most notably, EJ Manuel didn't look very good. Just 2 of 7 throwing the ball, and three of the incompletions were batted down at the line of scrimmage.
Sammy Watkins was targeted three times and none were completed. Again, it's a very small sample set, so no big deal. But there's no reason to take any added interest in anything connected with Buffalo's passing offense after this game.
Those of us who submitted our Fantasy Index Open entries and snuck C.J. Spiller into our Top 20 aren't too thrilled with what we saw last night. Fred Jackson isn't being phased out of the offense; it should be the same committee of Jackson and Spiller until (inevitably) one of them gets hurt. And if that happens, maybe Bryce Brown or Anthony Dixon just gets plugged into that committee anyway.
The Manuel thing is worrisome. The Bills disguised their fondness for him leading up to last year's draft, jumped on him as the first quarterback drafted, and have surrounded him with receivers and runners since then. But if they chose poorly at quarterback, the whole thing falls apart. Sammy Watkins and Robert Woods spend this next season developing with a passer who needs to be replaced next season.
It's just one game with the starters playing little, so we'll get (probably) three more chances to see how Buffalo's main players perform in the preseason. None will likely play much in the final exhibition. But certainly, no reason to move anybody who saw the field last night for Buffalo up your draft board.
--Andy Richardson