Written by Cullen Tonge (@tongec2018)
1. Re-signing Matt Milano was one of the, if not the best, free agent signings of the NFL offseason.
We all knew that going into the offseason that signing Matt Milano back to our beloved Bills was going to be tough. Many of us didn’t think that it was even possible. Yet, somehow, the wizard that is Brandon Beane made it happen.
Milano was signed back on a four-year contract worth just $41.5 million. That’s an average of $10.375 million a year. Compared to other premier linebackers like Darius Leonard, C.J. Mosley, and Fred Warner, who all make at least $17 million a year.
Is Matt Milano really worth $7-10 million less than some of those guys? Absolutely not.
Did Brandon Beane get a great deal to bring back a top tier linebacker in the league? Absolutely yes.
Matt Milano is playing like the top player on this Bills defense. He’s second on the team in total tackles (16) while leading the team (and the league) in tackles for loss (6). Milano’s also chipped in two fumble recoveries, which just happens to be two more than anyone else on the Bills and leading the NFL.
If he can stay healthy, the Bills will have a top linebacker locked up for the foreseeable future on one of the best contracts in the NFL.
2. Emmanuel Sanders is this team’s dark horse on offense
Coming into this season, most everybody thought the Bills offense was going to be firing on all cylinders right away. It took them three weeks…but we finally saw this team put together a complete game on offense, which for this team, means throwing the ball a ton and seeing that bring us success.
Nobody was sure what to expect out of the newcomer at WR, Emmanuel Sanders. This receiving corps was already very good, and it seemed as though Sanders was just coming in to be a John Brown replacement with less speed – or at least that’s how I saw it. So far, I am coming to the conclusion that I was wrong.
Sanders has been used in this offense as a downfield threat who can still get behind defenders, even at the ripe old age of 34. His first couple of games were shaky dating back to the preseason. It didn’t look as though he and Josh Allen were on the same page yet. During the first two weeks, Allen only completed 43% of his passes intended for Sanders. Then, in Sunday’s game against Washington, that number shot up meteorically to 83%. Sanders reeled in five of his six targets for 94 yards and two touchdowns in the breakout.
Last year the dark horse was Gabriel Davis because we didn’t know what to expect out of the new rookie in the Bills receiving unit. This year, almost for the exact same reason, that dark horse is Emmanuel Sanders.
3. Gregory Rousseau came to play
When the Buffalo Bills drafted two defensive ends with their first pair of picks, people seemed to think that their second-round choice (Basham) was going to contribute a lot sooner than the first-round pick (Rousseau). Boy oh boy were they wrong.
Greg Rousseau has been a dominant force so far for this Bills defense while Boogie Basham hasn’t even dressed for a game yet.
Through three games, Rousseau is sixth on the team in tackles (11), which may not seem that impressive on paper, but for a defensive end, it most certainly is. Nine of those 11 total tackles have been solo and he leads the Bills in sacks (2). He’s second on the squad (behind Milano) and tied for fifth in the league in tackles for loss (3).
His presence has been felt on the field and in his first few games, he’s made a tremendous impact.
I am curious to see how Basham preforms if he gets the opportunity this season, but for now, the “project” that Gregory Rousseau was labeled to be is looking like it’ll be graded as an A+ at the end of this season.
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