Bills WRs Learning On The Fly

With Watkins gone, young core must produce on offense

- Mark Ludwiczak

It would be an understatement to say it’s been a unique start to the season for Buffalo’s group of wide receivers, led by receivers coach Phil McGeoghan. The Bills traded top receiver Sammy Watkins to the Los Angeles Rams in August and veteran addition Anquan Boldin retired abruptly weeks later. Newcomer Jordan Matthews has taken over as Buffalo’s top receiving option on short notice after coming over from the Philadelphia Eagles in a separate trade. Bills Digest recently caught up with McGeoghan to get his thoughts on the state of the Bills at wide receiver and what he expects moving forward from his group of young playmakers.

Bills Digest: It hasn’t exactly been the most traditional year as far as your group of players goes with some of the comings and goings and injuries. Now that we’re one month into the season, how would you say things have settled down?

Phil McGeoghan: We’re focused on the process as a group. We’re just excited about coming in everyday and working on our fundamentals and our techniques. The guys are really starting to form a nice, tight bond. That position room is a very close-knit group. It’s a workman’s group; they really work very hard at their craft. They have a mindset to improve everyday. They want to learn; they are students of the game. They study tape and do the extras. So we’re just focused on the process and doing a really good job of working and trying to improve every single day.

BD: Not to go back too far and rehash everything that went on in the preseason, but it seemed as if the team responded about as well as you could hope once the Sammy Watkins trade went down. After the initial shock, it seemed as if everyone’s heads were in the right place. Did you sense that after the trade?