The Bills were dealt a devastating blow tonight, as second-year linebacker Kiko Alonso tore his ACL and is expected to miss all of the upcoming season. Let’s look at some more notes from Buffalo and the rest of the AFC:
- New York governor Andrew Cuomo has argued that the Bills don’t need a new stadium in order to remain in Buffalo, and today he reiterated that view. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” said Cuomo, per Dave McKinley of WGRZ.com. “Everyone wants the Bills to stay in Western New York. And, if everyone agreed that the only way the Bills could stay was a new stadium, then we should talk about a new stadium. But I don’t know that that’s the case.” However, the state has tasked a consulting firm with surveying locations for a new Bills home, and it has delivered a preliminary report.
- Steelers offensive coordinator Todd Haley offered praise for new line coach Mike Munchak, who like Haley, has head coaching experience, writes Scott Brown of ESPN.com. “Not all great players are great coaches. But he’s definitely one of those great players that transitioned into being a great coach,” said Haley. “The head coaching experience is a benefit because he doesn’t just see it from his position group or his perspective. He sees the big picture…”
- kSpeaking of Haley, he conducted an interesting interview with Mary Kaboly of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review focusing on analytics, and how the burgeoning use of statistics in the NFL affects the Steelers’ offensive philosophy.
- Gil Brandt of NFL.com tweets that three non-first-round AFC rookies have caught his eye throughout minicamps and OTAs: Allen Robinson and Brandon Linder of the Jaguars, and Jimmy Garoppolo of the Patriots.