Rookie CB White earns respect
Buffalo’s top rookie, Tre’Davious White, likes to talk about the need to have a “short-term memory.” The life of defensive back is a necessarily harsh and humbling one. Everyone gets burned now and then. You learn, you forget, and then you come back for more.
Late Sunday afternoon, in fact, White seemed to have forgotten what occurred just a few hours before. Someone suggested that the Broncos had been picking on White early in the game. The kid reacted with a wounded, indignant look.
“I wouldn’t say they were picking on me,” White said after the Bills’ 26-16 win at New Era Field. “Every pass, I was pretty much there. Guys make catches in this league. You’ve got to live with it and try to limit it.”
The truth is, Denver quarterback Trevor Siemian tried to pick on White in the early going. It was clear that the Broncos’ coaches believed they could exploit the Bills’ new starting cornerbacks, White and E.J. Gaines.
They had some success, too. They went after White on their first play, then twice on their second possession. They drew an interference call on White. Late in the first half, Emmanuel Sanders was open behind White and caught a 44-yarder, only to have the catch overruled because he hadn’t controlled the ball to the ground.
But like this rising, resilient Buffalo defense, White and Gaines persevered. They locked things down in the second half. The cornerback tandem combined for seven pass breakups and they each came away with an interception as the Bills held their third straight opponent without a passing touchdown.
Don’t look now, but the Bills are 2-1, tied with the Patriots atop the AFC East. They’ve allowed the fewest points per game (12.3) in the conference, and are looking like a team that should play meaningful games in December.
OK, so experience has taught me not to overreact to a hot start during the 17-year playoff drought. Keep in mind, they started 2-1 in both 2014 and 2015, and were 4-2 before the roof caved in on Rex Ryan last year. I still don’t think they’re a playoff team, and they’ll likely find their level before long.
But they’re better than I thought when I picked them for 4-12. That pick presumed they were a bad team, one of the worst half dozen in the NFL. They’re not a bad team, because they have a good defense. And when they play good D in front of their home crowd, which was wired on Sunday, they’re hard to beat.
They were good in all three phases against the Broncos. Tyrod Taylor made big throws on the move and didn’t turn the ball over, compensating for another weak running day; the socially conscious Steven Hauschka kicked four field goals, three of 49 yards or longer; and the defense had a terrific day against a good offense.
The Bills are quickly establishing a defensive identity, one that can seize the emotions of the adoring home crowd. The 12th Man is most effective as a disruptive force, and the Buffalo fans are loving what they see so far. Denver had four false starts, two in the early going, so the crowd was a big factor.
“Yeah,” said linebacker Lorenzo Alexander, who was a force on the field and in the decision to protest the anthem. “That, and our front four.”