PITTSFORD, N.Y. (AP) — Josh Allen was reminded how much additional scrutiny the Buffalo Bills are under this summer upon reaching the interview tent and noticing the HBO series “Hard Knocks” camera crew ready to start filming.
“You guys are everywhere,” the quarterback said with a smile as the Bills opened training camp in suburban Rochester, New York, on Wednesday.
No stranger to the spotlight, the reigning NFL MVP, who married Hollywood star Hailee Steinfeld in May and signed one of the league’s
richest contracts in March, joked being mindful of his language while being mic’d up during the 90-minute practice.
“Yeah, I tried not to cuss as much,” Allen said. “Just making sure that anything that I say my mom would be OK with.”
Allen’s trying to keep things rated PG.
And the Bills are welcoming the opportunity to pull back the curtain and reveal whatever the cameras might capture — warts and all — as insight into what's allowed the franchise to flourish entering its ninth season under coach Sean McDermott and GM Brandon Beane.
“We have nothing to hide. We are who we are,” said McDermott, who ended the team’s 17-season playoff drought in his first year in 2017, and guided Buffalo to six consecutive playoff appearances and win five straight AFC East titles.
Just don’t call the Bills’ five-week “Hard Knocks” series run opening on Aug. 5 a distraction.
“The increased noise, if you will, is maybe in some ways good practice for us to really hone in and get our focus where it needs to be,” McDermott said.
The series trailer HBO released Wednesday shows a confident, determined team with a clip of Allen saying: “We're going to do whatever we can do bring a Lombardi back here to western New York.”
Successful as the Bills have been in posting double-digit wins in each of their past six seasons, they’ve come up short in the playoffs and usually against the Chiefs. Four of Buffalo’s past five playoff losses have been against Kansas City, including a 32-29 loss in the AFC championship game in January.
“Ultimately, you got to go out and do it,” Beane said, before noting how Allen and other Bills veterans can build on their experiences. “I’m a firm believer that you keep swinging the sword, you keep fighting, you do not give in, you work harder and you use that frustration.”
Though once again favored to win the AFC East, the Bills enter camp with several subplots beginning with starting running back James Cook’s desire to land a contract extension while entering the final year of his deal.
After skipping the Bills voluntary spring sessions, Cook explained his reasoning for participating in the team’s mandatory sessions last month by saying: “I like my money. That’s why I’m here.”
Beane on Wednesday provided no update on contract talks, reiterated how he doesn’t have the salary cap space to fit Cook’s asking price of $15 million per season, and credited the player for reporting for camp.
“James is a competitive dude. He’s a stud. He is a great teammate. He wants to be here,” Beane said of the NFL’s co-leader last season with 16 touchdowns rushing. “James fits Buffalo. But sometimes you can’t get on the same page.”
On the injury front, defensive end Joey Bosa resumed practicing after the off-injured free-agent addition missed the spring sessions with a calf issue.
The 30-year-old is coming off three injury-shortened seasons, in which he combined for 14 of his 72 sacks over 28 games with the Chargers. Buffalo signed Bosa to a one-year $12.6 million contract in March in a bid to fill the pass-rushing role after Von Miller was cut.
Meantime, the Bills opened camp with tight end Dawson Knox (hamstring) on the non-football injury list and starting right tackle Spencer Brown (back) on the physically unable to perform list. Beane didn’t provide a timeline in saying both should be cleared for practice sooner than later.
While the Bills offense returns mostly intact, the defense has been retooled. Aside from Bosa, Buffalo revamped its defensive front with the free-agent signings of Larry Ogunjobi and Michael Hoecht — both expected to miss the first six games serving suspensions for violating the NFL’s performance-enhancing drugs policy. Cornerback Tre’Davious White is back for an eighth season in Buffalo after splitting last year between the Rams and Ravens.
And the Bills will rely on several rookies to make immediate contributions from a draft class that included cornerback Maxwell Hairston, defensive tackle T.J. Sanders and defensive end Landon Jackson.
Long snapper Reid Ferguson is Buffalo's lone active player to precede McDermott, having signed in 2016 during Rex Ryan’s second and final season.
Reflecting back, Ferguson laughed at how different a “Hard Knocks” series might have been during Ryan’s tenure when the colorful coach once munched on dog biscuits during a promotional appearance at camp. Things are different under McDermott, Ferguson said.
“We’re not actively trying to not give them drama, not that there’s a ton that goes on in the first place,” Ferguson said. “We’re trying to use it as a way to show the Bills in a positive light that I think people have seen us in for the last handful of years.”
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