Emmanuel Sanders amazed by Bills' offensive weaponry
Last year was Stefon Diggs' turn to have his head spin in a new offense that made the talented wide receiver an All-Pro for the first time in his career.
This year, it's 12-year veteran Emmanuel Sanders who is undergoing the same process right from the jump at training camp.
Sanders played with three Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks, made it to two Super Bowls and won one (with Peyton Manning and Denver in the 2015 season) before arriving in Buffalo this year.
He's caught 662 passes for 8,619 yards and 47 TDs. He's played in 13 playoff games, winning seven.
But on Thursday after practice, he claimed he never saw anyone throw the ball the way fourth-year quarterback Josh Allen did in hitting Cole Beasley.
"Josh made a throw today that I haven't seen," Sanders said. "A post ball to Cole Beasley. It was crazy. My mouth dropped, and I've been in the league 12 years."
While Allen's arm talent has a man who was teammates with Manning, Drew Brees and Ben Roethlisberger shaking his head in disbelief, Sanders admitted he knew what he was getting into when he chose the Bills in free agency.
"I'm excited about what they've created out here," he said. "I think we've got an opportunity, obviously.
"... I came here for a reason. I did my research, just talking with Cole, Stefon, the offensive coordinator [Brian Daboll] in terms of the plays that's being called and just the energy around the building. It's everything that I thought it would be."
Sanders came to Buffalo to add another Super Bowl ring to his possessions. How much he'll contribute is unknown for a team that brings back Diggs and Beasley, who both were named All-Pros last season after combining for 209 catches and 2,502 yards. But he is confident Allen will get him the ball often enough to make a difference.
"I'm old school, I'm backyard football, like,`hey you, hey kid, get it in, let's play football,' " Sanders said. "That's how I think. And that's kind of how Josh plays too. He's like, `look, just get open and I'll find you the ball.'
"I think sometimes [when] people are just talking about football in general, they just overthink it, right? At the end of the day, football is a game. ... You've got to have fun, you've got to make plays, you can't be a robot. So that's my approach, that's Josh's approach and that's kind of everybody's approach around here. Let's go out, get to your spot, get open and make plays."
Buffalo's offense is a little more structured than Sanders' describes. It's just that the players make it seem so organic because of Allen's radar.
All this after just two training-camp practices.
Nick Fierro is the publisher of Bills Central. Check out the latest Bills news at www.si.com/nfl/bills and follow Fierro on Twitter at @NickFierro. Email to Nicky300@aol.com.
