Arizona Cardinals' head coach has high praise for Sean McDermott and the Buffalo Bills ahead of Week 1
The Buffalo Bills are taking on the Arizona Cardinals in Week 1, and Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon had nothing but praise for Sean McDermott and the Bills. In meeting with the media on Wednesday, Gannon talked about the challenges that come with playing against Buffalo. "They're very fundamentally sound. They play extremely hard, and they're […]
The Buffalo Bills are taking on the Arizona Cardinals in Week 1, and Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon had nothing but praise for Sean McDermott and the Bills.
In meeting with the media on Wednesday, Gannon talked about the challenges that come with playing against Buffalo.
"They're very fundamentally sound. They play extremely hard, and they're smart," Gannon said. "[McDermott] does a really good job with that team, and he's done it since he's been there. When he was a defensive coordinator, they were always good. He was a defensive coordinator, and since he's been there. They're, you know, they're always in the hunt, man, you know what I mean. So they're a very well coached team, and he does a good job with them. They play hard, very technically sound. They don't beat themselves. They play with great motor. It's a well-coached team, and it jumps out on a tape."
Gannon also mentioned that Josh Allen poses a unique problem for opposing defenses.
"Yeah, I mean, I think [Allen] got sacked the least amount of times last year. That's partly because of his O-line. You know, they played with each other. I think the whole year, so there's continuity there. They're good, They're well coached. And then, you know, when you do get in the backfield a little bit, he's got the ability to extend plays, make you miss, run away from you, run through you. So we just got to be on it, you know, it's knowing your opponent. That's going to be a big time challenge for us."
Gannon knows his opponent well. He understands that the hallmarks of the Bills are to play fundamental football, that McDermott is consistently preaching to play clean and play sound. That didn't always translate to the field last year – Buffalo had the seventh-most penalties in the league – but a McDermott team is going to compete and play hard.
And as Gannon said, "the quarterback makes it go." As long as the Bills have Allen under center, they're going to be a tough task.
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