The usually dry and reserved Brian Daboll was in such a good mood Monday Youth Harrison Smith Jersey , the Bills offensive coordinator even managed to crack a joke.When asked about rookie quarterback Josh Allen leaping over Vikings linebacker Anthony Barr to avoid an open-field tackle and gain a first down on a 10-yard scramble a day earlier, Daboll feigned surprise by questioning whether reporters pay attention during practice."You guys are out to practice, right? We spend five minutes on hurdling and the other five minutes on footwork," he said, before referring to quarterbacks coach David Culley. "We have David stand out there, and Josh makes a leap."Daboll was joking, of course. And yet the play in question, which extended a drive Allen capped with a 1-yard touchdown run to put Buffalo up 24-0, was symbolic of the Bills suddenly having a jump in their step following a 27-6 win over the Minnesota Vikings.Allen, the rookie first-round draft pick, overcame several hurdles by having a hand in all three touchdowns (one passing, two rushing) in winning his first game http://www.vikingsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-everson-griffen-jersey , and on the road, no less. The Bills, meanwhile, overcame two mostly dreadful losses and extremely low expectations as 16陆-point underdogs to improve to 1-2 .And even Buffalo's porous defense rebounded by limiting the Vikings to 14 yards rushing, matching the second-fewest in team history. The Bills also forced three takeaways, generated four sacks and halted a two-game stretch in which they allowed 78 points, starting with a 47-3 season-opening rout at Baltimore.Encouraging as it might be, coach Sean McDermott preferred tapping the breaks in suggesting his still very young team has plenty to work on in preparing to play at the Green Bay Packers (1-1-1) on Sunday.It's difficult to determine, yet, whether the Bills are the team outscored by a combined 75-9 through the first six quarters of the season, or the one outscoring opponents by a combined 41-9 over the past six."When you look at the last six quarters, the way they've been able to play Stefon Diggs Jersey , I think it says a lot about the group," McDermott said. "But we're still not where we need to be. We're not a finished product, and we understand that."As for Allen vaulting Barr, McDermott was pleased in seeing his quarterback's competitiveness, and relieved he didn't get hurt."I'm not going to take that away from him, but there's a time and place for it as well," McDermott said. "The part I like about it was he was decisive, and you don't always see that with young players."Allen provided an immediate spark by going 15 of 22 for 196 yards passing and adding 39 yards rushing. On the downside, the 22-year-old still experienced a few miscues in fumbling the ball three times, with each recovered by the Bills.Buffalo's running attack gained a season-best 128 yards despite missing LeSean McCoy, who was sidelined by a rib cartilage injury.The biggest takeaway for Buffalo was the play of its defense. Each of the Vikings' first two drives ended with Kirk Cousins losing a fumble while being sacked, and led to the Bills scoring 10 points to build a 17-0 lead 10 minutes into the game.That's a big turnaround from a 31-20 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers a week earlier. Buffalo allowed the Chargers to score touchdowns on four consecutive drives in the first half Authentic Kyle Rudolph Jersey , which led to McDermott taking over the defensive play-calling duties from coordinator Leslie Frazier in the second half.Frazier regained the play-calling duties and wound up earning a game ball in a win against a Vikings team he previously coached."Although we were struggling statistically, in my own mind I felt like there were some remedies," Frazier said. "You've just got to be patient and handle what you need to handle."NOTES: McDermott listed McCoy as day to day, while DE Shaq Lawson is expected to return to practice this week after missing two games with a hamstring injury. ... Allen had 168 yards passing in the first half, the most in the opening two quarters by a Bills player since Tyrod Taylor had 236 in a 30-22 loss at Kansas City on Nov. 29, 2015. ... The Bills have yet to top 300 yards this season after managing 293 against Minnesota.Aviante Collins: Where’s His Best Fit ? One of the guys in the mix for a starting/roster spot along the offense line is Aviante Collins, a second year man that the Vikings picked up last year as an undrafted free agent out of TCU. So far he’s generally been seen to be having a good training camp, and had a pretty good night in Denver as well. Looking For a PositionLast year, Collins got most of his reps at right tackle, where he played in college.He was also seen as athletic enough (4.81” 40) to see some action at left tackle as well.Collins had the upper body strength (34 benchbress reps), but was a little light for a tackle (295 lbs) and just didn’t have the lower body strength and girth to anchor very well against NFL defensive linemen.That created some footwork issues at times as he tried to over compensate, which left him off balance.Nevertheless he made the roster and saw some limited action as an extra tackle in jumbo packages late in the season.He did well in that role. During the off-season Youth Xavier Rhodes Jersey , Collins added some weight - about 10 pounds of muscle– to help his lower body strength and anchoring ability.That, along with a year of NFL coaching, seems to have helped his performance.Collins plays with a nasty streak, which coach Mike Zimmer mentioned he likes about him, and had some good blocks against Denver - playing both left tackle and (mostly) left guard with the second string.The question with Collins is what is his best position?While he’s played mostly tackle, his arm length (33 3/8”) is not ideal for playing outside.Mike Zimmer apparently was the one to suggest playing him inside at left guard to see how he does.It makes sense as Collins has the size and quickness to play inside, and his arm length isn’t much of an issue there.There are at least a few other guys competing at left guard - Tom Compton, Danny Isidora, also Josh Andrews, so it’s unclear if that’s where he’s needed the most.But it may be his best position.Looking at the Denver game, Collins did better in his reps at left tackle.He struggled more at left guard, where he hadn’t played before http://www.vikingsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-adam-thielen-jersey , getting beat at times by quickness as he acclimated to the position.But that happened less frequently as the game progressed, suggesting with more reps he may continue to improve.What he did best at left guard was get to the second level - going out to block linebackers on run plays, and also getting out to block on screen passes.The question is that with so many competing at that position (left guard), how many reps will he get there?And will he improve enough to win the starting job?Tom Compton seemed to have the inside track at the starting LG spot, but he looked outmatched with the first team against Denver, and although Mike Zimmer gave him some light praise (he’s not going to criticize individual player performance much in press conferences), I suspect they may be looking more seriously at LG alternatives, which I expect will include Danny Isidora, Josh Andrews, and Aviante Collins.I suspect Collins’ roster spot is fairly safe at this point, as he can play any position except center along the offensive line.And maybe that’s the best spot for him - as a backup tackle or guard.But he may also turn out to be the best option at left guard if he continues to improve there with more reps.
