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25	August 2018

t the Bills previously welcome

No Avonte Maddox Jersey Eagles , Vance Joseph never felt as if he was drinking out of a firehose when the Denver Broncos stumbled through a 5-11 season in his first year as head coach last year.

That�s how general manager John Elway has repeatedly described what it must have been like for a first-year head coach in the NFL.

�That�s not my personality, so I didn�t feel that way,� Joseph told The Associated Press. �My focus was purely on trying to flip it and get us back on a winning path. I think being a young head coach and being a young coach is a different deal. I�m not a young coach. I�ve been a part of teams that have gone through adversity so I kind of knew what the issues were.�

Turnovers.

A sieve of an offensive line.

Locker room rifts.

A lack of chemistry, the byproduct of another protracted quarterback competition.

Still, �I think overwhelmed, that�s not the word,� Joseph said.

Denver�s dive, which included eight losses by double digits, was a shock to a city and a franchise that had a ticker-tape parade just two years earlier, and Elway acknowledged that he pondered firing Joseph at season�s end.

�That�s the direction I want to go, but it�s my responsibility to think about other options to see what would be best for the football team,� Elway said in January. �We thought about different options, but ultimately, my goal was to stick with Vance and give him that shot.�

Elway Tre'Quan Smith Jersey Elite , who had riled up his players by calling them soft during an eight-game skid, said he shared in the blame for Joseph�s deficient debut and needed to surround him with better personnel.

Joseph replaced nearly half of his coaching staff while Elway embarked on a massive roster upgrade .

He signed quarterback Case Keenum in free agency and all 10 members of his ballyhooed 2018 draft class spent four years in college and most were captains. That�s a far cry from the previous two classes that were loaded with raw athleticism, long-term projects and plenty of question marks.

Joseph seems much more comfortable in his second season.

�I don�t see it as a do-over. It�s hard in this league. You don�t get do-overs, unfortunately. But it�s a new year and obviously last year wasn�t good enough,� Joseph said.

The hands-off philosophy Joseph brought to Denver last year has vanished.

�I think it�s a fine line between micromanaging and coaching coaches. And I didn�t want to ever be micromanaged as an assistant coach because in my mind I was doing the best I could for that head coach and the best I could for that football team. And I took great pride in coaching my guys and being the best group on the field every day in the meeting rooms or on the field,� Joseph said.

�So, in my mind every coach would feel that way and every coach would want to coach that way. So, I was cautious in interrupting coaches� drills, interrupting coaches� ways of doing things because I had an experienced staff.�

That led to the notion that Joseph was still acting like an assistant coach last year while offensive coordinator Mike McCoy continued operating as though he were still a head coach before getting fired at midseason.

Joseph vehemently denies that was the case.

�I thought Mike did a great job every week of accepting his role and we talked every week about the game plan, so that�s not true,� Joseph said.

�I worked for a lot of coaches who didn�t micromanage me, Gary Kubiak, Marvin Lewis, great guys who have won a lot of games. So Panthers Game Jerseys , that�s not true. Our staff last year we discussed every game plan that we put forward and again it was the best thing for our players at the time.

�So, our thought process early on was to be an explosive offense. We were 3-1. It wasn�t perfect. But it was working. Now, turning the ball over, not protecting the quarterback, those things affected how we played on offense. But not Mike trying to be in total control, that�s not true.�

Still, Joseph said he has to coach his coaches better, and by that, he means challenging them.

�I don�t coach the receivers, I don�t coach the running backs or offensive line. I�m a defensive backs guy, I�m a defensive guy. So, I think asking the right questions and triggering more thought process on how we can do things better. Or simply seeing it differently than the coach and saying, `Why don�t we do it that way?�� Joseph said.

�Now, I can be wrong Alex Cappa Jersey Elite , but I think simply asking more questions is a simple way of helping the coaches get better and helping our football team get better and not letting anything slide.�

Joseph realizes he won�t get another chance if things don�t change.

�Winning football games is a must this year,� he said. �We have to do that. That�s why they hired me.�

And why Elway stuck with him.

�

Bills defensive end Lorenzo Alexander is ready to give rookie first-round pick Josh Allen the benefit of the doubt based on how apologetic the former Wyoming quarterback has been acknowledging a series of racially insensitive tweets he posted while still in high school.

Alexander, a respected team leader, expects his teammates to do the same and provide Allen a fair opportunity to clear the air.

"He has shown maturity to own it. He wrote those words. He's not using a cop-out," Alexander said Friday.

"I think the biggest thing now is to earn the respect of his teammates by the way he comes in and works. And when guys ask him, just being open and honest about it," he added. "And I think most guys will accept his answer based on who he is."

Allen agreed when informed of Alexander's comments, and is eagerly awaiting the opportunity.

Twice repeating the phrase "as soon as possible," Allen called it important to apologize for what he posted and show Bills players who he is today.

"It's something that I wouldn't be afraid or ashamed of doing," he said upon arriving at the team's facility a day after Buffalo traded up five spots in the NFL draft order to select Allen with the seventh pick.

"I put it on my shoulders," he added. "I made a mistake and I just want them to know who I am, because once they get to know who I am, I think they're going to like what they see."

Allen traveled to Buffalo along with fellow first-round draft pick, Tremaine Edmunds. The Bills traded up six spots to select the Virginia Tech linebacker with the 16th pick.

The trades left Buffalo with just the 96th pick on Friday Jorge De La Rosa Jersey , with which they selected Stanford defensive tackle Harrison Phillips. He's listed at 6-foot-3 and 307 pounds and was a two-year starter with the Cardinal. Phillips led Stanford with 103 tackles while adding 7 1/2 sacks and earned first-team Pac-12 honors in his senior season last year.

Phillips will have a chance to develop in Buffalo on a defensive line that features two veteran starters in Kyle Williams and offseason free-agent addition Star Lotulelei.

Allen has been the focus of attention since Wednesday night, when Yahoo Sports reported the quarterback sent the now-deleted tweets in 2012 and 2013. They contained racially insensitive language and offensive statements.

He has repeatedly apologized for the posts, while saying he was "young and dumb" in parroting rap lyrics and catchphrases from TV and pop culture.

Allen also expressed relief in how the Bills stuck by him in making him only the franchise's fourth quarterback to be drafted in the first round. The selection only happened after general manager Brandon Beane spent much of Thursday speaking with Allen, his coaches and former teammates to be reassured of the player's character.

Allen acknowledged becoming emotional during a half-hour phone conversation with Beane.

"I just really wanted him to know the type of person I was," he said. "I was embarrassed by everything that happened. It's something that I wouldn't wish upon my worst enemy."

Coach Sean McDermott said he consulted with his team leaders once Allen's tweets became public, while informing them of the possibility of the quarterback being selected.

"We take these things seriously in respect to adding any player," McDermott said. "And when this came up, it went to another level."

Alexander said the Bills established a strong leadership group last year in confronting various issues 鈥?from a major roster overhaul to finding consensus on how to handle anthem protests. They finished 9-7 to end a 17-year playoff drought which the longest active streak in North America's four major professional sports.

Alexander said Bills defensive end Eddie Yarbrough vouched for Allen after the two played together at Wyoming in 2015.

"I respect Eddie and his opinion," Alexander said. "So I would be foolish not to extend grace in getting to know this young man who's coming into our locker room."

It wasn't lost on Alexander, either, that the Bills previously welcomed Richie Incognito after the offensive guard was out of football for 18 months following his role in the Miami Dolphins' bullying scandal in 2013. Incognito became a Bills leader before abruptly announcing his retirement this month.

"I don't see why this situation can't be any different," he said.

"I think we have a strong locker room. We have leaders who promote healthy conversation," Alexander said. "We will move past this. And we'll look back and it won't even seem like it was as big as it was made out to be."

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