McCoy says no time to panic after Bills offensive dud
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) There's no need reminding LeSean McCoy how poorly the Bills' offense performed in opening the season at Baltimore last weekend.
''It was a big egg for sure,'' the star running back said Tuesday, two days following a 13-7 loss in which Buffalo had 160 yards - the team's lowest total in a decade.
The challenge McCoy said is how the Bills respond to their first taste of adversity at a point they have very little time to regroup in preparing to host the New York Jets on Thursday night.
''We can't panic,'' McCoy said. ''The only thing we can do this week is answer back the right way and respond and play like the offense that we've been playing like.''
McCoy is referring to last season, when a Tyrod Taylor-led attack showed signs of promise in leading the league in yards rushing and finishing 13th in total yards - the team's best ranking since 2002.
What's worrisome is the Bills could be down two key starters.
Receiver Sammy Watkins was listed as not practicing because of soreness to his surgically repaired left foot.
Watkins said he's ''definitely'' playing Thursday. Starting left tackle Cordy Glenn missed his second practice after hurting the same left ankle that forced him to miss three weeks of training camp last month.
McCoy has confidence in the Bills bouncing back.
''We'll come out here this week, and if we have a great game, then you won't even talk about last week,'' he said. ''You can't look back, man. You always have to look forward.''
It won't be easy given how listless the Bills were in managing 11 first downs and being limited to just 48 snaps.
The Ravens bottled up McCoy, who had 58 yards on 16 carries, and scored on a 1-yard plunge on fourth down.
And they negated Taylor's dual-threat abilities by keeping him in the pocket to prevent him from scrambling. And they took away his long-pass potential by playing a safety deep and forcing Taylor to complete short passes mostly to the sidelines.
Taylor, who went 8-6 as a first-time starter last season, responded defiantly when asked what needs to improve.
''Execute better,'' he said.
The concern is whether the Ravens have established a blueprint for other teams to keep Buffalo's offense in check.
McCoy discounted that notion by saying the Bills simply didn't play well.
''If you consistently see that over and over again, then I can say that's true,'' he said. ''But I think right now, we just had a bad game, simple as that.''
Coach Rex Ryan is confident the Bills offense will be better, but acknowledged the challenge might be daunting against a Jets defensive front he regards to be among the NFL's best.
''We have to be a lot better or it can get ugly against this group,'' Ryan said.
The Jets are coming off a 23-22 loss to Cincinnati in which they gave up 366 yards passing to Andy Dalton, but sacked him seven times, and limited the Bengals to just 57 yards rushing.
Offensive coordinator Greg Roman acknowledged his approach to the Ravens might have been too conservative.
''That's a good question. Hindsight's always 20-20,'' Roman said. ''We were just never able to get into a rhythm. We left a lot of things we wanted to do and were never able to bring them to light.''
Center Eric Wood said it's time to put last weekend behind.
''Normally, on a Tuesday, you'd probably still be a little salty about it, and I'm not going to say that I'm not,'' Wood said. ''But we have to move on to the Jets. And that's all of our focus.''
NOTES: Watkins was spotted inside the Bills fieldhouse testing his foot before practice alongside head athletic trainer Shone Gipson. Watkins is testing a new, wider pair of cleats in an attempt to relieve discomfort in his left foot. ... TE Charles Clay was listed as being limited in practice because of a knee injury. ... Buffalo signed T Chris Martin to its practice squad and released CB Doran Grant. Martin returns to the Bills two weeks after being released by the team.
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