Josh Allen was just stirring the pot, Taiwan Jones still leads special teams at 34

For the last couple years I have looked at the training camp roster and wondered whether this would be the end for Taiwan Jones. I mean, was there really a pressing need for a special teams only player who just turned 34 years old last week?

And then I listened to special teams coach Matt Smiley talk about Jones the other day, and I’m thinking this year won’t be the end.

“He is a phenomenal leader, he’s a phenomenal man of character, he is a big-time part of what we’re trying to do on special teams,” Smiley said of Jones. “And he takes that to the field every day.”

Jones is a running back by designation, but he’ll never see a snap of offense because he’s on this team for one reason only: To anchor the core special teams units on punt and kickoff coverage and returns. In four seasons with the Bills 2017-18 and 2020-21, he has played exactly 10 snaps as a running back.

In fact, the last meaningful play he made on offense - unfortunately for the Bills - was when he was on hiatus from Buffalo and played for the Texans in 2019. And what Bills fan will ever forget that one play?

Overtime of the playoff loss in Houston when Jones caught a short pass from Deshaun Watson and rumbled 34 yards to the Buffalo 10. On the next play, the Texans kicked the game-winning field goal to cap their rally from a 16-0 third-quarter deficit.

The Bills will probably only keep four running backs, but one of those spots will be reserved for Jones. That means Zack Moss and Duke Johnson may be competing for the final spot behind roster locks Devin Singletary and James Cook.

“On his birthday (July 26) it was a punt day and I put up a play (film from practice) for the guys, just an extra effort play by Taiwan,” Smiley recalled. “And for a guy that’s going into his 12th year, he’s covered a ton of NFL kicks on Sunday afternoons. And he’s still, period three at practice No. 3, being in the right position, going full go and making sure he’s setting an example for those younger guys. So I’m fortunate, I think the Buffalo Bills are fortunate, that he’s here.”

Jones and Siran Neal have been the Bills’ tandem of gunners on punts the last two years, and punter Matt Haack said they’re two of the best he’s ever seen at that particular job.

“I had a few great ones in Miami as well, but as a duo together, on the field together, they dominate, and as a punter, that’s huge,” Haack said. “I can trust them that they’re gonna go down and make a play. On my best punt and my worst punt, that they’re gonna be there, and it definitely gives peace of mind to the punter.”

“I think both of them are very skilled and it’s nice that both of them have had so many reps together,” Smiley said. “So as they keep working they get a better feel for each other, what they’re going to do depending on what type of punt return they’re going against, whether it’s a single or a vice, what type of returner they’re going against. That rapport between the two of them is nice.”

Josh Allen was just stirring the pot

You probably heard all the hullabaloo over how the Saturday practice ended, the first one in full pads. For me, it was much ado about nothing.

During a goal-line segment, Allen decided to keep the ball and run and as he got to the goal line, defensive tackle Jordan Phillips gave him a little shoulder to shoulder contact. It was nothing, barely a bump, especially on a day when the team was in pads.

For some reason Allen took exception to it and shoved Phillips in the face, and then a little melee broke out though no punches were thrown. Of course, it became the topic of the day in the media, but the whole thing was ridiculously over-reported.

In fact, I think Allen may have reacted the way he did just to blow off a little steam at the end of the first week of camp. He knows as well as anyone that any part of his body is off limits to the defense, and Phillips certainly knows that, too.

“Stuff like that, especially on the first day (of pads) is gonna happen,” center Mitch Morse said. “It’s just a bunch of fiery competitors out there, regardless of who it is. When Josh comes out like that and has a show of emotion like that it definitely catches your eye. But in the end it never makes its way to the locker room. Emotions are allowed to get high - it’s an emotional sport. Tensions run high at times, but you never want it to be carried over or get carried away and someone can get hurt. And then you have some real trouble on your hands and things can escalate quickly.”

What they’re saying at camp

▶ P Matt Araiza, who hails from San Diego, on what he likes best about Buffalo: “My favorite thing is the people. I can kind of tell a little bit of difference between the people here and Southern California. People here are a lot nicer, a lot more outgoing. And then the wings. There's a wing spot close to where the rookies have been staying and I’ve been there a lot.”

▶ OT Dion Dawkins on the transition to working with new offensive line coach Aaron Kromer: “Smoother than I expected. Kromer, he is very specific of what he wants, and with his technique. So even in myself, doing different things with my body because of what he's teaching, it's new. It's a challenge, but it's just camp challenges, like it ain't nothing drastic.”

▶ C Mitch Morse on the improved Bills defensive line: “I think Brandon brought in a plethora of guys who can really play defensive line. It's an embarrassment of riches almost. And it's not lost upon us as an offensive line that we have the opportunity to go against a great defense, and (defensive line coach Eric) Washington really has got those guys on the same page. If you ever put (Von Miller) on the same side as Ed (Oliver), it's almost a little bit of cheating because it’s two guys who are not only gifted but love football and play it exceptionally well.”

Getting to know … LS Reid Ferguson

The long snapper is the longest-tenured member of the team now that Jerry Hughes has moved on. He came to Buffalo in 2016 and spent that last year of the Rex Ryan era on the practice squad before making the roster in 2017, Sean McDermott’s first season as head coach.

He hasn’t even been challenged for that job since, and if you thought long and hard, you’d be hard pressed to think of a single long snap - kick or punt - that wasn’t right on the money.

“If you had told me seven years ago that I’d be sitting in this position, I probably wouldn’t believe you,” Ferguson said. “But I appreciate the heck out of coach McDermott and Brandon Beane for keeping me around this long, and hopefully for much longer. There’s still a strong core of guys that got here in ’17, that free agent class that we got and the draft class, too, that are still around and have gotten extensions. It’s been great to stick around with them.”

Ferguson is one of five members of the Bills who have a brother, or brothers, in the NFL as his younger brother Blake, who learned he was a Type 1 diabetic at the age of 13, is the long snapper for the AFC East rival Dolphins. There are also Stefon and Trevon Diggs (Cowboys); Tremaine, Terrell (Steelers) and Trey (unsigned) Edmunds; James and Dalvin (Vikings) Cook; and David, Scott (Chargers) and Paul (Texans) Quessenberry.

“Perseverance is the best thing I learned from Blake,” Reid said of his brother who is three years younger. “His battle with diabetes put a lot of things in perspective for me. Things that seemed like big problems are nothing compared to what he went through.”

Ferguson also has a beer named after him. Here’s the story: My cousin’s son, Michael Maiorana, co-owns First Line Brewery in Orchard Park. So once in a while, players stroll in there to check out the different beers that are being brewed.

Michael and his partner, Shane Stewart, got to talking with Ferguson, and they decided to brew a beer in his honor. It’s called Mr. Nice. It’s seasonal, so it should be back in the rotation in the fall.

Here are a few things to know about Ferguson:

• If not football, what sport?: Pitcher for the New York Yankees.

• First job: Worked at a Chic-fil-A in high school.

• Biggest pet peeve: People who don’t use their turn signals.

• Favorite actor: Cillian Murphy (Peaky Blinders).

• Skill he’d like to learn: Playing guitar.

• Dream sporting event to attend: World Cup.

Buffalo Bills birthday bio: Greg Bell

As far as least popular Bills of all-time goes, the former first-round pick in 1984 is right up there near the top of the list, and I’m not talking about within the fan base, I’m talking about the team.

Bell, who turns 59 today, played his college ball at Notre Dame though it wasn’t much of a career as injuries limited him to 23 games and he rushed for only 870 yards in four seasons. Still, the Bills, in their infinite wisdom at the time, made him the 26th overall pick because Joe Cribbs had bolted town to go play for Birmingham in the USFL.

Right away, things didn’t go well, and Bills Wall of Famer Fred Smerlas took an immediate disliking to Bell. He nicknamed him “Tinker” because, as Smerlas said, “He ran like Peter Pan.”

In Bell’s rookie season of 1984, the Bills lost their first 11 games, but then America’s Team came to Rich Stadium on a dank November day, and on the first play of the game, Bell ripped off an 85-yard touchdown run and the Bills went on to a stunning 14-3 victory over the Cowboys.

Bell rushed for 206 yards that day, one of three 200-yard games in his career, and he would finish his rookie season with 1,100 yards, and he added 883 in 1985, though the Bills went 4-28 combined in those years. After an injury-shortened 1986, Bell became one of the key pieces in the famous 1987 trade engineered by Bill Polian to acquire linebacker Cornelius Bennett. When the dust settled, Bell was off to Los Angeles to replace Eric Dickerson who went to the Colts in the three-team blockbuster that also included a bunch of draft picks.

Two years later, the Rams came to Buffalo for a Monday night game, and the war of words raged. Bell said of Marv Levy, "I think he's more of a con artist than he is a coach. Everybody uses that Harvard graduate garbage. I mean, who cares? Harvard graduates don't help you win on the football field. And he's no engineer of the game."

Bell essentially called Smerlas and former linebacker Jim Haslett racists, saying they were, “Red-necks. They were prejudiced guys. The fact that a young black man came in making a great deal of money, driving a red Ferrari, dressing out of this world, they were offended by that.”

Smerlas lambasted him for that comment and he reveled in holding Bell to 44 yards on 21 carries as the Bills beat the Rams 23-20 with Frank Reich directing a last-second game-winning touchdown drive in place of injured Jim Kelly.

"Tinker is a stinker," Smerlas said. "He said I was a racist. But none of the black guys on the team liked him, either. He had fights with (Derrick) Burroughs, with (Robb) Riddick, me, Haz, everybody. He was a great football talent, no one ever denied that. But as a person, he lacked a lot of character. He was empty inside, so he tried to show it on the outside with all of his jewelry and flash."

Bell - whose answering machine recording played the song “Smooth Operator” by Sade - topped 1,000 yards twice with the Rams and he led the NFL in touchdowns in both 1988 (16) and 1989 (15). But he left the Rams after that year, played part of 1990 with the Raiders, and was out of the league by 1991, finishing with 4,959 yards and 51 TDs.

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This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Josh Allen was just stirring the pot, Taiwan Jones still leads special teams at 34