Doug Marrone, Ron Jaworski

Buffalo Bills head coach Doug Marrone, left, shares a laugh with broadcaster Ron Jaworski at football training camp in July in Pittsford, N.Y. (AP Photo/Bill Wippert)

(Bill Wippert | The Associated Press)

Orchard Park, N.Y. — It's been a tough couple of weeks for the NFL.

Between Ray Rice and Adrian Peterson getting into trouble off the field, a lot of the talk surrounding the league has been negative. But ESPN analyst Ron Jaworski was in Orchard Park on Sunday for the Buffalo Bills' 29-10 win over the Miami Dolphins and was reminded of the good football can bring.

In an interview with Mike and Mike on ESPN Radio, Jaworski, who grew up just south of Buffalo, talked about the experience.

"First and foremost, we all know it was a very difficult week for the National Football League, and for all of us involved because we like to cover football," Jaworski said. "But I’ve got to tell you, yesterday I found a sanctuary. It was Buffalo, New York. It was awesome, guys. Seventy-thousand people celebrated football. The Miami Dolphins and Buffalo Bills, both undefeated albeit (after) one week. There was tremendous excitement football-wise in Buffalo. A new owner in Terry and Kim Pegula in Buffalo. Excitement that the Bills are staying in Buffalo. Jim Kelly on the sideline, just beat cancer. Those people would’ve cheered for 20 minutes if Jim wouldn’t have went to the mic and started talking. Ralph Wilson’s name embedded in the stadium in gold for all that he did for the community of Buffalo. It was a celebration of football.

"To me, that was exciting. Those fans were all jacked up for a football game. We weren’t talking Adrian Peterson and Ray Rice and all the off-the-field problems. So I found that sanctuary in Buffalo, and it was the Buffalo Bills fans – 70,000 of them – that really, to me, motivated that Buffalo Bills football team. I was on that sideline talking to all the guys that were there, the Marv Levys, the Jim Kellys, and the list goes on and on. And you could tell the players were feeding off the Buffalo Bills history. Yes, it was a sanctuary from the week that we had. The Bills are a good football team, by the way."

With the Bills 2-0, the next logical question to ask the NFL analyst is just how good is this team?

"I think they’re a pretty good football team," Jaworski said. "Mike (Golic) mentioned Sammy Watkins, and I think he is the difference-maker. I was out there in training camp and he was just running by people. He’s a different kind of dude when it comes to route-running. He’s also a savvy guy for a rookie. You know what it’s going to be like in Buffalo in another 6-8 weeks. It’s going to be cold, it’s going to be windy. The accentuation of the offense is not going to be the passing game, it’s going to be the running game. You’re going to get a heavy dose of Fred Jackson and (C.J.) Spiller and the guys that pound the football inside.

"But what you have now is a receiving corps that, when the box gets loaded and you design some big plays, you’ve got a wide receiver that can deliver. And I see an improvement in EJ Manuel. He’s still far too inaccurate for my taste but he’s getting better, and that’s what you want to see: A quarterback improve week to week."