As minicamp wrapped up in mid-June, the Buffalo Bills embarked on a long grace period. The time off gives players and coaches the chance to make their own final adjustments and fine-tunings before training camp begins on July 27th.

When asked about the downtime between minicamp and training camp, McDermott sounded a little uneasy. He worries about the players being on their own.

It’s a period of time where [bad] things tend to happen, and that’s been brought up. We discussed that as a team and so I pray every night going to bed that, as a family we do the right thing and the Good Lord takes care of us, and the same thing with the players because I worry about that. I do care about them and we’re all a family here.

Creating a family atmosphere has been preached day in and day out since McDermott took the throne in early January. Former Buffalo coach Rex Ryan also preached along these lines, but the two coaches’ techniques differ immensely.

McDermott made a point of further outlining his approach during his introductory press conference. He noted “accountability & discipline come from a team culture. I believe there’s a right way to do things. That starts with me.”

It’s been just under six months, and the effect of his approach is already taking hold amongst the Bills roster — most notably with rookie quarterback Nathan Peterman.

When Buffalo selected Peterman and his fellow rookies, it looked for players that embody the characteristics of accountability and discipline, attributes that McDermott finds important.

Peterman had this to say during an interview on the John Murphy Show recently.

I’ve always believed that the only real discipline that lasts is self-discipline. That’s kind of how I have always approached things. Even with my little off time in college.

This shows the type of “one voice” approach that McDermott made clear he was going to adopt shortly after being hired.

Self-discipline could be what pushes Nathan Peterman far ahead of Cardale Jones in training camp and the preseason. Jones is nearly a relic of an incomplete Ryan regime project and a player this new staff may want to abandon.

Peterman, who has only been with the team since April, has a much more consistent body of work and appears to be further along in his development than Jones, who has been on the squad for over a year.

Self-discipline and accountability are what build successful teams. It’s what built the consistent winners Marv Levy produced and what will build future success at One Bills Drive.

You don’t often hear of players from successful teams in the headlines for off-the-field incidents during this time of the year, and for Buffalo — so far, so good.

It might just be that mid-summer illusion or self-inflicted hype that Bills fans get before training camp. That giddiness and optimism that creates a sense of hope that maybe wasn’t there a few months or even weeks back. For some reason, McDermott is seemingly different than the team’s coaches in the past. He obviously has a plan for how to get this franchise back on track, and so far, it looks as though the team’s roster is buying into it.