Here are 5 players to watch as Bills meet Steelers in second preseason game

After the way Tyrel Dodson struggled last week in the preseason opener against the Colts, and how he lost his temper during a practice skirmish Tuesday, the Buffalo Bills’ middle linebacker competition is on the verge of becoming a major vexation, if it wasn’t already.

No one thought it would be easy for Sean McDermott to just plug and play someone into the spot Tremaine Edmunds manned for five seasons, but it might be more difficult than even McDermott thought.

“Right now I think there’s room for improvement, quite honestly,” McDermott said Thursday. “I think that we’ve got to do a better job with leading the defense, we’ve got to do a better job with communication, execution, so that’s an area of concern right now.”

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For McDermott, who typically keeps these types of observations to himself and dances around pointed questions with a series of clichés, that was a mouthful.

Dodson had a rough time against the Colts in the 29 snaps he played. He was off on some of his run fits, missed two tackles, and in the area he has always struggled with, pass coverage, he allowed two completions into his coverage area for 30 yards.

Dodson is the frontrunner for the job, mainly because his primary competition, Terrel Bernard, has been out nearly a week with a hamstring injury and his return is still undetermined. Baylon Spector simply isn’t ready to challenge for the starting job, so you have to wonder that if Dodson struggles again, perhaps trusted veteran A.J. Klein will jump into the battle.

Bills: In battle at middle linebacker, Tyrel Dodson may have the edge over Terrell Bernard

One thing we know about Klein: He’s a McDermott favorite from their days together in Carolina and he knows the defense as well as anybody on the team. Oh, and he was getting first-team reps in practice Wednesday and Thursday.

“It’s what’s the (middle linebacker) job description is, right?” McDermott said. “The total job description of running a defense, leading the defense, standing in front of the huddle, communicating the defense. It all goes together, it’s all connected.”

Other than the players at middle linebacker, here are five more Bills that I’ll be watching closely Saturday night against the Steelers:

QB Kyle Allen

I know offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey went all politically correct the other day, saying that Allen and third-stringer Matt Barkley graded out pretty equally against the Colts. Anyone who watched the game noticed, though, that Barkley completed 14 of 15 passes for 172 yards and two TDs. Allen was 8 of 15 for 122 yards with an interception.

Now, what also must be recognized is that Allen was facing better Colts players than Barkley was. That said, Allen needs to show some improvement this week and next and at least give fans a glimmer of hope that if Josh Allen were to get hurt, he could come in and at least keep the ship afloat and perhaps even further it along on its journey.

Kyle Allen admitted last week that the offense is a bear to learn, and Barkley, in agreeing with that, said Allen has done great so far in grasping it. However, he has to show it on the field and this will be another good opportunity.

Preseason: Matt Barkley is the king of preseason as he lit up the Colts

WR Andy Isabella

McDermott has loved what he has seen from the 5-foot-9 Isabella in the short time he has been with the team. Perhaps just as important, so has Josh Allen, and when you have the attention of those two key figures in the organization, that bodes well.

Isabella caught three passes for 42 yards last week and also returned four kicks, a facet of his game which could be what earns him a roster spot. I would expect we’ll see more of Isabella in that role in Pittsburgh.

“The speed element obviously stands out probably the most,” said McDermott, who then recalled scouting Isabella at the 2019 Senior Bowl and being impressed then by his skill set. “He’s been impressive to this point and he’ll get some opportunities on Saturday.

Said Allen: “Every time I walk past him in the locker room, he’s got his playbook open, he’s writing stuff down, he’s trying to learn our offense as well as he can. He been making some plays. I think he played extremely well in the (Colts) game and he’s got good body language.”

Wide receiver: Andy Isabella is used to beating long odds as he tries to earn roster spot with Bills

DE Shaq Lawson

Everyone loves Shaq, one of the most gregarious personalities on the team, but the reality is that Lawson has a real fight on his hands if he hopes to make the team, especially after the way Boogie Basham excelled against the Colts.

Going into the summer, Basham and Lawson were battling for the fourth edge rusher spot behind Leonard Floyd, Greg Rousseau and A.J. Epenesa. And yes, the Bills could keep all five. But here’s the caveat: Remember, Von Miller will be back at some point, and when he returns, it’s highly unlikely all six edge rushers will stay on the 53-man roster.

Lawson seems like the easier candidate to get on the practice squad because Basham is much younger and still has two years left on his cheap rookie contract. So, it would seem that Lawson needs to really pop in these last two preseason games.

OT Ryan Van Demark

This is not a player who would have been on my radar at all if not for what has transpired the past week. Van Demark signed with the Colts as an undrafted free agent in 2022 and after he was cut in training camp the Bills signed him to the practice squad, where he remained all last season.

He caught offensive line coach Aaron Kromer’s eyes in OTAs and then in training camp, and last week he was first off the bench at left tackle when Dion Dawkins came out of the game, not veterans David Quessenberry or Brandon Shell. He played 18 snaps on the left side, his natural position, and looked good, then switched over to the right when Tommy Doyle got hurt and he struggled.

Then on Tuesday came the surprising news that Shell has decided to retire, so with him out of the mix, Van Demark has an opportunity as he battles Quessenberry and 2021 fifth-round pick Doyle for the swing tackle job.

“Vandy has really grown in the system and really kind of shown his athletic ability and his ability to kind of play outside there and hold up,” said Dorsey. “That’s why we want to get some of those guys in there early to see them against some of those front-line guys.”

DT Tim Settle

When Settle signed as a free agent with the Bills last season, the prevailing thought is that he would become a breakout player because during his four years with the Commanders, he wasn’t given that chance as he was buried on the depth chart behind Washington’s star defensive tackles Jonathan Allen, Darron Payne and Matt Ioannidis.

But in 2022, Settle basically settled into the same No. 4 spot in the Bills’ DT rotation behind Ed Oliver, DaQuan Jones and Jordan Phillips, at least until Phillips got hurt. He finished with just one sack and 19 tackles.

This year, Settle will have to fight to make the team with Oliver and Jones locked in as the starters, Phillips returning from his injury, and Poona Ford having signed as a free agent. He got off to a nice start against the Colts with a sack and a QB pressure, but he has to build off that.

Sal Maiorana can be reached at maiorana@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @salmaiorana and on Threads @salmaiorana1. To subscribe to Sal's newsletter, Bills Blast, which will come out every Friday during training camp, please follow this link: https://profile.democratandchronicle.com/newsletters/bills-blast

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Buffalo Bills preseason game vs Pittsburgh Steelers: 5 players to watch