The Buffalo Bills come off another 8-8 season..A year of building on what they have built. This is the year though that the Bills need to make it to the next level. Bills haven't seen the playoffs in years, but this group has all the talent to make it this year. Will the Bills be able to avoid another 8-8 season is the big question.
OFFENSE: The big question is going to be at the quarterback position. Tyrod Taylor gets the start and most think Taylor just doesn't have what it takes..He has been in the league for 6 years now and really hasn't produced much. The overall feel I get when I ask people about Taylor are mostly negative comments. I feel a bit different though..Taylor hasn't really played a ton of ball in his 6 years..A few cameo appearances in mop up duty or damage control. He spent his first 4 years in Baltimore and he never really had a chance in Baltimore. This is his team now and he started 14 games last year for the Bills. It's rather clear this is the guy for the future of the Bills as of now. Taylor had a decent year last year racking up 3,035 yards passing. He had 20 Td's and only 6 INT's..His passer rating was 99.4...Not bad numbers at all and his offense was limited last year with injuries. The Bills will be healthy to start the year and they need to stay that way..Bills offense has good depth, but taking guys like McCoy and Watkins off the field hurt Taylor..Taylor can use his legs as well. In 2015 he rushed for a total of 568 yards with 4 TD's. I think his 2nd true year as a starter will be a good one with all the weapons the Bills have on tap...We all know how good Watkins is on the outside..A speedster that plays rough and tough..Watkins had just over 1,000 yards on only 60 catches..His avg ypc was 17.5. Watkins had injury issues last year, but this year I expect him to be healthy and his best year yet. Bills also have WR Robert Woods and TE Charles Clay. Both caught over 50 passes each last year , but both missed time as well along side Watkins. It's tough to take key players off the field with a relatively inexperienced QB. Bills also went with some offense in the draft picking up WR Kolby Listenbeee out of TCU. This only adds even more speed to the Bills offense. Listenbee might just be the fastest WR in the NFL this year..That will demand some type of attention from opposing defenses. Let's not forget about the backfield..Again another part of the Bills offense that had to deal with injuries..Shady McCoy is back and so is Karlos Williams. Both guys last year combined for a grand total of 1,400 yards...These guys missed plenty of time, but now the Bills add another RB via NFL draft..The depth chart looks good for the Bills RB area. When I look at this offense I see tons of speed. This is perhaps the offense that Chip Kelly might enjoy. I believe HC Rex Ryan will enjoy it this year. Some of these guys are in the prime or entering the prime this year as far as the play makers are concerned. RBs will be much healthier entering the year. They have plenty of speed and they can do multiple things to offset any defense. It comes down to Taylor though. Can he stay healthy and will he improve off a quality year. I think he hears the naysayers right now. Bills finished 13th overall on offense last year. With a healthy cast of characters and with this talent, I expect the Bills offense to be near the top in the AFC and the NFL overall. A very good and deep offensive unit with plenty of talent this year. I like what i see right now.
________________________________________________________________________
DEFENSE: Bills defense will still be one of the better units on the field this year overall in the NFL..Whenever you have a HC like Rex Ryan, that just seems to be the case. Bills brought in a few new pieces and kept a few of the old pieces as well. The Bills defense finished mid pack with rush and pass defense. I think they did some things to help out in those areas this year. Big concern for the Bills is pressuring the QB. Bills stunk last year finishing next to last in QB sacks. That's very odd coming from a Rex Ryan defense, but the addition of ILB Reggie Ragland (pictured) will help a ton with pressure up the middle.
Bills need to address the pass rush and a few other key players will help out as well. Rookie DE Adolphus Washington and Shaq Lawson will give the Bills just what they need. Lawson won't start the year, but I expect him to make his season debut later in the season...Bills took a chance on Lawson, but in the end I feel he will pan out just fine. Perhaps his second year will be great, but for this year he adds depth and perhaps a spark to the Bills second half of the season. The backend wasn't all that bad, but they needed to address some issues as well. Bills CB and Safety situation seems rather solid though. They played well in the INT department, but lacked forced fumbles. They will need to increase the turnover margin along with slowing teams down on 3rd down. Bills ranked 20th last year on 3rd down. A typical Rex Ryan defense doesn't usually sit with these defensive rankings. Rex will push this group all season and the good thing for the Bills is the defensive depth. They filled some key holes on defense and I believe they can now play Rex Ryan Bills defense. I don't expect them to be tops in the league, but a upgrade near the top 10 in the AFC and a top 15 in the league perhaps. I also feel the Bills made some improvements with the coaching staff as well.
___________________________________________________________
Projected Team Total - 8
We shouldn't be surprised to see a total of 8 here. Bills usually end the season right around this number year in and year out.
Season Schedule --- > http://espn.go.com/nfl/team/schedule/_/name/buf
The AFC East IMO will be top and bottom heavy. Bills swept the Jets last year and the same result just might happen again. Same goes for the Dolphins as well. I feel both of those teams will struggle this year and the timing of the meetings is in favor of the Bills. Dolphins a warm weather team travels to Buffalo in late December. That's a big help and the Jets who might be all but forgotten get a week 17 game at home Vs. the Bills. These two games IMO are the key to the Bills season. I like the fact that the Bills get a BYE week during the toughest stretch of games. That always helps and the start of the year is Vs. @Balt & (h) Jets...We all know how much Rex Ryan wants to beat the Patriots and I think he gets 1 win at home against them. I can see the Bills getting on a roll going into the Pats game.. Week 5 to 9 is the crucial part of the season. I think we will be talking about the Bills going into that Patriots game. Another good stretch is week 12 to week 17. Plenty of teams they can beat and the toughest game during that stretch comes at home Vs Pitt. During that stretch they get 3 home games in a row. I think the schedule sets up rather nice for the Bills here. Only 6 of the 16 games come against playoff teams from last year.
Pick - Buffalo Bills TT = OVER 8
This win total is rather easy for me to make. I feel the Bills will be one of the better teams in the league this year. This team on offense if healthy, will compete with any team in the league. I expect high point totals from the Bills with a offense that is at the "prime" of many players career. It's now or never for the Bills. They can make a serious push this year and stay together. Or let it all crumble and remain the Bills we know and love. The schedule is a big boost from what I see and not many challenges in the way. A rough spot and that's about it. The schedule sets up rather nice IMO. The defense will be the key for how long the Bills can keep winning. If they increase the QB pressure and pick up a decent turnover margin, I expect the Bills to be very tough no matter who they play in any situation. You can't deny this team has talent and has the capability to score points. The defense has added much needed pieces and the coaching staff might be a upgrade. Out of all the teams in the NFL this year I have the Bills as one of my biggest movers. Bills stand a good chance to get to 10 wins. Don't be shocked if they really surprise and win 11. We will be talking about the Bills a few times this season.