As the Summer draws to a close, the 2019 NFL Season is on the horizon, and we kick off our series of Team Previews with the Buffalo Bills, who continue to progress through their extensive rebuild. After snapping the league’s longest-running Playoff Drought (17 Years!!!) in his first season on the job, Sean McDermott & Co. took a major step back in 2018, though much of that was with designs of taking more than a few sizable ones in the future. In all honesty, this has been a franchise in dire need of a TRUE rebuild, with Management and the Coaching Staff preaching patience as they continue to build upon their recently laid foundation. However, in the NFL there is only so much patience to be found, with improvement expected after last year’s disappointing 6-10 finish. With that said, few teams were as active as Buffalo in the Offseason, particularly on the offensive side of the football, so let’s take a look at what we can expect from the Bills in 2019…
Growing Pains
After a much-improved 2017 Campaign saw them return to the Playoffs for the first time since 1999, Buffalo ultimately came to the difficult (yet wise) conclusion that judging by the way that they were constructed, success would not have been sustainable. As a result, they looked toward the NFL Draft for a long-sought Franchise Quarterback, settling upon Josh Allen with the Seventh Overall Pick. A small school standout with serious physical gifts, the Wyoming Product was billed to be the heir to a long-vacated throne, though his inaugural campaign in Western New York was anything but smooth; the Rookie Quarterback started Eleven Games, completing just 52.8% of his Attempts for an average of just 172.8 Yards per Game on 5.35 Net Yards per Attempt, with Ten Touchdowns in comparison to Twelve Interceptions. Needless to say, Allen’s overall performance left a lot to be desired. However, (as we’ll get into shortly) he had very little help around him, with a Supporting Cast that quite frankly was a mess. Consider this: despite the Bills ranking Ninth in Rushing Offense (124.0 Y/G), and featuring a perennial Pro Bowl Tailback in the form of LeSean McCoy (), Allen actually served as the team’s leading rusher, churning out 631 Yards and Eight Touchdowns on Eighty-Nine Attempts. Granted, this wasn’t necessarily by design, with many of his runs coming off-script, thanks to a porous Offensive Line that rarely afforded him consistent protection, but you could imagine that the work load that he was required to carry was neither ideal nor planned. With that said, it should be noted that after he returned to the field in Week 12 following an elbow injury, the Signal-Caller looked much more at ease under Center, and the in the Finale against Miami went off for a total of 319 All-Purpose Yards and Five Touchdowns. There is clearly untapped potential in this kid, and the club seems hellbent on finding a way to bring it out, which brings us to…
Bargain Shopping
While a number of teams went big-game hunting in Free Agency, the Bills decided to head on over to BJ’s and Costco for their roster needs, completely overhauling their personnel on the offensive side of the football. For the complete rundown, Buffalo added FOURTEEN Free Agents of the offensive variety, which when coupled with four Draftees with that expertise, translates to a torrent of change for a unit that by all means needs it. This group was pretty damn bad in 2018, averaging just 16.8 Points per Game (30th Overall) on 316.6 Total Yards (again, 30th Overall), including a paltry 192.6 Yards through the air (31st Overall) on 5.2 Net Yards per Attempt (also 31st Overall), with a league-worst Thirteen Passing Touchdowns to their credit. Furthermore, they were absolutely dismal on Third Down, converting on a mere 31.6% of their opportunities. In his first year on the job, Offensive Coordinator Brian Daboll quickly came to the conclusion that in order to run his Offense, he would need serious reinforcements, and given the sheer volume of additions, there is likely to be up to seven different starters on this unit in 2019. With that said, none of these guys are what one would consider anything remotely close to stars, though at this point, Buffalo would certainly settle for solid contributors instead. Veterans such as John Brown (42 REC, 715 YDS, 17.0 Y/R, 5 TD) and Cole Beasley (65 REC, 672 YDS, 10.3 Y/R, 3 TD) should help augment what was arguably the least-impressive Receiving Corps in the league, with the former possessing the deep-speed that can truly threaten defenses, while the latter can actively take advantage of the space created. Furthermore, the Draft saw the addition of mammoth Lineman, Cody Ford, who figures to be an upgrade wherever he’s lined up at in the trenches, while Devin Singletary, a very productive Tailback out of Florida Atlantic, could alleviate the pressure off the aging McCoy. Of the new additions, Brown could really end up being a shrewd signing for the Bills, for the 29-Year Old finally put forth a healthy campaign, playing in Fifteen Games with the Ravens last year, and accumulated the majority of his production before Baltimore shifted to a run-heavy scheme to accommodate their own Rookie Quarterback. The Receiver hauled in Twenty-Eight Receptions for 558 Yards on 19.9 Yards per Catch with Four Touchdowns in the first Seven Games of the season alone.
Sean the Builder
In two years on the sidelines in Buffalo, Sean McDermott has done some rather remarkable things, highlighted by taking his charges to the Playoffs two years ago. That team wasn’t very talented, and was actually outscored over the whole of the season, the only team in the Postseason to own that dubious distinction. However, the fact that he managed to go 6-10 the following year with the personnel at his disposal should be viewed as just as impressive if not more, because on paper the Bills may have been the least-talented team in the league in 2018. Fortunately for him, expectations were tepid at best, but that is about to change for the Defensive Strategist, who now with a firm foundation in place, a promising young Quarterback under his wing along with what should be an improved Offense, and the Patriots’ Dynasty appearing to finally enter it’s twilight, it’s time to start showing some serious progress. We’ve already seen what he can do on Defense, where despite an Offense that struggled to sustain drives, still managed to rank Second Overall in Total Defense (294.1 Y/G), all the while relinquishing the fewest Passing Yards in the NFL (179.2 Y/G). And that was with by and large a unit stocked with unheralded contributors; the team’s only Pro Bowler, longtime Defensive Tackle Kyle Williams (35 TKL, 6 TFL, 14 QBH, 5.0 SK, 1 FF, 1 FR), retired in the Offseason after thirteen years with the franchise. Filling his shoes will be Ed Oliver, the Ninth Overall Pick out of Houston, whom many felt was the top Defensive Lineman in a Draft Class littered with them. His presence coupled with that of last year’s First Round Selection, versatile Linebacker Tremaine Edmunds (121 TKL, 5 TFL, 7 QBH, 2.0 SK, 2 FF, 2 INT, 12 PD), makes this unit all the more athletic, which will no doubt be a boon to McDermott and his Staff.
2019 Forecast: 8-8
While it’s seems too simplistic to state that the Bills’ fortunes in 2019 will be decided by the development of Josh Allen, no figure on their roster will have more influence over their progression than the Sophomore Quarterback. Buffalo took the “Quantity over Quality” route in building his Supporting Cast, and though it’s hard to see them turning into a Top-10 Offense overnight, they should certainly be improved over last year’s trainwreck. Much like in the previous two seasons under McDermott, the Defense will carry them, with the young, budding talent on hand potentially vaulting this unit into the league’s elite. With a modest schedule ahead, and reinforcements added, look for the Bills to take a step forward, though they’re probably not ready to return to the Playoffs just yet…