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| First thumbs up for the Bills in a long, long time. |
Well, it's the off-season. And, you know what that means? All of us Bills fans are saying the same line we have been saying since the beginning of our frustrating franchise..."This is gonna be our year." Unfortunately, the Bills haven't lived up to the fans expectations in quite some time. And by "some time", I mean that Clinton was still in office, ENRON and the World Trade Centers were both in the equation, and my voice hadn't dropped yet when they were last in the playoffs. However, I'm here to give you 5 numeric reasons why this could actually be "the year" for lapse Buffalo fans to pay attention to. And by "the year", I don't mean winning the Superbowl. I mean being a potential playoff contender. While Jim Kelly and Marv Levy's no huddle offense is hard to live up to, it's looking good for Buffalo in 2015.
1.) 982
982 is the number of yards stud rookie receiver Sammy Watkins had in 2014. This number is interesting for a couple reasons. For one, he now holds the record for most receiving yards for a rookie Bills receiver. So, the sky is the limit for Sammy with this type of rookie campaign. Secondly, Sammy had to adjust to two different Quarterbacks throughout the year (something Odell Beckham didn't have to do). This severely screws with the QB-WR mesh. If he had one consistent Quarterback throughout the year, 982 yards could have easily been much more. As a personal aside, I think he was under-targeted as well all year. Whether it's Matt Cassel or EJ Manuel behind center this fall, 982 should increase and his targets should go up (given that one of these guys steps up and remains the starter throughout the year).
2.) 54
54 is the number of sacks the Bills had last year. And, one might ask, how does this compare to the other teams across the league? The simple answer: Pretty damn good. 54 sacks was the best in the league in 2014. With Rex Ryan at the helm of this organization (a great defensive mind) and Doug "I hate my life" Marrone out of the equation, there's no reason 54 sacks can't be duplicated or even increased. Pro Bowlers Mario Williams (14.5 sacks) and Kyle Williams (5.5 sacks) will likely have another big year in Buffalo and will look to add to their sack totals. (Video shows the 54 sacks in 54 seconds from the 2014 season.)
3.) 9
9 is the number of wins the Bills had last year. While that may seem pretty middle of the road to most NFL franchises and fans, that is the best and first winning record Buffalo has had in 10 years (since 2004). What is good to note is that the Bills didn't just knock off bad teams to have a winning record. They had wins against the 2014 Superbowl Champion New England Patriots (while Tom Brady didn't play the whole game- a win's a win), the Green Bay Packers, and the Detroit Lions (both teams went to the playoffs). Additionally, they lost to the playoff Broncos by only a touchdown in Denver, which shows that they can contend with top teams in the league on the road. With a new and energetic coaching staff bringing in great players, there is no reason why 9 wins can't increase.
4.) 5
#5 is the ranking LeSean McCoy received in 2014 out of the 100 best players in the NFL. And he's now ours. Last season, he rushed for a not-so-shabby 1,319 yards (and the Bills overall team combined for 1,482 rushing yards). And, to be honest, he's capable of doing better than this. With a veteran Bills Offensive line (and with the addition of Incognito), McCoy should be able to churn off more yards than last year and be a viable weapon for us. Also, Greg Roman is the new offensive coordinator for Buffalo. Coming out of San Francisco, he had a lot of success in both the rushing and passing attack and he helped produce solid backs like Frank Gore. Should be fun to watch this new addition to Buffalo.
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