With the longest active playoff drought in the NFL and a rival monopolizing the AFC East division titles, the Buffalo Bills have a lot of work to do just to get to a .500 record – much less a trip to the Playoffs.
In 2013 the Bills endured their 9th straight losing season, and 14th straight without a trip to the playoffs. An aggressive draft that netted them several valuable players at skill positions, and the offensive line was overshadowed by a season ending injury to one of their star players – leaving them with a multitude of issues that need to be addressed quickly in training camp.
QB EJ Manuel surprised the Bills with several impressive games as a rookie last year, but an injury that sidelined him for several games prevented the team from getting a complete look. Thankfully for him, he enters training camp with a year under his belt as well as several explosive new weapons in WR Mike Williams and RB Bryce Brown.
The key pickup was 1st round draft pick WR Sammy Watkins, the consensus #1 WR on the draft board, who the Bills acquired in a blockbuster draft trade with the Browns.
Jim Schwartz, the former Lions HC who replaced Mike Pettine as Defensive Coordinator will have his work cut out for him on defense after the team let Pro Bowl Safety Jairus Byrd walk in Free Agency and saw rookie LB sensation Kiko Alonso go down for the year with an off-season injury. But the D-Line which features Kyle Williams, Mario Williams and Marcell Darius is still remarkable and will be the strength of the entire defense.
The Buffalo Bills will report to training camp in Pittsford, New York on July 19th.
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