Are The Bills A Zillion Times Better Than Last Year?

Are The Buffalo Bills A Zillion Times Better Than Last Year?

Buffalo Bills Head Coach Rex Ryan recently told reporters that this year’s team is a “zillion times” ahead of where they were at this point last year. It might be a bit of embellishment but this is Rex Ryan we are talking about. What else would you expect?

Rex Ryan says the Bills are "a zillion miles ahead" of where they were at this point... https://t.co/W8L4vpI7wC pic.twitter.com/de3wsAotnQ
— Mike Rodak (@mikerodak) May 24, 2016

Regardless of Rex’s bravado, it still leads one to ponder, are the Bills really a lot farther ahead this year than they were last year?

The coaching staff should be more effective after having a year to install their principles on offense and defense. They have also gotten to know the players better and understand how to more effectively communicate with them in a positive manner.

Mario Williams who criticized and undermined the coaches is now gone which will also help. It’s safe to say that Rob Ryan knows Rex’s schemes better than anyone and he was brought in to help convey that message to the team. The main members of the coaching staff underperformed last year except for Greg Roman so there is plenty of room to improve. The coaching staff will definitely be a “zillion times” better than last year.

The offense has most of the key players returning which is a good thing because that unit performed way better than expectations last year. Greg Roman’s power running scheme worked beautifully and it didn’t seem to matter which running back the Bills plugged in, they all ran well behind an offensive line which featured two Pro Bowl offensive linemen.

Oh, and did I mention the Bills had a Pro Bowl quarterback as well? Yes, that’s not a typo, the Buffalo Bills who have searched for a quarterback for so long had Tyrod Taylor playing in the Pro Bowl last year. I don’t care that he made it as an alternate or that he threw several interceptions in the game. He had the best season for a Bills quarterback in a long time and was a major reason for success of the team.

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At receiver, the Bills are thin besides Sammy Watkins. Charles Clay might be able to step up and help reduce that issue but he didn’t put up the numbers last year that the Bills paid him for. When looking at all these factors there is just no way the Bills are a “zillion times” better on offense this year.

The Bills had a ton of turnover on defense. Players like Mario Williams, Leodis McKelvin, Bacarri Rambo, Nigel Bradham and many others are gone. They’ve added players such as Shaq Lawson, Reggie Ragland, Adolphus Washington, Zach Alexander, Robert Blanton and more.

The defense greatly underperformed last year so even if they had no turnover it’s likely that the unit is going to play better this year. Reggie Ragland should go a long way towards helping stop the run up the middle, Shaq Lawson when he returns will give them another outside edge rusher opposite Jerry Hughes and Adolphus Washington will get plenty of time in several roles on the defensive line.

Both Kyle and Aaron Williams missed most of last season with injuries and they are returning this year which should help bolster the unit. These are some of the many reasons the Bills will be a “zillion times” better than last year on defense.

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So the coaches are better, the defense is better, but the offense isn’t likely to be much better than they were last year. Overall, the Bills should be a better and a more prepared team this year than they were last season but that might not necessarily mean more wins.

The team will have a much more difficult schedule this season and so even with improved play they could end up with the same record. The Bills will be better this year than last, but it might not be a “zillion times” better.

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