BuffaLowDown
Fansided

Buffalo Bills Will Be Better in 2016

By Dennis Moody

Aug 20, 2016; Orchard Park, NY, USA; New York Giants free safety Landon Collins (21) dives to try and tackle Buffalo Bills running back LeSean McCoy (25) as he runs the ball during the first half at New Era Field. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 20, 2016; Orchard Park, NY, USA; New York Giants free safety Landon Collins (21) dives to try and tackle Buffalo Bills running back LeSean McCoy (25) as he runs the ball during the first half at New Era Field. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 4
Next
Dan Carpenter
Aug 26, 2016; Landover, MD, USA; Buffalo Bills kicker Dan Carpenter (2) kicks a field goal against the Washington Redskins during the first half at FedEx Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports /

Will the Bills special teams be better in 2016?

Below is a brief summary of how we predicted each unit in our series. Now let’s look at special teams on the whole.

The Bills special teams did not perform up to standards last season. They were ranked 12th in the league by Pro Football Outsiders but they still struggled in a few areas in which they should not have.

Dan Carpenter struggled mightily on extra points missing six but his field goal percentage was also well below his average with Buffalo. He should improve in both areas. 

More from BuffaLowDown

Colton Schmidt will continue to improve and looks to be the Bills punter for a long time to come. He turned in a pretty good 2015 season but we expect him to be even better in 2016.

The Bills return unit was pretty bad in 2015. They finished in the bottom third of the league in both punt returns and kickoff returns. In 2016 the Bills will use Reggie Bush, Walt Powell, and Brandon Tate in the role it seems.

Whoever they chose to fill this role will not have to do much to improve upon last year’s lousy numbers. The main thing for whoever wins the job will be to avoid turnovers and make sure that they secure the ball. If they can do that, the Bills should be fine.

In coverage on special teams the Bills had a ton of turnover. They lost key players such as Ron Brooks, Chris Hogan, and Boobie Dixon. They also added plenty of talent including Lorenzo Alexander, Colt Anderson and Robert Blanton. How these players gel with the rest of the unit is the biggest question but in our opinion, the unit should fair just about the same.

With the kicking, punting and returning groups likely to be better and the coverage unit just about the same, we expect the Bills special teams to be better and if that’s the case they should be able to crack the top ten in Pro Football Outsiders rankings.

Now that we recapped the offense, defense, and special teams, we’ll make a final prediction on the next slide.

Next: Final Prediction: Will The Bills Be Better in 2016?

Home/Buffalo Bills News