It’s almost time for Buffalo Bills training camp.
After a long offseason where the NFL sort of went back to a normal schedule, it’s felt like forever since we’ve seen the Bills suit up and do meaningful work since their AFC Championship loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. So what are the five biggest questions that will need to be answered headed into 2021’s training camp?
Both sides of the ball still have question marks for positions that have not been upgraded since the new league year in March. If the Bills want to be able to boast and have a “party with the Lombardi”, then these questions will need to be answered to get the job done.
We’ll talk about these positions and how they can succeed. Some quarterback things will be discussed (don’t worry, it’s not about who should start). If Buffalo can answer three of these 5, it should return to the AFC Championship, if not the Super Bowl.
Can the Buffalo Bills get more out of Devin Singletary and the running game?
Josh Allen had a breakout year in 2021. As good as they were in the passing game they were equally as unimpressive in the run game. The team’s leading rusher was Singletary who notched just under 700 yards on the season. Singletary ran for an average of 42.9 yards per game, and Buffalo was lucky that more teams didn’t make them one-dimensional.
There’s also the fact that Allen’s scrambling or designed runs took a lot of pressure away from this offense. The Bills also had an offensive line where the entire starting five did not play one game together- someone was always hurt.
For the Bills to be more balanced, Allen will need to treat his legs like “a luxury” as Kyler Murray said earlier this offseason. A healthy offensive line that’s had time to gel in the offseason should help these numbers increase-it’s one of the reasons I made a bold prediction that Singletary can break the 1,000 yard mark for the first time.
A more balanced offense would help give the defense some rest and result in some true playoff football.
Will the efforts of Gregory Rousseau and Carlos “Boogie” Basham be enough to change games?
General Manager Brandon Beane sent a clear message to the team when he drafted two defensive linemen in as many rounds in this years’ NFL Draft. The Bills finished 15th in total sacks with 38. That’s respectable for a team that may have finished their season with a Wild Card exit, but not an AFC Championship appearance.
Another issue was the team’s inability to get these sacks when having a lead late in the fourth. They only tallied 6 sacks when leading the opponent. This resulted in 10 games being closer than it should be, as in those 10 games the Bills won by 10 points or less. I’m not saying every game has to (and needs to be) a blowout, but it’s nice to put a team away with pressure from the defensive line.
Enter Rousseau and Basham as they embark on their rookie campaigns. With a more balanced offense, the defense should get more time to rest. The amount of 11-personnel usage by the Bills offense only accelerated how fast the defense came back on the field last year.
At this point, pressures, half sacks, and making the other quarterback’s life a living hell will be a success for the defensive line this year.
Who will emerge opposite of Tre’Davious White in the Buffalo Bills secondary?
Tre’Davious White has been a phenomenal player since being drafted out of LSU in 2017. White’s lived up to every expectation that a first-round corner will face. White was great in coverage last year, only allowing 454 yards passing for the season when he has targeted- an average of 12.3 yards per game.
That’s great until the rest of the team allowed roughly 3300 more yards passing, which accounted for 88% of the yards accumulated through the air (3726 in total) against the Bills in 2020. Opposite of White, the likes of Levi Wallace and Siran Neal are doing their best to stop the bleeding.
With the defensive line hopefully improving, these corners should have an easier time doing their jobs against some of the NFL’s best teams- especially the rematch in Kansas City and the Tampa Bay/ New Orleans games slotted for this 2021 season.
A batted pass here and there could be the difference in adding one or even two wins, ultimately setting the Bills up for a shot at the only first-round bye with the new playoff format.
Can the Buffalo Bills steal the first-round bye from the Kansas City Chiefs?
The Buffalo Bills losses last year were such an anomaly of the team played for most of the year. Two blowout losses and one Hail Mary were the reason why the Bills didn’t get the only first-round bye in the AFC. Of course, it went to the Chiefs and the rest is history.
To get past the Chiefs, the Bills need to get this first-round bye and home-field advantage away from Chiefs Kingdom and give Bills Mafia a reason to be going crazy in western New York winter. In any sport, sleeping in your own bed and not having to travel is an underrated benefit. Buffalo could really use that to their advantage if the Chiefs had to go on the road.
Patrick Mahomes hasn’t played gone on the road for a playoff game yet (except the Super Bowls he’s played in). I have no doubt the Bills fans would be roaring and making Mahomes’ communication with his team a nightmare.
The Bills star player would still need to show up and earn the win, but a home AFCCG would do wonders.
Can the unvaccinated Buffalo Bills star players avoid losing playing time?
It is a topic that won’t go away until there is a uniform message from the NFLPA. If top players such as Josh Allen, Cole Beasley, and Jordan Poyer all get exposed to a high-risk COVID-19 contact, how will the team perform without them? These three have been some of the most vocal, or at least given the most attention on their stances about the COVID-19 vaccine.
Backups would be put in to play as Mitchell Trubisky, Gabriel Davis, and Josh Thomas would replace them if we’re going off the depth chart. It will be interesting to see how these players handle the lack of a social life that the new NFL policies dictate.
This is where the coaching staff’s impact would make its biggest impact. Getting a tolerable amount of quality from a backup player takes a village to achieve. If achieved, maybe the rest of the team can help pull the slack if this unfortunate (and unwanted) situation occurs.