Bills Feature

by PlumKnee | 5 years ago | 0 Comments

            The Lombardi Trophy; the reward for the champion in America’s most prestigious professional sports league. Every year thirty two teams embark on a journey to achieve lifting it in the Super Bowl. They scratch and claw until ultimately there is only one left standing.

             In Miami the Atlanta Falcons celebrated in a shower of confetti following a 28-7 thumping of the Tennessee Titans. Amongst the millions upon millions watching that game was the Buffalo Bills, a team that watched in unison in at their annual team party. They were kind enough to let me sit in on it. This year the party was had at the home of head coach Marquis Brown. He chose the night of the Super Bowl this year because he wanted the players to soak in the moment of the game as a unit to hopefully motivate them for next season.

            “We wanted to be there. We felt like we could’ve been there. These guys deserve that feeling and all season they fought hard and had a belief they could do it. I let them down in [the playoff] game.”

            That playoff game saw the team come up short on the road against the Titans 13-30. It was a sad story of what most of the season was; hot starts ruined by bad finishes particularly marred with turnovers. DeAnthony Thomas would take the opening kickoff the distance. The Titans would answer with a long drive culminating in a Derrick Henry 40 yard romp. The following kick Thomas fumbled, recovered by the Titans. The Titans would score only a field goal but they would not lose the lead.

            Josh Allen finished that game with two interceptions, the first of which was returned for a score in the second quarter. He was mostly quiet when watching the Super Bowl in an isolated chair in a room tucked away from most of the crowd. Located in between the bathroom and where most of the team were, they would pop there head in and check on him and he’d respond quickly and return to the game. He was hard on himself when alone with me.

            He said he was learning to trust. The Falcons had dominated the Titans defensively. Matt Ryan was 9-13 for 136 yards and two scores. “He isn’t looking to do it all. He’s taking what comes to him and not trying to be that guy. I need to learn to play my role more” he barely made out.

            Going into next season that’s exactly what this defense has to be hoping for. With a plethora of pass rushers and a budding secondary they are a force to be reckoned with. If I were a quarterback I sure know I’d have nightmares before facing them. To your left, Jerry Hughes and Calais Campbell, who finished this year with a combined 24.5 sacks. Straight ahead: Ed Oliver Jr. who had seven in his breakout rookie year. To your right, Bradley Chubb who finished the year with his own eleven.

            Having such a dominant pass rush gave this Bills secondary the ability to be aggressive on the ball. Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer finished first and second in the league with nine and eight interceptions respectfully. As a team they secured 27 altogether.  They believe they can be a threat to carry the team to the Super Bowl next year.

            Offensively to go along with Allen they are going to need to improve if that’s to happen. The young passer will have a bevy of weapons at his disposal next year. In the backfield he will have a new bellcow with Kareem Hunt. The team picked him up in free agency on a five year, $48.8M contract. He will have reigning AFC Offensive Rookie of the Year Devin Singletary to aid him. They would have combined for some 1,508 yards and 16 touchdowns in 2019. They are complemented by a bevy of veteran pass catchers; Emmanuel Sanders, Cody Beasley, Zay Jones and Tyler Kroft. The backfield has their sights set on running mad across the league. Kareem Hunt believes there isn’t one better and you’d be hard pressed to find one better.

            Time will ultimately tell what happens to the 2020 Buffalo Bills. They went into 2019 without much noise and flew under the radar late into the season. They crashed and burned once the playoffs ultimately arrived, forgotten like your dad’s favorite team from the 80’s. Now, they feel differently than they did going into last year. There is an energy around this team that they will feed off of going into this year and they believe the Bills Mafia will feel it as well.