1. Best quarantine workout
Matt Barkley – His workout with his two sons John and Jackson, who were both working alongside him in their No. 5 Bills jersey was hard to beat on the cuteness scale. Barkley did post video clips of his more serious workouts through the course of the offseason on his Instagram page.
2. Most inspiring moment
Leslie Frazier – In the wake of the nearly two weeks of protests at the time in the wake of the tragic and senseless death of George Floyd, Buffalo's defensive coordinator in a Zoom call with the Western New York media perfectly encapsulated the current state of racial inequality and social injustices in our country and also expressed the hope that it would be a watershed moment in our country's history in enacting real change. As Frazier said himself, only time will tell.
3. Best example of leadership
Josh Allen – Inspired by a conversation he had with Peyton Manning when he joined the Bills quarterbacks for a meeting on a Zoom call at the request of offensive coordinator Brian Daboll, Allen went through all the logistic planning with his fellow QBs to organize an offensive skill position workout weekend in South Florida.
Allen arranged all the hotel accommodations, helped set up the rental cars and worked with QB Davis Webb to set up the practice scripts for their two days of workouts amidst the global pandemic.
4. Best national prediction for the Bills
Adam Schein – He's been a proponent of the Bills and head coach Sean McDermott for some time now, but the CBS Sports NFL analyst believes the Bills will not only win the AFC East in 2020, but a playoff game as well.
The Bills are going to take the AFC East and win at least one home playoff game. Don't believe me? Well, a year ago around this time, I predicted Buffalo would be the 2019 season's Cinderella team -- and they proceeded to post their best record of this millennium (10-6) and hit the postseason. So I think I've earned some trust in this area. And this Diggs deal has me channeling my inner Joe Namath once again.
Josh Allen needed a true No. 1 receiver to go with deep threat John Brown and slot machine Cole Beasley. The dynamic duo of GM Brandon Beane and head coach Sean McDermott got it done. I am a huge Diggs fan -- and not the least bit worried about some perceived "diva" concerns. McDermott will make sure his new playmaker understands -- and embraces -- this great Bills culture this regime is building.
With Brady departing New England and Diggs arriving in Buffalo, the Bills are one of the BIG early winners of this offseason.
5. Biggest virtual snafu
Josh Allen – The virtual offseason has been a technological challenge and adjustment for just about everyone in the working world. It's no different for the Bills who had to conduct their offseason program team meetings online via Zoom calls.
For Josh Allen it was a three-device project with a phone, Ipad and laptop. Unfortunately for Allen during one meeting he was supposed to be leading was the victim of the mute button.
"We were in meeting yesterday and we were going over the whiteboard and I was supposed to be calling the plays and giving cadence and 20 minutes later I get a text from Pat DiMarco that reads, 'Hey are you in this thing?' And I looked down and I was on mute the whole time so I missed out on a good 20 minutes to talk about some plays but we'll make it up eventually.
"I have Daboll in this ear and us trying to relay the play so I can pass along to these guys and we're still figuring out some of the kinks but it's been good and it's just you know guys are attentive in these meetings and may know it's only a couple hours out of the day so they're trying to get the most out of it."
6. Best offseason mantra
Sean McDermott – Buffalo's head coach came up with the motto of 'Find a Way' for this most unusual of offseasons. With a global pandemic severely limiting the way the Bills normally conduct their offseason preparations for the upcoming regular season, he has challenged his players to find a way around the limitations the pandemic has created to still get their responsibilities accomplished.
McDermott said he's been pleased with the way all of his players and coaches have been creative in their approach to getting the job done.
7. Best philanthropic action
From newcomers to team veterans, several Bills players stepped up in a major way to make a difference in Western New York this offseason. Josh Allen, Matt Barkley, Reid Ferguson, Harrison Phillips, Stephen Hauschka, Jerry Hughes, Tyler Kroft, Mitch Morse and Jonathan Woodard are among those who supported COVID-19 relief efforts in the area. Determined to do their part, Bills such as Tremaine Edmunds, Jon Feliciano and Josh Norman joined the cause by providing aid for those impacted by coronavirus in their hometowns.
Each player's kindness and generous contributions went a long way toward offering respite for community members during uncertain and unprecedented times.
Hats off to all!
