1. How well is Buffalo set up for the future?
Bleacher Report made a list of seven teams who are set up best for future success when it comes teams who have young quarterbacks and the right talent around him. B/R ranked Buffalo as the fifth best for future success starting in 2020.
Josh Allen may never complete 70 percent of his pass attempts, but he made major strides in his second season as a passer, and he's a significant threat running the ball. At least some of that improvement can be attributed to the weaponry the Buffalo has placed around him.
In 2019, the Bills added wide receivers John Brown and Cole Beasley and drafted running back Devin Singletary. The result was a 10-win season and playoff berth. This offseason, they added star wideout Stefon Diggs in a trade with the Minnesota Vikings and drafted bruising Utah running back Zack Moss.
It's not just the offense, B/R believes Buffalo can win consistently well into the future because of their strong defense.
Players like edge-rusher Mario Addison and cornerback Josh Norman are short-term fixes. But whether it's up front with tackle Ed Oliver and rookie end A.J. Epenesa, at linebacker with Tremaine Edmunds or in the secondary with Defensive Player of the Year contender Tre'Davious White, Buffalo has young talent to build around on all three levels of the defense.
2. The Bills lead the NFL in this stat
There's lots of questions surrounding what the NFL will look like this season. An offseason without minicamps definitely has an affect on each team, some more than others. Who's in the best position to return coming off a virtual offseason? You have to think teams who return the most players and have the same staff are in a better starting spot than teams who are in rebuild mode with new coaches.
Thankfully the Bills have the advantage in this conversation. When it comes to continuity on the roster and their coaching staff from 2019 to 2020, Buffalo is at the top of the list in the NFL. In an ESPN article detailing the continuity of each roster, Buffalo returns 88% of last season's snaps--the most in the NFL.
1. Buffalo Bills: 88.0% snaps returning
Offensive snaps returning: 5.4% (1st in NFL) _Defensive snaps returning: _80.4%(7th)Starters returning:23 (10 offense,10 defense, 3 special teams)_
Non-coordinator assistants returning: 20 of 22 _Coordinators returning: _3 of 3 (Brian Daboll, OC; Leslie Frazier, DC; Heath Farwell, ST)Starting QB: Josh Allen, 3rd year _Head coach: _Sean McDermott, 4th year (25-23)
What it means: Continuity is everything for a Bills team looking to take the next step as a contender. GM Brandon Beane has almost completely flipped this roster since he arrived in 2017 and turned Buffalo into a playoff team. The talent and depth in Buffalo in 2020 should produce its first division title since 1995. -- Marcel Louis-Jacques
3. The weekend lineup from players training in Miami
If you're a Bills fan, by now, we all know Josh Allen met up with several of his offensive teammates in Miami in. What we don't know is how their schedule looked during the three days they trained together. They had a few hours of training every day, but what did they do with all the extra time? Josh Allen talked with Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer about the flow of each day the group spent together.
Wednesday night/Thursday morning: Players arrived. Allen came with fellow QB Matt Barkley, on a redeye from California. Barkley snuck in a nap after landing. Allen met a bunch of the guys for breakfast.
Thursday midday: The nearly 20 skill players attended their normal Zoom meetings with the coaches, scheduled for 1-3 p.m. ET.
Thursday late afternoon: The guys piled into cars, and drove over to Pete Bommarito's facility—as arranged by Diggs, who works out there in the offseason—and got full field work in there for a couple of hours.
Thursday night: The players ordered food through DoorDash and hung out at the hotel, playing cards. "We played hours upon hours of cards," Allen said, "stayed up until … too late, probably."
Friday morning: Everyone woke up around 8:30 a.m. and got back to the field for warmups at Bommarito's around 9:30, with another two-hour session kicking off at 10 a.m.
Friday afternoon: After lunch and workouts, Allen and a bunch of guys headed to the beach.
Friday night: Allen took the whole group out for dinner at Sushi by Bou at the Versace Mansion. "It was just an incredible experience, some of the greatest sushi you'll ever eat," he said. "I just wanted to take care of the guys, show them I cared about them."
Saturday: Same routine, another throwing session at Bommarito's, with some scheduled to leave Miami later in the day. After lunch, Allen took the quarterbacks out for a round at International Links at Melreese Country Club, as a thanks for helping him put the whole thing together.
A jam-packed weekend, but who doesn't love to see that the group made time to get to know each other outside of the training sessions. Allen said it was a great opportunity for the rookies to interact with the vets.
