1. Is there room left on Buffalo's bandwagon?
Buffalo's bandwagon is getting full, but there's always more room to hop on before the season begins. NFL.com contributor and CBS Sports host Adam Schein released his top nine bandwagons to hop on in 2020. Schein, a big supporter of the Bills, thinks Buffalo is the No. 1 bandwagon worth hopping on.
Yes, with great hype comes great pressure. Last offseason, I christened Buffalo as my Cinderalla team for the 2019 campaign, and the Bills reached double-digit wins for the first time this millennium before losing in overtime at Houston on Wild Card Weekend. This offseason, the Bills bandwagon's filling up, especially with Tom Brady out of the division and Stefon Diggs on the roster. The most important individual figure, though, might be Sean McDermott. In Year 4 on the job, McDermott's a gem of a head coach; he'll have Buffalo ready to meet the great Jim Kelly's lofty expectations. McDermott's fingerprints are all over the ferocious defense, which boasts playmakers on every level, including a pair of young Pro Bowlers in LB Tremaine Edmunds and CB Tre'Davious White.
Schein thinks Buffalo can also meet increased expectations on offense.
On the other side of the ball, QB Josh Allen took great strides as a thrower in Year 2, boosting his touchdown passes (20, up from 10 in his rookie campaign), completion percentage (58.8, up from 52.8) and quarterback rating (85.3, up from 67.9), while reducing his interceptions (9, down from 12). Not to mention, nobody had more fourth-quarter comebacks (4) or game-winning drives (5) than Allen in 2019. I think, under the watchful eye of offensive coordinator Brian Daboll, the 24-year-old takes another big step forward this season. In fact, as I wrote last month, I see Allen blossoming into a dark-horse MVP candidate, with Diggs now headlining a stellar receiving trio that also includes John Brown and Cole Beasley.
2. Some of Bills coaching staff back at One Bills Drive this week
The NFL released a memo last week stating coaches were allowed to return back to their facilities as early as Friday, June 5.
This will advise that, beginning tomorrow, June 5, coaching staffs may be among the employees returning to your facility. As has been emphasized in previous advice on reopening facilities, this may occur only if your club has otherwise received necessary permission from state and local governments to reopen its facility.
The league also announced that with the addition of the coaching staff able to return, clubs could increase the number of total employees in the building to 100 depending on state and local regulations.
A few coaches returned on June 5, and several made it back to the office by Monday, June 8. According to Albert Breer, in the MMQB Breer wrote the Bills will bring parts of their staff back at some point this week.
There are some that are bringing pieces of their staffs back. The Bills and Texans, for example, will have their head coaches and coordinators in-house at some point this week. Houston is going to use the opportunity to wrap up their virtual offseason program on Friday.
3. Who is the most promising building block for the Bills?
Whether you're entering into a season full of high or low expectations, each NFL team has at least one reason to be hopeful. Bleacher Report made a list of each team's 'most promising building block' entering the 2020 season. B/R believes Josh Allen can be just that this season.
In his second season with the Buffalo Bills, Josh Allen took a significant step forward as a quarterback. He improved his accuracy. He made fewer mistakes and turnovers. And most importantly, Allen got the Bills into the postseason for the second time in three years.
This isn't to say Allen didn't still make some bad decisions—often when trying to salvage a play or drive. Per Marcel Louis-Jacques of ESPN, Bills head coach Sean McDermott indicated the next step in Allen's development is for him to realize he's a quarterback—and not a superhero.
With Stefon Diggs' arrival, the weapons available to Allen will be significantly better than they were last year. He may never be a 70 percent passer, but the big kid from Wyoming with the even bigger arm has grown into a leader for the Bills entering his third season.
