1. McDermott's comments on increased expectations
Bills head coach Sean McDermott met with the media on Wednesday via Zoom to discuss his message to the team about the current state of our country involving racial inequality, his thoughts on the virtual offseason and where his team is at looking forward to the start of the season. Many national media members and outlets are naming the Bills as the favorites to win the AFC East, which McDermott is aware of, but the HC wanted to make it clear that a statement doesn't directly affect how his team plays when they hit the field.
"Games aren't won on paper," McDermott said. "I mean that's truth. Games aren't won on paper. That's the mindset we've embraced since we showed up here. If games are won on paper, we would have probably won two or three games the first year. That's probably what we were projected to win, a handful of games the next year and over a handful of games last year. I think that in it of itself is a great lesson for our football team. Like I said before, this is a sign of respect in terms of expectations. When expectations rise, it's a sign of respect that people have for what we've done and how we do things. That said, we embrace it. It's not going away. So we embrace it and we move forward. At the same time, staying the course and knowing that we've got to earn it."
When McDermott looks at what goes into earning wins, he said it begins in the offseason.
"Wins in the NFL are a result of earning the right to win," McDermott said. "That starts in the offseason, it continues through the preseason and training camp. Then it goes into Sunday afternoons and Monday nights. That's something that we certainly respect, and there's a lot of work in front of us at this point."
2. Does this underrated Bills player have the power to affect the division?
Bleacher Report believes there are eight underrated players in the NFL who can impact a division race. The qualifiers for this list being the player has yet to make a Pro Bowl or All-Pro team, he had to be on the same roster last season and the team is not a division winner from 2019. One Buffalo Bills player made the list. His unit has been a topic of discussion amongst national media as being an underrated pair in the NFL, enter Bills safety Jordan Poyer.
AFC EAST: BUFFALO BILLS S JORDAN POYER
The Bills easily feature the league's most underrated safety tandem, though Micah Hyde made the Pro Bowl in 2017. His running mate, Jordan Poyer, has received little to no recognition despite being one of the most well-rounded players at his position.
Since joining the Bills during the 2017 campaign, Poyer has amassed 302 total tackles, including a career-high 107 last season, 22 defended passes and 11 interceptions. He set another career high last season with three forced fumbles.
B/R explained if there is a team who takes over the AFC East, it must be a team who can disrupt AFC East quarterbacks. Poyer does just that.
Basically, Hyde and Poyer are interchangeable pieces who can line up in the box, play deep in coverage, cover the slot and even rush the passer on occasion. This type of flexibility will create confusion for young quarterbacks who aren't yet certain of what they're seeing pre- and post-snap. As such, Poyer, who has played in 47 of the 48 possible regular-season games with the Bills over the last three years, will help create the type of impact to potentially place the Bills atop the AFC East.
3. Bills earn these offseason awards
With training camp ahead, theScore handed out several NFL offseason awards. TheScore's editors nominated candidates and the public voted on who earned gold, silver or bronze. The Bills earned a few awards including a gold medal.
Best trade: Bills acquire Stefon Diggs 18.1% (Silver)
Diggs is an appropriate choice for silver and will surely aid Josh Allen in his third year under center.
Most improved team after free agency and trades: Buffalo Bills 20.1% (Silver)
By improving their roster on both sides of the ball, the Buffalo Bills distanced themselves from the rest of the pack to earn second place.
Best draft pick on defense: Bills pick A.J. Epenesa 28.1% (Gold)
Voters loved the value the Bills found with their selection of edge rusher Epenesa in the mid-second after he was often projected to go in the first.
