Bills’ rebuild gaining traction
Future is bright with a cache of high 2018 draft picks, and the present’s not so bad
The Buffalo Bills have gone through many iterations in the past couple of decades, 20 years spent flailing in the wilderness. They have shuffled general managers, swapped coaches and even ownership changed. As the Bills have failed to win even one playoff game, they have been rudderless.
That quality, the one constant that soiled the franchise, may finally be changing. The Bills are 3-1 after four games, and they have shown signs their first quarter-season is more than a fluke. More importantly, they might actually have people in charge who know what they’re doing.
Coach Sean McDermott and general manager Brandon Beane inherited a mess this off-season. They cleaned house, trading some of Buffalo’s best players — cornerback Ronald Darby, wide receiver Sammy Watkins and linebacker Reggie Ragland — and acquiring a haul of draft picks. The Bills have six picks in the first three rounds in next year’s draft. When McDermott and Beane launched a rebuild, they may not have expected to be in first place in the AFC East, a game ahead of the Patriots, after Week 4. On Sunday, they stole a victory in Atlanta.
There is plenty of season left for the Bills’ expected lack of talent to catch up to them. There are also indicators that they’re a playoff contender. The Bills are allowing the fewest points, 13.5 per game, in the NFL. Their opponents are 8-2 in games played against teams other than the Bills.
After Mary Levy retired in 1997, the Bills cycled through seven head coaches in the next 20 seasons, not including two interims. The list: Wade Phillips, Gregg Williams, Mike Mularkey, Dick Jauron, Chan Gailey, Doug Marrone and Rex Ryan.
McDermott, the former Carolina Panthers defensive co-ordinator who worked under Andy Reid and Ron Rivera, might be different. Already, he has earned the trust and respect of the locker room. Players have responded to McDermott’s disciplined, detailed approach, especially in comparison to Ryan.
“I will say that the things coach preaches throughout the week, the way he keeps his focus and the way he allows us to practice certain situations in games (have changed),” quarterback Tyrod Taylor said. “Over the past three weeks, we have practised a number of situations. Ironically, they have happened in the games. We are prepared for it.”
When the Bills beat the Falcons, a reporter asked McDermott whether it might be Buffalo’s biggest road win since their AFC championship years. McDermott suggested he “hold your horses.” The fact the question was asked showed where the Bills have been. McDermott, a coach who has brought substance after the bluster of recent seasons, shows where they may be going.