Buffalo Bills Offseason Panic Mode
The Buffalo Bills might’ve had the best season they’ve had since the mid-nineties. Despite their stumbles along the way, they were on a path that put them in play to make the Super Bowl. Their lone hurdle was the Kansas City Chiefs and they weren’t able to overcome them. Despite their run, there’s plenty of reasons to be in panic mode this offseason.
Losing Key Coaches
Every team that makes a turnaround draws the eyes of the rest of the NFL and the Buffalo Bills are not immune. Leslie Frazier has already been interviewing for head coaching positions with Houston and is rumored to have a second. Losing a coordinator of a top 10 defense will be a large hurdle to overcome. There are also rumors out of Miami that Ken Dorsey will go from quarterbacks coach in Buffalo to OC in Miami. With the addition of Stefon Diggs, Josh Allen took the leap this season that the Dolphins hope Tua Tagovailoa will make.
Run Game Is In Need
While the Bills ranked near the top of the league in rushing yards, it was their lack of feature back that held the team back this season. Despite rushing for 1723 yards, once you subtract Josh Allen’s 421, the 1300 yards seems average, but those yards are split between two backs. Devin Singletary rushed for 687 and Zach Moss would rush for 481. Then the rest would trickle in on various players.
The bar in the NFL is the 1,000-yard threshold, but the Bills have a split backfield. While it did well in situational football, big plays were dependent all on Josh Allen alone. Without the threat of big plays from the backfield, defenders could sit back and wait on the pass.
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Cap Space
The Buffalo Bills have little wiggle room when it comes to cap space. There’s a good chance that if they want to make some moves, they’ll have to get creative. Players will need a restructure, high-value contracts might be on the move, and at the very least players will be cut to free up space. While it’s not a huge concern as long as they can draft well. They can free up just over $20 million with cuts to get a key piece this offseason. Having the 30th pick overall might not bring an immediate impact player to the mix and they’ll have to add key pieces in free agency.
Josh Allen
In both games this past postseason, Josh Allen let his nerves get the best of him. While he’s still young in this league, he didn’t have the poise that carries an offense to the Super Bowl. What we saw of him all season long, was barely there in the playoffs. His calm and cool demeanor turned quickly into rushed and off-target throws. Playcalling didn’t seem to help the young QB either, but he didn’t look ready for the pressure yet. If he can make the same leap in the postseason next year as he made in the regular season this year, he’ll be just fine. If this is how he handles pressure, it might be cause for concern.
There’s no shame in how the Buffalo Bills season ended. Any fan who is upset at Buffalo should turn in their fan card. Losing to a tough Kansas City team is nothing to be embarrassed at, and since they are no longer the bottom feeders they used to be fans can finally look forward to next year without hanging their heads.
Rick ODonnell aka Caveman Rick has many years covering the Miami Dolphins, Sports, and all sorts of movies and television.
