The last time the Buffalo Bills were in a playoff game was back in January of 2000 when they were defeated by the Tennessee Titans in the Music City Miracle.
New head coach Rex Ryan believes the Bills’ 15-year dry spell will end this season. The first-year head coach had this to say when he was asked about making the playoffs:
“I think we’ll be in it this year. So we’ll see.”
However, Ryan is not exactly etching his prediction in stone:
“Nah, I’m not going to say it’s a guarantee,” Ryan said, via NJ.com. “But I guarantee you one thing: Teams aren’t going to want to play us. I can tell you that much … come watch practice, and you’ll probably come away with the same feeling I have. We’re loaded on defense. We’re loaded at the skill positions. So we’ll see.”
It might be true that the Bills have one of the top defenses in the NFL. They also added key offensive components in Charles Clay and LeSean McCoy to help build a stronger offense.
However, it is their dreaded quarterback situation that seems to come up short once again. Ryan acknowledged the elephant in the room, offering words of optimism regarding the quarterback competition between EJ Manuel, Matt Cassel and Tyrod Taylor:
“Obviously, it’s not an ideal situation, or there would already be one guy there (as the starter). But we have enough talent there that I’m confident that when it’s all said and done, we’ll be fine.”
As always, the Bills will face fierce competition from their AFC east rival New England Patriots. We all know Ryan is secretly hoping Tom Brady’s four-game suspension sticks in order to possibly gain an edge on the team early in the season. And while that may be the case, the Bills also face stiff competition from the New York Jets and Miami Dolphins, both of whom improved in the offseason.
Photo: USA Today Sports