Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR 550) - WHEW! We made it! Welcome to another season of Buffalo Bills football.
Welcome to another season where the Bills are, in my humble opinion, good enough to win the Super Bowl. This year's Super Bowl LVIII will be played on Sunday, Feb. 11 in Las Vegas, in case you were wondering.
As we approach the 2023 season opener on Monday night at MetLife Stadium against the New York Jets, I think there are reasons to believe the Bills offense will be better than it was last season. However, there are some big questions about the defense.
LISTEN LIVE TO WGR:
For me, the offseason was first-and-foremost about making the Bills offense, more specifically the passing game, better.
Statistically, the numbers were still strong in 2022 in most of the key categories, but the offense didn't seem to be as dangerous as it had been the previous two years. There were too many times where it looked so hard for the Bills to score.
The team needed to upgrade the weapons around quarterback Josh Allen.
I truly believe the wide receiver depth chart is much improved with the offseason additions of Trent Sherfield and Deonte Harty. Sherfield looks like he will bring a reliable pair of hands and positional versatility to the passing game. Harty adds speed, which was something the offense didn't have enough of.
I wasn't expecting a tight end for the Bills with their first-round pick this past April, but everything Dalton Kincaid showed through training camp and the preseason games would lead me to believe he can have a positive impact in Year 1. Hopefully he can help in the red zone, an area that needs to be better than it was a year ago.
The Bills' red zone touchdown rate was 60% last season, a drop of 6% from 2021.
There will also be a larger role for second-year running back James Cook, who has moved up to the top of the depth chart.
Cook showed what he can do over the course of his rookie campaign, and the Bills adjusted accordingly. Cook averaged just 4.5 touches a game over the first nine games of the season. It jumped all the way up to 10 touches a game over the final seven regular season contests.
The questions on the offensive side of the ball are all up front. I'm not as convinced as the Bills' brain trust is when it comes to Spencer Brown at right tackle. In addition, both starting guards are new to the unit in free agent signee Connor McGovern and rookie O'Cyrus Torrence.
The biggest questions or concerns are on defense, and it starts at the top as head coach Sean McDermott takes over as the play caller.
I'm not worried about McDermott handling that role, because he has plenty of NFL experience calling defenses. But I am concerned those in-game responsibilities will negatively impact the many important decisions a head coach makes.
There is a big hole at middle linebacker following Tremaine Edmunds' departure in free agency to the Chicago Bears. As much as some Bills fans would complain about Edmunds, he was an every down player who improved over time with his run stopping ability, used his athleticism to go sideline-to-sideline, and was more than reliable in pass coverage where his length was key.
Right now, the Bills don't have that player on the roster. Hopefully recently acquired veteran linebacker Christian Kirksey, who is currently signed to the practice squad, can pick up the defense quickly.
The Bills' pass rush was not the same after Von Miller suffered a torn ACL last season. Miller will miss, at least, the first four games of the season as he continues to work his way back.
Related
However, I think third-year pass rusher Greg Rousseau is a lock for a double-digit sack season, and I love the pickup of veteran Leonard Floyd in free agency. I'm not as worried about the rush.
There are definitely questions when it comes to the secondary.
Will Tre'Davious White look like the shutdown corner we know he can be? He was clearly still working his way back to regular form over the final month-plus last season.
There isn't an every snap answer at the other starting cornerback spot. It's Year 2 for former first-round pick Kaiir Elam, and he is no better than third on the depth chart. The best bet, at this point, is to use both Dane Jackson and Christian Benford since I don't think either one is up to carrying the full load.
The other question in the secondary comes at the safety position.
It isn't a question of ability for Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer, two of the best free agent signings ever for the Bills, but a question of durability. Both are 32-years-old, and both are coming off injuries.
Over their first five seasons with the Bills, Poyer and Hyde each missed just two games. Last season, Hyde was sidelined for the year after Week 2, and Poyer played through a multitude of injuries that kept him out of the lineup for five games.
Obviously those two are extremely important pieces for the defense to be successful.
I'll say the 2023 Bills go 12-5 and win a fourth-straight AFC East title, a run that hasn't happened since 1988-1991.
Related
