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Why the Bills will make the playoffs

I'm going to take a very optimistic approach with this post explaining why I believe the Bills will make the playoffs. The first and obvious point I want to make is that no one thought they would make the playoffs in 2017. It is possible for them to make it in 2019 so I don't believe anyone can say it's an impossibility. But here is my list of reasons why the Bills will make the playoffs.

1.) Increased Talent: The Bills have increased the talent on the team and it is very noticeable. Let's start with the offensive side of the ball and specifically the offensive weapons. The Bills last year started slow with Kelvin Benjamin (Still in free agency and his career maybe done) and Andre Holmes. They shifted this philosophy later on in the year and brought in speed and they continued that trend in free agency. Beasley adds good quick speed from the slot. Looking and watching the Cowboys the last few years since I live in Texas and I can say that Beasley is almost always open. Brown to me gives the Bills another vertical threat and the key to Allen is letting him play his kind of game. The last weapon that they gained is Knox the TE from the 4th round. To me he screams sleeper pick for as a stud TE in a few years. He has the physical gifts. Now look at the offensive line and you have to realize that the Bills have significantly improved that part of the team. Morse and Spain were top 5 available OL in free agency and they got both of them. Cody Ford was top 5 OL in the draft. The Bills will have 4 brand new OL from last year and that's something that needs to be noticed. The last part is Ed Oliver who I believe has the potential to come in and become the Defensive Rookie of the year. Oliver to me had three years of college success while playing out of position and he still dominated.

2.) 2018 Draft class is entering the second year: The 2018 Draft will be the defining moment for the McDermott regime. Looking at Josh Allen and I can say if he takes the step forward the Bills will be a dangerous team. He looked like he was gaining confidence and his week 17 game against Miami showed what he can actually do when he is clicking. He doesn't need to be perfect, far from perfect would still be ok if he takes a step forward. The next part is Tremaine Edmunds who finished strong like Josh Allen in the month of December. Did he learn a lot? Yep, but as I watched him last year you can see his instincts start getting a little bit better game after game. If he continues he will be an elite prospect. The last player who helped define the 2018 Draft is Robert Foster. Robert Foster was a shocker but I believe he can turn into a complete WR this year. Foster started to click with Josh Allen and the other part was he started to run his routes with much more polish. The biggest thing from the 2018 Draft was that it was raw. It was based upon raw talent. But if those three player take a step forward and improve and start to polish the Bills will have tremendous weapons from one draft.

3.) Consistent Coaching: The Bills have the same defensive scheme for the third year in the a row. This to me is important because we have seen what happens with lack of consistency on a defense with the coaching changes in the past. The Bills defense have talent, they have the same scheme for three years, They have all the makings of a very good to elite level. Daboll is going to be entering his second season as the Bills O-Coordinator. Josh Allen is going to have the same verbiage as last year, he is going to have the same philosophy as last year, I believe that the Bills are in the right spot because coaching matters. Daboll I believe is a great offensive mind and McDermott and Frazier are great defensive minds. Players are not going to have to be learning a whole new play book but just polishing their knowledge.

4.) The schedule: The Bills to me have an opportunity to start fast. I'm not as high on the Jets as some people because I don't believe CJ Mosley is a great coverage LB and they spent a ton of money hoping he could fill the pass lanes (Andy Dalton was able to complete the pass that got the Bills into the playoffs because Mosley couldn't manage to get in the passing lane in time) and with a passing league Mosley can be exposed. The other issue is Bell who is a good RB but I want to see how he manages when he doesn't have a future Hall of Fame QB, a future Hall of Fame WR and a top 5 O-Line that he is running behind. Will he be good? Yes, but will he be 2017 Bell? That is the question. The next game is the Giants and honestly I think they believe that the NFL is still in 2005. I think they will be a top ten draft pick in 2020 for the third year in a row. Then the Bills go home and play the Bengals who I believe will be in the running for the worse team in the league. New head coach after Marvin Lewis and I think that means a long learning curve. If the Bills can start with 3-0 I think they will manage to have a good year and make the playoffs. To me it is all about the first three games.

5.) The AFC is changing. New England still has Coach Belicheck and Tom Brady but after that many of the main stays are going to be less formidable. Pittsburgh lost Bell and Brown and no matter what they say they won't replace that kind of talent. The Chargers look to be good however Rivers is one year older and that plays into it. Denver believes that Joe Flacco is the answer; he isn't the answer. He lost his job to Lamar Jackson and the Ravens in a passing league decided that running was better than Joe Flacco passing. These used to be power house teams but I can see them changing.

Conclusion: Why not Buffalo? The season hasn't begun but I don't believe the talent gap is so much lower than any team in the league that the Bills can't compete in every game. The Bills have followed the process and that's good (sometimes I wish they would change the process) and I think this year they have a honest shot for a wild card and we shouldn't be shocked.

Just another great fan opinion shared on the pages of BuffaloRumblings.com.