The Buffalo Bills have been through a lot this off-season. They traded away one it's true stars in Stevie Johnson, made a splash by trading for Sammy Watkins, and lost the only owner that they have ever known. The most important of the three, and free agency, and the upcoming training camp, was the loss of Ralph Wilson Jr.
With the loss of Mr.Wilson, the Bills have been talked about more than any other team this off-season. The questions are of course being asked to if the team will be moved? Will they stay? Who will own them? Will they still have the same concessions? Well, you get the picture. As hard as the Bills have tried to take the attention off of the on-going search for their next owner, the team hasn't been able to.
Although they have yet to shift the focus from the search back the team itself, that's exactly why the Bills just need to focus on football. As much as everyone wants to see the Bills stay in Buffalo, it is out of the players and coaches concerns. The only thing they need to be focused on, it getting back to the playoffs, somewhere they haven't been in 14 years.
The Bills playoff hopes will be riding on the arm (and knees) of E.J. Manuel.Although most of the attention on the Bills this year has been directed towards the teams future, the Bills have been quietly getting better. The Bills lost Jarius Byrd, yes, but they added depth to the secondary, and helped out the run defense by bringing in Brandon Spikes. They signed Chris Williams to help give E.J. Manuel some more time in the pocket, and traded for Bryce Brown. Let's not forget about the Bills draft, one I feel was criticized a little too harshly for the Watkins trade. Adding Watkins and some help in all areas the Bills needed was a great first draft for Doug Whaley.
The Bills are about to head to training camp in just under two months, and must be ready to take the next step as a team to get over that playoff hump.
The loss of Ralph Wilson Jr was a tough one, but nothing would make him more happy, than seeing his team get back to it's winning ways. Now, all the Bills need to do is just focus on playing football.
