My expectations for the Bills

Finally! We are only days away to the kickoff of the 2010 NFL season for the Buffalo Bills. No more preseason, no more Bell vs Simpson debates and no more hype. It’s all about Sundays and “real football.”

So, what are my expectations for the Bills this season?

It’s funny, because I’m going to treat the regular season like most fans treat the preseason. Since I’ve been going bonkers about my disdain towards the exhibition season, a lot of fans have told me that preseason is important because you can view how certain individuals play.

Well, that’s exactly how I’m going to view this season for the Bills.

I want to see progress. I want to be able to see a group of 4-5 individuals make strides into becoming players that the Bills can build around. When NFL franchises become dynasties, ala the Cowboys of the 90’s, the Colts and Patriots of today, you see glimmers of hope before they wear the crown. When the Cowboys rose to prominence in 1992, you could kind of see them becoming a factor just two seasons earlier. Younger players were getting better and you could just tell that those players were going to become cornerstones of the team.

I’m not saying that CJ Spiller and Trent Edwards are going to become the next Troy and Emmit, but when you are in the process of watching a team rebuild, you have to view the younger guys, who show promise, as being players who will only get better next year and beyond.

You could even go back to the Bills prior to the Super Bowl era. Its not like Jim Kelly came on the scene right away and guided the team to the Super Bowl. It took him four years to do that. Heck, the Bills whithered in mediocrity for the first two years of Kelly’s career, going 8-18.

However, you could see that the team was coming on with the likes of Andre Reed and Bruce Smith. Those two players were on the team for three years before they even tasted playoff action. But again, you could see that those players had something in them before the Bills started to go on their Super Bowl run. And like a mixed drink, they added the straw (Thurman Thomas) to stir that beverage and the rest was history. It’s all about baby steps.

As for the Bills this season, well, I want to see progress. I want to see Lee Evans rebound from three straight subpar years and get back into the 80-catch plateau, while thinking, “what would his numbers be like if he had a complimentary #2 wide out?” I want to see Leodis McKelvin show strides in becoming a shut down corner, while envisioning the Bills finding a defensive pass rusher in next years draft, who will only help McKelvin get better next year.

 Under the tutelage of Chan Gailey, if Trent Edwards can actually play 20% better than he did last year, can you imagine what the head coach could do with a top tier draft pick? Hell, I’d love to see Aaron Maybin get 3-5 sacks this year. At least that would show me that he’s cashing in on some of his potential.  Lastly, I want to be able to see the Bills improve as the season goes on.

Frankly, I don’t care what the Bills record is this year. They can go 7-9 or 2-14, but I just want to see certain individuals set the foundation for years to come. Just like Kelly and Bruce did in the mid-80’s. If you want to be a smart fan, I would suggest you judge the Bills on what progress certain players make.

Don’t go by the record, because I think you’re going to be disappointed by that. Remember, the reason why there aren’t any expectations for this season is because the team is rebuilding. So, lets just wait and see if the team can form some building blocks and then maybe next year, the Bills will add a few more.

Next up: Predictions for the season