Buffalo Bills 2013 Season Preview

This is a preview of the upcoming season for the Buffalo Bills. The schedule and tickets for the Buffalo Bills are included.r

Last season: 6-10

Vegas Over/Under: 6.5 Wins

Key Additions: QB E.J. Manuel (FLST), LB Manny Lawson (FA), QB Kevin Kolb (FA)

Key Losses: QB Ryan Fitzpatrick, LB Nick Barnett, S George Wilson

Strength of Schedule: 26

Leading into the 2012 season, the Buffalo Bills had high hopes. They built a revamped defense led by Mario Williams, and had their quarterback of the future in Ryan Fitzpatrick. Then they had to go out and you know, play the games. Ryan Fitzpatrick went from franchise quarterback to being released. That revamped defense let up the most rushing touchdowns and second most rushing yards in the league. They suffered four 20 point or more beat downs and for some odd reason, they wouldn’t give the ball to C.J. Spiller in an effort to sabotage your fantasy football team. So in an attempt to right the ship this offseason, the Bills reached in the first round to take quarterback E.J. Manuel. They fired Chan Gailey, and hired Syracuse head coach Doug Marrone who has brought in an entirely new coaching staff.

The Bills also signed former Cardinals quarterback Kevin Kolb this offseason. Kolb led the Cardinals to a 4-0 start last season before he suffered a concussion and was never the same since. He will be battling Manuel to start this season for the Bills, but probably will start in order to allow Manuel to develop. If the team starts to really start to fall apart though, Manuel will likely get a chance to run the show. After losing wide out David Nelson this year, Buffalo went out and addressed the receiver position in this draft. In the second round, they selected Robert Woods out of USC, and followed that pick up with track star and Texas wide out Marquise Goodwin. Then they went out and signed undrafted rookie Da’Rick Rogers, who was let go by Tennessee following a few failed drug tests. Rogers was the leading receiver in the SEC in 2011, so if he can keep his head out of his you know what, the Bills will have a serious receiving core for years to come. Expect coach Marrone to feed the rock to the running backs this year though. Spiller and Fred Jackson are excited to hear his philosophy on running the ball, which is vastly different than what Gailey had in mind.

Defensively, the Bills are moving away from Dave Wannstedt’s static 4-3 look, and are implementing Mike Pettine’s system, one that doesn’t fall into a general category. Pettine uses multiple fronts to keep the offense guessing at all times. This is something they haven’t accomplished since Tom Brady has taken over in New England, as Brady has gone 20-2 against the division rivals. The personel already on the Bills roster will be well suited for these hybrid fronts, with the likes of Mario Williams, Marcel Darius, and newly acquired linebacker Manny Lawson have experience in both 4-3 and 3-4 schemes. Pettine plans to use Mario Williams in the same way that the Cowboys use DeMarcus Ware, by lining him up all over the defense to keep the offensive lines on their toes. Buffalo’s second round draft pick, linebacker Kiko Alonso, will be a perfect fit in this multiple formation defense, as he has the tools to play all of the linebacker positions. In the secondary, second year man Stephon Gilmore will return as the teams number one corner, but there is still uncertainty at the other corner positions. All pro safety Jairus Byrd is still waiting on a payday, but he and the Bills are reportedly are millions of dollars apart.

The Buffalo Bills open the season at Ralph Wilson Stadium against none other than Tom Brady and the New England Patriots. You can see if the new defense can slow down Brady here, or check out the rest of the Bills games through our schedule with tickets below:

Bottom Line

The Bills are in rebuilding mode, but look to be heading in the right direction under this new coaching staff. They are still a few years away though, and I expect their league leading 13 year playoff drought to extend to 14. That being said, the AFC East is weak aside from the Patriots, and C.J. Spiller should be more involved this year. Call me crazy, but I think the Bills get to at least seven wins and the over hits.