If there's one team the Jets may have a comparable amount of talent to, it's the Buffalo Bills.
The recent fire sale that has gone on in western New York has left many Buffalo fans wondering when their team will return to glory, as holders of the NFL's longest playoff drought (last appeared in '99 season).
However, the transition has begun, as rookie head coach Sean McDermott takes over in Buffalo after a six-year stint as the Panthers' defensive coordinator. His first task of order may be to figure out his quarterback this year; the solid, though unspectacular, Tyrod Taylor has looked woeful in the preseason, and that was before he was concussed at Baltimore in the Bills' dress rehearsal. Rookie Nathan Peterman has shown flashes, and could be under center sooner than we think. Whomever it may be, RB LeSean McCoy will be the key cog of the offense, and with Sammy Watkins now a Ram and newly-acquired WR Jordan Matthews on the mend ahead of Week 1, rookie wideout Zay Jones may open the year as the primary target in Buffalo.
The Bills will go, defensively, as DT Marcell Dareus takes them. LB Lorenzo Alexander had a career year at age 33, racking up 12.5 sacks, but did so in Rex Ryan's 34 scheme. Reggie Ragland was also jettisoned just days ago, and McDermott's 43 pedigree will be an adjustment, as will life without 2016 starting CBs Stephon Gilmore and Ronald Darby. Micah Hyde, the ex-Packer, corner EJ Gaines and rookie CB Tre'Davious White look to help re-fortify the Buffalo secondary.
There's a lot of work to do here...
Key Additions: RB/FB Mike Tolbert, WR Philly Brown, WR Jordan Matthews, CB EJ Gaines. Rookies Tre'Davious White (CB) and Zay Jones (WR)
Key Departures: WR Sammy Watkins, RB Mike Gillislee, CBs Stephon Gilmore and Ronald Darby, LB Reggie Ragland, S Aaron Williams (career-ending injury).
OWNER
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Mays (2nd full season)
Favorite Teams - Steelers, Bucs
Next time Mays says he's gonna do something a year before he does it, you might wanna listen.
During the 2016 offseason, Mays, coming off of a partial season with the Patriots, declared he would be in the top 10 of the NTL poll of best players...
Now, at the tail end of the 2017 offseason and two championships later, he may be considered the best heading into the M18 arc.
In Indianapolis last year, Mays defeated Cesar and the Seattle Seahawks for his first title, before closing out the M17 arc with another ring against Chris' New Orleans Saints -- both instant classics. However, Mays' M17 goes even deeper than that; he also became prominent in the banter that the NTL offers, compiling a list of his own rankings, to the ire of a few. His battles with former division rival, and respected foe, Reggie, were some of the best contests of last year.
This year, he finds himself in close quarters with the Dolphins' Tone, and the on-field action is sure to be as fierce as the words between the two over the offseason were.
If Mays can rebuild the Bills to Super Bowl-level glory and obtain his third ring, he will firmly be entrenched in the GOAT discussions of the NTL.
Career Accolades
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First player to win 2 Super Bowls in same Madden arc (M17).
Unanimous Top 5 selection by peers (2017)
SEASON SCHEDULE
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Mays and the Bills should be favored in every home game this season (Mike L, Des, Jeremy, Ant, Gix, Bean, Colts - TBD, and Tone).
However, it's the road slate where things will get fun for the two-time champ. A Week 2 trip to Carolina could spoil Retto's homecoming, and Weeks 4 and 5 (at Dave, at Marck, respectively) will be entertaining contests. Week 11 marks another battle with Regg, who is now in Los Angeles with the Chargers. A duel with Flash at Arrowhead will ensue the following week, and divisional trips to Foxboro and South Beach will round out the Bills regular season.
Week 17 with implications would be huge! Then again, so too will the target on Mays' back this season. I still think he'll be in the thick of things, even with a sizable rebuild on his hands.
Prediction: 12-4
,Retto (Wk 10), and Flash (Wk 16) make for a daunting slate. Add in two games vs division rivals Mays (Wks 15, 17) and Bean (Wks 12, 14) plus a Week 5 home date with Cesar, and you've got a situation that may very well get worse before it gets better.
