Sal Maiorana

@salmaiorana

The Bills led the NFL in rushing in 2015 with an average of 152.0 yards per game.

Last season, Tyrod Taylor set a franchise record when he went 222 pass attempts without an interception.

Twenty different players caught at least one pass for the Bills in 2015.

ORCHARD PARK – You could almost see the gleam in Greg Roman’s eyes as the Bills worked their way through their final steamy days of training camp at St. John Fisher College.

The second-year offensive coordinator looked out on the practice field and marveled at a noticeably more confident, poised, and knowledgeable Tyrod Taylor under center, directing traffic, firing lasers around the field, and acting like the leader every quarterback needs to be.

He saw running back LeSean McCoy bursting around the edge, catching passes, cutting sharply, displaying a gear that he seemed to lack in 2015 when he was hampered by injuries almost all year. And when McCoy wasn’t taking a rep, there was Reggie Bush, a guy who may have lost a little, but not a lot.

At wide receiver, Roman watched Sammy Watkins getting back into the flow after missing so much time due to foot surgery, looking like a third-year pro who’s finally healthy and ready to enjoy his breakout season.

Tight end Charles Clay was making plays down the field such as the 59-yard bomb he caught in the second preseason game against the Giants, ready to pay dividends on that big contract he signed last year.

And up front, while Roman never really saw the first unit together beyond a couple days, he was secure in the knowledge that by opening day the line would be back together, the same group that paved the way for the Bills to lead the NFL in rushing yards last year.

No one is going to confuse this conglomeration with the K-Gun offense of the early 1990s, but when the Bills take the field at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore on Sunday for their season opener, they’ll do so light years ahead of where they were at this point in 2015 when everything was brand new, from coaches to players to scheme.

“I think everybody was doing it for the first time in our offense and some were doing it for the first time in the NFL,” Roman said. “That experience is going to really weigh in for us maturing as an offense and understanding what it takes to win games. We’ve got some great guys who want to win, and put the time in.”

Look no further than Taylor. Last opening day, he trotted out of the tunnel at the former Ralph Wilson Stadium and more than 73,000 sets of eyes were wondering who this unknown quarterback was. That day he threw for 195 yards, rushed for another 41, and the Bills whipped Andrew Luck and the Colts.

Taylor ultimately produced some of the most efficient quarterback play the Bills have had since Jim Kelly’s heyday, his 99.4 QB rating the second-best in franchise history behind Kelly’s 101.2 in 1990, the team's first Super Bowl year. Taylor threw 20 touchdowns to just six interceptions, completed 63.7 percent of his passes, and set a franchise record for a quarterback with 568 rushing yards.

Surprising Alexander earned chance to start for Bills

He has so impressed the organization since the end of last season that the Pegulas — owners Terry and Kim — signed him to a five-year contract extension that could pay him as much as $92 million. And if training camp was any indication, he’s determined to earn every single penny of it.

“Tyrod looked good, man,” said McCoy. “He’s a hard worker. I think the best thing about him is he wants to strive to be the best. He’s not relaxed, he has that attitude of he always wants to get better. You need that in this game for sure because so many players are up-and-down for years.”

Understated as always, Taylor, in his whisper voice at the end of camp, said, “I think that I made some strides, and I think as an offense, we made strides. I’m excited to see what this team can do this year. I have a real good feeling about the players that we have out there. We just have to stay healthy as a unit on both sides of the ball, and we can definitely make some special plays happen.”

Roman said this year’s version of his offense, while sticking to run-first principles, will be more expansive because Taylor can handle so much more of the playbook.

“We’ve got a quarterback who’s returning as our starter in Tyrod who has really taken the reigns of this offense over,” Roman said. “You know, he’s calling for extra meetings with the offense. Bottom line is, he’s being everything from a leadership standpoint that you want. We’re into the refinement, and fortunately for us, he’s the kind of guy who wants to attack problems. When you have that kind of mindset, that kind of allows you to improve at the rate you should.”

Tyrod Taylor predictably quiet about return to Baltimore

In 2015 the Bills led the league in rushing (total yards and yards per carry), but they also showed dynamic capability as well. They led the NFL in points scored (194) from outside the red zone, 16 of their 42 offensive touchdowns coming on passes of at least 20 yards. Their 5,775 total yards were the fourth-most in team history, their 2,432 rushing yards the sixth-most, and their 379 points the ninth-most. Yet to a man, the Bills think they can be even better this year.

“I’m the lead guy in the backfield and we led the NFL in rushing and I just had an average year,” McCoy said of his 895 rushing yards. “So I tell myself I can get going more. And then you got the whole offensive line healthy, they play together for the second year, and that’s why I feel like the sky’s the limit because in any offense, you need the guys up front to believe and then they have to be in tune with everything. And we got Tyrod in his second year as the starting quarterback and if you see the things he did in his first year, just imagine the things he’ll do in his second year.”

Health will be vital, though. Last year, Watkins, McCoy, Taylor, Clay, Percy Harvin — the skill position starters — missed a combined 23 games due to injuries, and played several others at far less than 100 percent. That doesn’t include the seven games ex-Bill Karlos Williams missed.

If the Bills can avoid too many trips to the doctor, this is a unit that could fly even higher in 2016.

“I would agree with that,” said guard Richie Incognito. “I think that the energy and the swagger and the confidence is much higher because we know what we’re doing. Last year we were just learning the offense, we were learning how to hit blocks, we were learning how to run routes, we were learning G-Ro’s complex system. You just feel the hunger, you feel the energy, you feel the guys grinding. You feel everybody just working to perfect things. It’s got a totally different feel from last year.”

MAIORANA@Gannett.com