Pittsford, N.Y. -- Time is of the essence for Tyrod Taylor and Sammy Watkins, and they know it.

Taylor and Watkins are both entering "prove it" years for the Buffalo Bills. The team declined Watkins fifth-year option after he needed a second surgery on his broken foot. The Bills also structured Taylor's contract in a way that suggests that they want to wait and see what he can do in 2017. So you can understand why the work couldn't wait until training camp.

Back in April, Taylor started putting the plans in motion. First, Taylor and his teammates would have to get a grasp of the playbook during the spring, but that month break between the end of minicamp and training camp wasn't going to be idle time. Two years ago, Taylor was competing for a job. Last year, Watkins was hurt, so Taylor went to Los Angeles to throw with Robert Woods. This year, Taylor had bought a house in Atlanta and would be throwing to a lot of new faces. So Atlanta served as the home base for Camp Tyrod.

"I just wanted to get a bunch of time working on stuff that we may not be able to get to in practice, and also just get on the same page heading into camp and make sure we don't take any steps back," Taylor said in between signing autographs after a recent training camp practice at St. John Fisher College. "We finished out on a good note in the spring and wanted to continue to be building off that and make sure there was no step back in training camp."

Players came to work with Taylor in shifts. He paid for everything for every player. Tight ends Charles Clay, Nick O'Leary and Logan Thomas made it down. So did fullback Patrick DiMarco and running back LeSean McCoy, who also lives in Atlanta for the offseason. Wide receivers Andre Holmes, Walter Powell, Dez Lewis, Zay Jones and Watkins all made it down. Taylor put them all up in hotels and fed them. He organized workouts during the day and took the guys golfing or bowling in the evening.

"We weren't going out and partying or anything that," Clay said. "The workouts were pretty tough. We were pretty spent."

Taylor doesn't even know how much the final tab was, but he didn't really care.

"I would have to go back and calculate it," Taylor said. "I really didn't necessarily worry about that. I just wanted it to be comfortable for everyone down there. I couldn't ask everyone to come down there and have them pay. I didn't mind doing that because it was my idea to bring everyone down. I know everyone's situation is different as well. The main thing was I just wanted to get those guys down there and get some good work on the field and spend time with each other. We were gone for a couple of weeks, but these are our brothers, the guys that we grind for and fight for. In the dog days, you remember guys that you worked hard with. I just wanted to build that bond. It's something that we haven't had the past couple of years."

The last week of work might have been the most significant. By the time Watkins got to Atlanta, it was just he and Taylor for the week. Watkins' luggage got stolen, so Taylor gave him clothes for the week. Watkins got an up-close look at how his quarterback works. At 8 a.m., Taylor does pilates. At 10 a.m., Taylor does an hour of speed work followed by an 11 a.m. lift. Only after all of that did the on-field work start with receivers, and that included at least 100 passes per day at St. Pius X Catholic High School in Georgia.

"First of all, I didn't know we was going to do all that," Watkins said. "I'm just coming down thinking I'm finna have fun, be a receiver and run some routes. He called me, 'Hey be here at 10, be here at 9.' We would go out to the facility that he's working with. He's got a crazy guy that works out. He's got us out there freaking dying before we even get out there and pass. So I see what he's been doing. I've never seen a quarterback run as much as he does. Being in shape, taking care of his body, eating right, sleeping right. I mean that's the whole day. He's finding something to work on with his body to be prepared."

In total, Taylor and Watkins were spending roughly 10-12 hours each day working out and hanging out. Watkins wouldn't leave Taylor's house until 10 or 11 p.m. and only after getting thoroughly handled by Taylor in billiards.

"He's crazy on that thing," Watkins said. "He's making all type of wicked shots."

Both Taylor and Watkins are facing uncertain futures in Buffalo, but they can also help each other get to where they want to be. Since Taylor became the Bills' starter, Watkins has been on the field for just 19 of Taylor's 29 starts. In those 19 games, Taylor has 24 touchdowns against seven interceptions to go with 3,478 yards and 8.8 yards per attempt. In the 10 games Taylor has started without Watkins, his yards per attempt drops to just 6.27 and he has 14 touchdowns to six interceptions.

That's why Taylor went the extra mile to make sure he and Watkins could get on the field together.

"It was really critical for me to get confidence in myself and just get back out there with him," Watkins said. "The real important thing was to get back on the same page, see how he wants things, see how he likes it and just to be efficient. We not only threw routes and stuff like that, but we actually hung out. That's something that we never did."

Before, a few stalls separated Watkins and Taylor in the Bills' locker room. This year, Watkins and Taylor are side by--side both at camp and at One Bills Drive.

"We wanted to spend more time together," Taylor said. "This past offseason was definitely a time where we could bond.

"He wants to be the best every time he steps on the field. He's eager to learn and he pushes himself. Like I said, that's something that I haven't been able to experience with him. I know the type of talent he has on the football field, what he brings to certain games, what he brings when the ball is in his hands, but actually seeing him work makes you appreciate it more just seeing his attitude. He never complained once down there. If there was a time I wanted to meet on the field, he was there. He ran routes until he was tired and I was tired of throwing. We were down there to work. He came down there with the right mindset."

Whether the extra time will pay off his anyone's guess. Taylor and Watkins insist they have noticed a difference early in camp, but they know every pass Taylor throws and every route Watkins runs will be picked apart. Fans need to see the connection on the field for 16 games to believe it. If Taylor and Watkins can translate the extra offseason time into wins and touchdowns, Watkins might have to buy an offseason home in Atlanta.

"First things first, handling business this year," Taylor said. "I think we got started on the right foot."