Now that they believe they’ve found their franchise quarterback, can the Buffalo Bills stay healthy enough to contend for a playoff berth not seen in Upstate New York since 1999?

By Greg DePalma, PSN Executive Producer

Buffalo Bills (8-8)

SB Futures: 35-1

FORMER

Last season the Bills were the embodiment of a .500 football team as they never put a winning or losing streak together of more than two straight games.

It’s now been 16 years (‘99) since they’ve seen a post-season game and 21 years (’95) since they’ve won one. Some fans outside Buffalo might say they deserve it after losing four straight Super Bowl games in the early ‘90s.

Just two years after that last playoff win Hall of Fame coach Marv Levy retired and the Bills have been searching for an adequate replacement ever since.

The hope in Upstate New York is that Rex Ryan could be that coach. Ryan is the eighth head coach to follow Levy, but the first to come with actual winning credentials including two AFC Championship game appearances.

The major reason for getting excited about the decision to hire Ryan had to do with his background of success as a defensive coordinator and play caller. He took over a Bills defense that ranked first in sacks and fourth in both yards allowed and points against. So it was natural for fans to ponder just how dominate could this defense really be?

It turned out to be the major disappointment of the Bills season as they dropped to 31st in sacks, 19th in points allowed and 15th in points against.

Much of the blame for the drop-off could center on the fact that Ryan was a 3-4 disciple while the Bills success the year prior came from former coordinator Jim Schwartz who employed a 4-3. Even though the personnel stayed virtually the same after the turnover, the ability to pick-up Ryan’s defense was a key issue as defenders wound up confused far too much which led to far too many mistakes.

On the positive side, the Bills new offensive coordinator Greg Roman did a great job in establishing a big-play rushing attack led by RB LeSean McCoy. As it turned out, the McCoy trade acquisition was one of the top deals of the off-season that would ultimately benefit just one team.

The Bills went from the 25th-ranked rushing attack to the first thanks to McCoy, rookie fifth-round pick RB Karlos Williams and an athletic new quarterback by the name of Tyrod Taylor. Taylor finished second overall in rush yards for a passer behind only one player, league MVP Cam Newton.

CURRENT

If the Bills are going to take a step forward this season, they’ll need to get more disciplined. Even before Ryan arrived, they were 31st in the league in penalties. Last season with Ryan they were tied for first. Not good.

Another big concern for the Bills this season is on their special team unit. Coach Danny Crossman did a solid job last season as the Bills ranked No. 1 overall in opposition yards per game with an average of just 17.20. But now Crossman will have to reload his personnel without four of his top players in Ron Brooks, Boobie Dixon, Chris Hogan and Bacarri Rambo.

They also must get more out of their strength and conditioning coach, Eric Ciano. For Ciano, his first season in charge did not go well on paper and his second season has already started poorly with second-round pick Reggie Ragland out until 2017.

The Bills lost major players to injury last season as listed below.

The deciding factor in making the playoffs and not making the playoffs in a league full of parity often comes down to which team can remain mostly injury-free. No matter how talented you are, if you’re an undisciplined injury-plagued team, you are putting yourself in a hole that only special quarterbacks can rescue you from and the Bills don’t have one of those on their roster. At least so far.

After toiling around for four seasons as Joe Flacco’s backup in Baltimore, former sixth-round pick QB Tyrod Taylor signed a free agent deal with Buffalo last off-season and quickly became a fan favorite with his athletic ability and leadership qualities the franchise was in dire need of. Taylor impressed the organization so much that they just awarded him this past week with a six-year extension worth $92 million.

The question remains whether Taylor has that special quality the elite players in this league possess. Qualities that help teams win games they have no right winning. If the Bills can’t find a way to stay healthy and avoid silly penalties we’ll all find out soon enough if Taylor can be one of those rare players.

CONCLUSION

The Bills have the talent and just enough coaching to play in the post-season and even win a game or two. Whether they have enough top-tier talent to win big games including enough playoff games to reach another Super Bowl is an entirely separate question and one I’m not ready to answer in a positive manner just yet.

One thing is for sure, if they don’t figure out how to keep their players in shape so they can perform on the field instead of in front of a physical therapist, their chances of even making the playoffs will be nearly unimaginable.

BUY/PASS ON SUPER BOWL FUTURES

-PASS

Key Veteran Additions…

-FA RB Reggie Bush…Former 49er was injured last season after just eight rush attempts when he slipped on a concrete surface during a game in St. Louis.

-FA DL Leger Douzable…Former Jet is a solid run defender.

-FA ILB Zach Brown…Former Titan is very good in coverage.

-FA OLB Lorenzo Alexander…Former Raider has only registered 30 tackles over the past three seasons mainly due to a serious foot injury sustained with Arizona in 2013. Made his name earlier in his career as a special team captain.

-FA CB Sterling Moore…Former Buc is an average defender who is good in run support.

Key Veteran Subtractions…

-WR Chris Hogan…Caught 77 passes with six TDs the past two seasons.

-WR Percy Harvin…Caught just 19 passes with one TD last season/retired.

-DE Mario Williams…Played 884 snaps in ‘15/coming off worst season of his career.

-OLB Nigel Bradham…Played 728 snaps in ’15/below average defender last season.

-CB Leodis McKelvin…Played 388 snaps in ‘15/below average defender last season.

-CB Ron Brooks…Played 52 snaps in ‘15/top special team performer.

-S Bacarri Rambo…Played 686 snaps in ‘15/average defender.

Top Sleeper…

-DL Jerel Worthy…Already on his fifth team since being drafted 51st overall by Green Bay in 2012, the former Michigan State Spartan has a great opportunity for playing time due to injuries ahead of him on the depth chart. He has the talent to earn an important role on this team and possibly a home at long last in the NFL.

Also keep an eye on…

-RB Mike Gillislee…Third-year player averaged nearly six yards per carry with three scores late last season.

-DL Justin Zimmer…Rookie FA from Division II Ferris State.

-DL Adolphus Washington…Rookie third-round pick.

-OLB Eric Striker…Rookie FA from Oklahoma has a great chance for playing time due to injuries to the Bills top two picks in this year’s draft class. Striker amassed 191 tackles during his 39-game college career including 45 for loss along with 22 ½ sacks. Expect to see him used in as many blitz packages as Rex Ryan can devise.

-CB Kevon Seymour…Rookie sixth-round pick.

Key injuries/suspensions…

-RB LeSean McCoy…Dealt with hamstring and knee injuries last season which caused him to miss four games.

-RB Reggie Bush…Returning from a serious knee injury that kept him out most of last season.

-RB Karlos Williams…Returning from a concussion injury which caused him to miss five games last season. Will miss first four games this season while under suspension for drug violation.

-RB Jonathan Williams…Returning from a foot injury that caused him to miss his final season at Arkansas. A DWI arrest in July could force him to miss several games in 2017.

-WR Marquise Goodwin…Returning from a rib injury that forced him to miss the last 12 games of the season. Goodwin has missed exactly half (24) of the games he has played in during his three-year career.

-WR Robert Woods…Returning from a groin injury that caused him to miss the final two games last season.

-WR Sammy Watkins…Returning from offseason foot surgery. Expected to miss the entire preseason and be ready for Week 1.

-WR Kolby Listenbee…Recovering from a sports hernia injury.

-TE Charles Clay…Returning from a back injury that caused him to miss the final three games last season.

-OG John Miller…Groin and ankle injuries caused him to miss three games last season.

-OT Seantrel Henderson…Returning from Crohn’s disease which caused him to miss the final five games last season.

-DT Kyle Williams…Returning from a knee injury that forced him to miss ten games last season.

-DT Marcel Dareus…Returning from a foot injury sustained in Week 17 last season.

-OLB Shaq Lawson…Shoulder injury will force him to miss the first six to eight weeks of the season. He is currently on PUP.

-OLB Manny Lawson…Dealing with a torn pectoral injury.

-ILB Reggie Ragland…Knee injury will force him to miss the entire season.

-CB Stephon Gilmore…Returning from a shoulder injury that caused him to miss the final four games last season.

-S Aaron Williams…Returning from a neck injury that forced him to miss 13 games last season. He is now dealing with a concussion sustained during training camp.