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B/R Design

Why the Ranking?

No change for the Buffalo Bills this week, but more of the same on the field. Second-year quarterback EJ Manuel looked solid in the team's second game, but he regressed back to some bad habits in the third.

The Bills will only go as far as Manuel can carry them, and so far, he's carrying most of his receivers over the middle into big hits from defenders. There is no doubting that Manuel has the arm strength and athleticism to be a playmaker, but the finer details of the game must be developed, too.

Most Important Defensive Player for 2014

Strong Safety Da'Norris Searcy

The loss of Jairus Byrd in free agency will be felt in Buffalo, but this is a unit built to absorb the loss of its best player. Now, can it lose Byrd and linebacker Kiko Alonso? That remains to be seen now that the linebacker is out with injury. If the Bills defense is to return to Top 10 status, Da'Norris Searcy must step up quickly.

Searcy, who enters his fourth NFL season out of North Carolina, will have big shoes to fill replacing Byrd, but with a strong pass rush and a good group around him, no one is expecting him to be an All-Pro in 2014. But still, offensive coordinators will see Searcy as the weak link in this secondary and target him early and often.

For the Bills to win ballgames, the defense must carry them. And for that to happen, Searcy has to be good early.