Buffalo Bills: 5 questions heading into training camp
By Paul Taylor
4) Can the defense carry the load?
The Bills ranked 22nd in offensive points last season. In terms of yards, they ranked 29th overall and 31st in passing.
As such, the team often leaned on the defense to stay in games. However, they weren’t much better on this side of the ball, ranking 26th in yards allowed.
The Bills did finish 18th in points conceded, which while not particularly impressive, was still enough to help them sneak into the playoffs in the final week of the regular season. One area where they did perform well was takeaways, with them ranking ninth in the league.
The reason for mentioning all this, is because our previous points allude to the offense conceivably being just as bad — if not worse — in 2018. In other words, can the defense step up and carry the burden for the team?
In all honestly, there is actually a lot of reason to be optimistic about the Bills’ defense this year. And it starts with a defensive line that features the returning inspirational leadership of Kyle Williams and Jerry Hughes, who still has double-digit sack potential.
The linebacking crew will get a major upgrade with the addition of Tremaine Edmunds. The 2018 16th overall draft pick is expected to start and produce from the word go.
Finally, the secondary is being counted on to continue their ball-hawking ways, after ranking sixth in the league last year with 18 picks. Tre’Davious White will look to build on an impressive rookie season, while the Bills will be hoping Vontae Davis can return to his Pro Bowl form from his days with the Indianapolis Colts.