Buffalo Bills Season Recap

AFC East	Finished 3rd in Division
Overall Record: 7-9 (1-5 in division)	Draft Position: 10th
Head Coach: Rex Ryan (Fired); Anthony Lynn (interim, week 17)	GM: Doug Whaley

Pro Bowlers

• DT Kyle Williams
• G Richie Incognito
• OLB Lorenzo Alexander
• RB LeSean McCoy
• QB Tyrod Taylor
• CB Stephon Gilmore
• ILB Zach Brown

2016 Rankings

	Yards/Game	Points/Game	Passing Yards/Game	Rushing Yards/Game
Offense	16th	T-10th	30th	1st	TDs – T-6th
Defense	19th	T-16th	6th	29th	Sacks – 8th	INTs – T-18th

Top Passers

Name	Games Started	CMP. PCT.	Yards	TDs	INTs	Passer Rating	QBR
Tyrod Taylor	15	61.7	3,023	17	6	89.7	68.2
E.J. Manuel	1	42.3	131	0	0	58.3	29.3

Top Rushers

Name	Rushing Yards	Y/A	TDs
LeSean McCoy	1,267	5.4	13
Tyrod Taylor	580	6.1	6

Top Pass Catchers

Name	Receptions	Yards	Y/C	TDs
Robert Woods	51	613	12.0	1
Charles Clay	57	552	9.7	4

Top Defensive Players

• LB Zach Brown - 149 total tackles, 11 tackles for loss, 4.0 sacks, 1 INT, 2 forced fumbles
• LB Prestown Brown - 139 total tackles, 8 tackles for loss, 1.0 sack,1 forced fumble
• LB Lorenzo Alexander - 76 total tackles, 4 tackles for loss, 12.5 sacks, 1 INT, 3 forced fumbles
• CB Stephon Gilmore - 48 total tackles, 5 INTs

Impending Free Agents

• CB Stephon Gilmore
• QB E.J. Manuel
• WR Percy Harvin
• DT Corbin Bryant
• T Jordan Mills
• RB Reggie Bush
• WR Justin Hunter
• ILB Zach Brown
• WR Robert Woods
• FB Jerome Felton
• OLB Ramon Humber
• OLB Lorenzo Alexander
• DT Leger Douzable
• SS James Ihedigbo
• SS Robert Blanton
• CB Corey White
• SS Colt Anderson
• OLB Lerentee McCray
• WR Brandon Tate
• ILB Brandon Spikes
• FS Sergio Brown
• WR Marquise Goodwin
• TE Chris Gragg
• FS Jonathan Meeks

What I Said About Them Before the Season

• I projected that the Bills would go 6-10 this season and I was quite accurate with this prediction as they ended up going 7-9.  I thought that the Bills' offense was going to be driven by their rushing attack, led by LeSean McCoy, both of which ended up becoming true as McCoy had a Pro Bowl season.  Their defense was the team's best unit last season and I expected that to remain the same this year as Rex Ryan is a defense-first head coach.  I thought that the Bills would have a strong defense again with heavy pass rush and was strong against the rush.

Success/Failure

• Failure - The Bills had hopes of making the playoffs this season and Rex Ryan entered 2016 on the coaching hot seat.  This proved truthful as he was fired following week 16 after the team struggled in basically every area of the game.  On defense, their projected best unit, they ranked 16th in the league in overall defense and 29th against the rushing attack.  Their offense was just as bad, again 16th in overall offense, 30th in passing offense, but best in the league on the ground. I actually thought that Ryan deserved another year to prove himself as the head coach in Buffalo considering he had yet to have a solid roster that he helped build.  

Offseason Needs

• First of all, I think that the Bills' leadership group needs to fire GM Doug Whaley and hire someone new.  He is as responsible for the team's poor performances the past few seasons as Ryan was, considering he was the one responsible for the team's roster.  Regardless of what happens in the front office, the Bills have needs that they will certainly need to address through the draft, including offensive line help, talent at wide receiver with them potentially losing a few through free agency, and they need to address their secondary.  Fox Sports has them drafting offensive tackle Ryan Ramczyk out of Wisconsin with their first round pick at ten, and CBS Sports has them taking wide receiver Mike Williams from Clemson.  Both of these players would be quality picks who could slot in and help them immediately in 2017.  I think that taking a wide receiver with their first pick would be ideal to help reduce some strain off of their run game, which has carried their offense in recent years.  I am also curious to know what they decide to do at quarterback where Tyrod Taylor was benched after starting the first 15 games of the season before being replaced by E.J. Manuel.  Taylor is clearly better but is he the franchise's future at the position? Who knows.

*All stats and information come from espn.com, nfl.com, pro-football-reference.com, rosterresource.com, spotrac.com, overthecap.com, and cbssports.com