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Part 2 of the 2015 Buffalo Bills’ season review deals with the team’s offense. While the unit wasn’t explosive by any means, they were competent. Rex Ryan, although he failed the team miserably overall, did a couple of things that helped. He hired Greg Roman to coordinate the offense, and he lobbied to get Tyrod Taylor signed as a free agent to compete for the starting quarterback job, which he won. For the most part, Roman’s unit did enough that should have made a playoff spot possible, if the defense hadn’t totally crumbled. Here’s a position-by-position look at the Bills’ offensive players:

Quarterbacks

In Taylor, the Bills have found themselves a quarterback capable of leading them into the future. Critics pointed out that he wasn’t a “franchise” QB because he didn’t lead any fourth quarter comebacks, but he has the capability of developing that skill if given the chance. He did everything the team asked of him – sustain drives, don’t turn the ball over, rely on your running game and defense to win the game. He did all of the above, and it wasn’t his fault that the defense didn’t hold up its’ end of the bargain. Some critics argued that the standards should be set higher for Taylor, since he is a four year veteran , not a rookie. But look at his final stats – 64% completion percentage, 20 touchdown passes, 6 interceptions (the lowest total in franchise history). In Jim Kelly’s first year, he completed 59% for 22 TDs and 17 interceptions, and he wasn’t a rookie either, having played in the USFL. Add in Taylor’s 500+ yards rushing for the season, and you have a signal caller who can clearly lead your team. The problem is the backup QB spot. EJ Manuel is certainly no Frank Reich, and his days may be numbered in Buffalo. The only other quarterback on the roster is Josh Johnson, a stop-gap at best. Finding a backup QB should be a top priority for GM Doug Whaley in the offseason.

Running Backs

The Bills’ rushing attack underwent a complete makeover in 2015, with C.J. Spiller and Fred Jackson departing. They were replaced by Pro Bowler LeSean McCoy and rookie fifth round draft pick Karlos Williams, a real diamond in the rough. Then Whaley found another hidden gem, Mike Gillislee, late in the year, and the Bills’ backfield depth looks solid going into 2016. Also on the roster is Boobie Dixon, who didn’t contribute much to the rushing attack and didn’t make his usual positive contribution to the special teams. His place on the 2016 roster looks tenuous. Fullback Jerome Felton was used exclusively as a blocker.

Receivers

The leader of this unit is clearly Sammy Watkins, who emerged as one of the NFL’s top receiving weapons in 2015, and also as one of the Bills’ outspoken leaders in the locker room. Behind him, there’s a slew of players who had injury issues this year. Robert Woods, who played hurt and wound up on injured reserve at the end of the year and  Chris Hogan, who dropped some passes but had a nagging hand injury, are the best options. Marcus Easley has always been used mainly on special teams, while Marquise Goodwin has been nothing but fragile his entire time here. There’s little chance that oft-injured Percy Harvin will be back. Some players got chances to play due to the injuries, with former New York Jet Greg Salas making the most impact with some catches in the season finale. Leonard Hankerson is a veteran who could be given a shot in training camp next year, Dez Lewis did little after being promoted from the practice squad and Walter Powell did some kick return work but didn’t show much. The Bills did recently sign a couple of veteran free agents who’ll be given a chance to compete for jobs in 2016 – Greg Little, who had mild success with Cleveland, and Jarrett Boykin, a former Virginia Tech teammate of Tyrod Taylor. At tight end, the Bills have enough depth to stand pat going into training camp. Charles Clay ended the year on IR but is a major contributor. Holdover veterans Chris Gragg and MarQueis Gray will fight for roster spots with Nick O’Leary, a rookie promoted late in the year from the practice squad who showed some promise.

Offensive Line

The Bills revamped two-thirds of their offensive line in 2015, and as the season went on the unit developed into a decent line. The Bills had one of the NFL’s top rushing attacks, and the pass protection for Tyrod Taylor got better the more the line played together. GM Doug Whaley’s biggest priority in the off-season will be getting the left side of that line – guard Richie Incognito and tackle Cordy Glenn – signed to new contracts. Center Eric Wood is a solid starter and rookie John Miller looks like a keeper at right guard. At the right tackle spot, Seantrell Henderson battled an illness and lost valuable playing time to newcomer Jordan Mills, who may have locked down the starting spot there. Cyrus Kouandjio, who has been mostly a disappointment at tackle, got some playing time as an eligible receiver, basically an extra tackle, and made his biggest contribution so far in his career in that role. There isn’t much other depth with this group, with the backup guards being journeyman veterans Kraig Urbik and Ryan Groy.

This is the first section of a four part series reviewing the 2015 Buffalo Bills’ season. This post will cover the team’s front office and coaching, with three other segments reviewing the team’s offense, defense, special teams and a final one speculating on what the team needs to do to improve in 2016. In my opinion, the Bills’ front office, which includes general manager Doug Whaley and his scouting staff, has done admirable work in constructing a roster that should be capable of making the NFL playoffs. Whaley has been criticized for some of his moves, like trading up to draft Sammy Watkins and jettisoning Matt Cassel after he failed to win the starting quarterback job. The main argument against the Watkins trade is that the Bills could’ve stood pat and picked Odell Beckham Jr. and gotten themselves a better player. I would argue that the move was a good one, since Watkins is maturing into a top echelon receiver and a leader in the locker room, while Beckham, while talented, is a selfish prima donna. Meanwhile, Cassel proved in his starts in Dallas that moving him was no big loss. Despite trading the Bills’ first round pick in last year’s draft to get Watkins, Whaley still provided the team with some major contributors to the roster.

As far as coaching, there’s no way Rex Ryan gets anything but a failing grade for his efforts. Ryan raised the hopes of the fan base with guarantees of “building a bully” and playoffs (“Get ready, we’re gonna go”) and failed to deliver on anything. He retained special teams coach Danny Crossman from the previous coaching staff, but the bomb squads were anything but special . He spent the entire season trying to fit square pegs into the round hole that is his supposedly vaunted defensive scheme, and took a top-ranked unit and ran it into the ground. Players openly questioned the coaches all year. They say that teams take on the personality of their coach, and that appeared to be true with this year’s Bills. Ryan was undisciplined with his boastfulness and silly behavior all year, and the team followed suit. They picked up undisciplined penalties all year, and Ryan never fixed the problem. It was interesting to read a comment by a New York journalist who covered Ryan while he coached the Jets, that Ryan’s teams will “give you tremendous highs, inexplicable lows, and in the end, lots of mediocrity”. His career record indicates that this statement is accurate, so Ryan needs to figure out how he can tone down his personality and actually channel all the energy he exudes into coaching his team so they play with some consistency each week.

If your team’s final game of a season in which they underachieved and missed the playoffs needed some storylines to add incentive for the players, then Sunday’s Buffalo Bills’ matchup with the New York Jets certainly had that. The Bills faced their head coach’s former team, the New York Jets, quarterbacked by the Bills’ former quarterback, Ryan Fitzpatrick, with the Jets needing the win to secure a playoff spot. On top of that, there were rumblings of dissension in the Bills’ locker room with players suggesting that Mario Williams checked out a long time ago and was a selfish player. So how did the Bills respond? With a rousing effort that got them a 22-17 victory and ruined the Jets’ playoff hopes. Their win put the Pittsburgh Steelers into the playoffs as a wild card, and also ensured a non-losing season (8-8) for the second straight year for Buffalo. It’s very disappointing that a non-losing season passes for a positive, especially in a season that had so much promise, but at least the Bills didn’t run for the bus.

On the contrary, they played with as much passion as they’ve shown all year, especially the defense. Even the guy supposedly dogging it, Mario Williams, had a sack, while Leodis McKelvin, Manny Lawson and rookie A.J. Tarpley all picked off former Buffalo quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick in the fourth quarter to seal the win. It was a great all-around game for a unit that struggled all year, as they couldn’t quite adjust to coach Rex Ryan’s defensive scheme. On offense, the Bills had a tough time running against the Jets’ top-ranked rush defense. Quarterback Tyrod Taylor was their leading rusher with 51 yards on 10 carries, including an 18 yard scoring run in the first quarter. Taylor was his usual consistent self – his passing stats were ordinary, as he hit on 18 of 28 passes for 182 yards. He was extremely efficient, however, in keeping drives alive with third and fourth down conversions. The Bills controlled the clock for most of the game, doubling up the Jets in time of possession. Taylor’s biggest positive in the game may have been his ability to get the ball to his top weapon, Sammy Watkins, even though Watkins was being covered by the game’s top cover corner, Darrelle Revis, and the rest of the Bills’ receiving corps was depleted by injury. Watkins caught 11 passes for 136 yards.

A loss would have sent the Bills into the off-season with a bad taste in their collective mouths, especially if they had lost to Ryan’s former team, quarterbacked by their former signal caller. Instead, Buffalo salvaged a .500 season and now must regroup and hopefully make a run at the postseason in 2016.