Last season the Bills started 4-0 and momentarily looked like they could run away with the division. Tom Brady was out for the year, Brett Favre was playing for the Jets and the Dolphins were relying on trick plays. The Bills had arrived! Then Adrian Wilson put Trent Edwards on his ass. And his head. Edwards was concussed and had to come out of the game. He was back after the bye week, but the Bills never seemed to fully recover from that punch in the mouth. Starting with the Arizona game, they lost 9 of their last 12 and Buffalo finished dead last in the AFC East.

Draft – The Bills took Penn State’s Aaron Maybin with the 11th pick in the draft. He’s currently setting a team record for the longest holdout by a draft pick. Yay! Team record! Don’t let that sour their draft grade though. They also tried to improve the offensive line with Eric Wood and Andy Levitre.

Free Agency – They signed Terrell Owens and the circus that comes with him. He’s been filming a reality show and I apologize for giving it a good review. I don’t even remember what channel its on. They also signed Dominic Rhodes to help fill out the backfield.

Marshawn Lynch – Busted on weapon charges in the offseason! Involved in a hit and run the offseason before! Big deal. As long as Lynch stays healthy and they keep feeding the ball to Beast Mode, no one in Buffalo cares. And yes, I love the video of Lynch at Applebee’s. It’s the first thing I think of when I hear his name.

Anyway, he’ll be sitting out the first 4 weeks of the regular season, which should afford him ample time to visit Applebee’s. While we’re on the subject, the boneless wings are delicious. I’m thinking about them right now.

Offense – They’ve got Lynch for the last 3/4 of the season. They added TO to compliment Lee Evans and drafted TE Shawn Nelson. Trent Edwards should be excited. At least until TO doesn’t get enough looks. Or if the rookie offensive lineman don’t protect him. If not, JP Losman isn’t walking through that locker room door. Ryan Fitzpatrick is.

Toronto – December 3rd the Bills host the Jets in Canada.

Defense -The Bills were 14th in total defense last season. They need to get Maybin on the field soon. The Bills have only sacked the quarterback a handful of times over the last 2 years. Maybin could help put some pressure on the QB. They’re also hoping that Leodis McKelvin makes the leap this year. He certainly goes up against some quality receivers in practice.

Offline Thoughts -My roommate is a lifelong Buffalo fan. I figured I’d pick his brain about the upcoming season. Let’s read what he had to say -  “Seeing as how all the teams I enjoy watching shit the bed, I think they’re going to be fantastic.” Yes, you may have picked up on the sarcasm.

Prediction – The Patriots are going to run away with the division, this much we know. How the other 3 teams sort themselves out remains to be seen. It’s possible that the Bills could get a couple more wins this season, but not likely. I see them finishing around 7-9 again. Except this year they won’t start so hot and finish so cold. It’ll be a slow burn of mediocrity. And Terrell Owens will do some weird stuff to get our attention.

2009 NFL Previews

NFC East: Dallas Cowboys Preview | Philadelphia Eagles Preview | New York Giants Preview | Washington Redskins Preview

NFC North: Chicago Bears Preview | Detroit Lions Preview | Minnesota Vikings Preview | Green Bay Packers Preview

NFL South: Tampa Bay Bucs Preview | Atlanta Falcons Preview | New Orleans Saints Preview | Carolina Panthers Preview

NFL West: San Francisco 49ers Preview | St. Louis Rams Preview | Arizona Cardinals Preview | Seattle Seahawks Preview

AFC East: New England Patriots Preview | New York Jets Preview |