Buffalo Bills: Tyrod Taylor gives Bills shot at a playoff spot

The Buffalo Bills made the (right) decision before the fourth and final preseason game to name free agent acquisition Tyrod Taylor their starting quarterback.

Taylor, while unproven to a certain degree, offers the Bills the best chance to win and also offers them the best opportunity to maximize the talent they have put around him offensively this offseason. For Bills fans, this is probably as optimistic as they have been in quite some time, and they have reason to be.

With Rex Ryan leading the charge, we know this talented defense is going to be phenomenal yet again this year. The Bills have had pieces in place for a few years now on the defensive side of the ball, but the stars are really aligning for this to be a special season for them on that side of the ball. Tyrod Taylor is going to get plenty of extra opportunities with the football with what that defense is able to do.

We saw flashes of it with the Ravens, but we’ve seen even more this preseason with the Bills of what Taylor is capable of doing not just as a running quarterback but as a pocket passer as well. He made some really great plays with his legs in the preseason, like this one here…

But he also put together an impressive resume’ of throws in the preseason, like this pinpoint accurate pass to the sideline deep downfield.

Taylor not only has proven capable of making all the throws, but he’s got some safety valves that he can rely on. The Bills added a number of top notch players this offseason (despite not having a first round pick) including Taylor that will provide the supporting cast for what I believe to be a playoff-caliber team.

Not only do the Bills return a budding star in Sammy Watkins, they have Percy Harvin coming in (hopefully fully healthy, soon) to play the slot with Robert Woods on the other side and Charles Clay playing the  TE/H-back role. Not the least of which was the addition of LeSean McCoy at the running back position, probably the biggest splash Buffalo made this offseason. McCoy is a dynamic runner coming off of a down year in Philadelphia, but if he gets healthy, the Bills have a backfield that no one is going to want to have to chase after for four quarters.

The offensive line is something to keep an eye on for Buffalo, but I think as a general whole, this Bills team is talented enough that Tyrod Taylor can bring them back to the playoffs. They were extremely competitive last year with Kyle Orton, so I’m going to be pretty optimistic about Taylor’s chances.

People are going to hate this, but I see a little bit of a poor man’s Russell Wilson in Taylor, at least in terms of his ability to play from the pocket, make throws on the run, as well as hurt you with his legs.

This is the type of bold move that could pay off big for Rex Ryan in the long run. Taylor, in my opinion, gives this team a really good chance to make the playoffs either as a division winner in the tough AFC East or possibly as a wild card team.

Championships, even those of the divisional variety, aren’t won on paper. Right now, though, it’s tough not to like the depth chart the Bills are drawing up.

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