Last season the Bills finished 7-9-0 and were last in the AFC East division.

Offense: Over the summer the Bills added one of the most explosive wide receivers in the history of the game in Terrell Owens. Owens and current number one receiver Lee Evans should make one of the better wide receiver tandems in the league with both having over 60 receptions and 1,000 yards receiving last season. The Bills traded Pro Bowl Left Tackle Jason Peters to the Philadelphia Eagles and the offensive line will be young with only one player having over 6 years of experience in the league at the tackle position. Also in limbo is the running back position for the first three games of the season with Marshawn Lynch being suspended by the NFL for being arrested on a gun charge in February. Fred Jackson will get the start and will be backed up by Dominic Rhodes for those first three games.

Defense: The 14th ranked defense in yards allowed and points against is the same unit as last season. Currently all 11 starters have returned to the Bills for the 2009 season and they hope to continue to improve as a unit. Defensive End Aaron Maybin was drafted 11th overall to help this defense that only recorded 29 sacks last season, while Maybin had 12 himself last season at Penn State. Another former Penn State player, Paul Posluszny, led the team in tackles last season with 110 in his first season as a starter. Buffalo hopes that the addition of Maybin and the continued development of the defensive unit will lead to improvements on the field this season.

Star Power: The Bills made the biggest splash this offseason signing Terrell Owens, but the receiver who may make the biggest impact is Lee Evans. For the first time in his career Evans will have a legitimate receiver lining up across from him and not making him the lone target for defenses to game plan for. Last season Evans’s stats were comparable to Owens’s in receptions, 63 for Evans and 69 for Owens, and in yards, 1,017 for Evans to 1,052 for Owens. The two should have 1,000 yard seasons and should help improve the 22nd ranked pass offense from a year ago.

Biggest Addition: T.O. may be a head case of sorts, but you cannot deny the skills he has on the football field. Sometimes his mouth may get him in trouble, but it has never affected his play on the field. Bringing him in will not only make the team as a whole better but it will also positively affect many pieces of the offense. With Owens across from him, he will open up Lee Evans from double coverage every passing down. With the improved play from the wide receivers will open up the ground game for Marshawn Lynch and Fred Jackson. As long as Owens is able to play nice with quarterback Trent Edwards, he will become a better quarterback as well.

Biggest Loss: Trading Jason Peters was a move that had to be done. The team did not want to sign him to an extension while he still had two years on his contract, and Peters was going to holdout until a deal could be made. This trade made sense from a front office perspective, but from an on the field perspective this is a huge loss. Peters, at age 26, is one of the top 5 tackles in the league and he will be a staple on the Eagles line for the next ten years or so. Now Buffalo will be counting on young players Demetrius Bell or Langston Walker to fill his position and protect Trent Edwards’s blind side.

Biggest Game: Sunday October 4th the Bills head to last season’s division winner Miami Dolphins in Week 4. This game is important because it will be starting running back Marshawn Lynch’s first game coming off a three week suspension by the NFL. How Lynch plays in this game is key to the Bills season, because if he comes out rusty and out of shape, Buffalo will be in for a long season. Backups Fred Jackson and Dominic Rhodes can carry the load for the first three games, but Lynch is the starter and one of the best players on this team and he needs to play well for Buffalo to succeed this season.