The Buffalo Bills have endured one hell of an offseason, but that doesn't alter the high expectations in Western New York.
Veteran guard Richie Incognito told reporters Wednesday that it's an "unspoken rule around here that's it's playoffs or bust," per ESPN's Mike Rodak.
That's no small task inside a division ruled since the turn of the century by the New England Patriots. It's no coincidence that Buffalo has failed to win the AFC East since Tom Brady was unleashed on the NFL, spending much of his career upending the Bills and, previously, Rex Ryan's Jets.
Now in his second season with Buffalo, Ryan on Wednesday refused to acknowledge this year as make-or-break material.
"If you ask me," Ryan said, "hell, I don't believe that."
Of course he doesn't, but Ryan is very much under the gun in Buffalo. Last season was a chaotic mess in many respects, leading ESPN's Adam Caplan to theorize last week that Rex was "squarely on the hot seat."
Here's the flipside, though: Ryan, who hasn't produced a winning season in five years in the NFL, has a chance to change what people think about him this season. With the cards stacked against him and Buffalo's injury-badgered roster, churning out a winning season would turn Rex into the high-flying mayor of Buffalo.
That unlikely quest begins Sunday on the road against the Baltimore Ravens.
