The Buffalo Bills are one of the most well-known professional football teams, this is a brief profile.
The National Football League (NFL) is one of the most popular sports leagues in the world. With more people around the world excited to watch the Super Bowl championship that demonstrates some of the league’s top scorers, it’s no wonder why the NFL betting lines are in such high demand. Check out how they can change with the latest developments using the link. This is a complete profile on the Buffalo Bills.
Origins
The Buffalo Bills were one of the earliest professional football teams. It officially formed in 1960 as a member of the American Football League (AFL) until it merged with the National Football League (NFL) to form the American Football Conference (AFC) in the 1970s. The formation wasn’t the first to represent Buffalo, and the Bills followed the Buffalo All-Americans' creation. There has been a great deal of work that went into creating the well-known team that we see today, and there are a lot of players to credit along the way.
Uniform
Early versions of the Buffalo Bills’ uniform were in white, blue, and silver with players’ numbers displayed on each side of their helmets. They then moved to a more traditional color scheme that features red, white, and blue. The helmet was soon added with a red symbol in the center of the team’s logo that was a standing bison. 1973 saw some big changes to the uniform and logo, as players were seen wearing blue pants with white jerseys. Their helmets featured a blue charging bull in replacement to the red bison the following year.
The helmets were changed to red in 1984 when it was noted that the majority of the teams’ rivals wore white helmets. To make them easier to distinguish on the field. While throwback versions of the uniform came into light decades later which included the white helmet featuring the charging bull symbol, the Bills are most widely known for wearing their all-blue uniform on home ground, and the all-white variant on the road.
Home Venue
Highmark Stadium can be found in Orchard Park, New York, and it has been home for the Bills since its opening in 1973. Interestingly, neither the team nor the franchisee owns the stadium. This means that a regular lease is needed, and with the team’s current lease expiring in 2023 they are looking for alternatives. These include renovating the stadium so that it suits their needs, or building their stadium nearby. A lot of professional football teams own their home venue, and a big advantage of this is that managers and owners can create a space as big or small as they like. One of the biggest examples of this is the huge “Jerry land” which is the home of the Cowboys.
Key Players
Despite his political career, a valuable player who is responsible for a lot of the Bills’ early success is Jack Kemp, who was a solid quarterback and even a team captain. Kemp led the team to a second consecutive championship and brought some of his military attitude and discipline to the AFL.
Bruce Smith is another noteworthy addition to the Buffalo Bills history. Following a rocky start to his career, Smith found the motivation and drive he needed to train hard and work on his performance as a professional player. This paid off, as Smith’s defense helped bring the Bills to Super Bowl XXV. He went on to have an impressive profile of total sacks and tackles during the 1990s and helped shape the team’s reputation.
Someone who is currently living up to the high standard of players is Josh Allen. The young quarterback was selected seventh overall in the 2018 draft by the Bills and has already earned Pro-Bowl and second-team All-Pro honors. Not to mention the fact that Allen helped lead the Bills to their first division title since 1995.
Rivals
The New England Patriots have been one of the biggest forces behind the Bills’ 17-year drought. Thanks to Tom Brady’s move, 2020 saw an end to this, where they were able to earn their first division win since 1995. Another reason for this is due to the introduction of the new coach since the teams’ origins. Sean McDermott added the Bills through some of their recent victories and is keen to break the cycle of championship droughts.
Additionally, the Miami Dolphins and New York Jets are some of the Bills’ most well-known and historic competitors. Despite the Miami team is a relatively recent addition to the NFL, they are some of the Bills’ most closely matched rivals in terms of skill and overall ability. Because the New York Jets are an original AFL team, there is notably a different type of rivalry by comparison. This is more focused on the upstate-downstate attitudes, and there are oftentimes a lot of grudges held by players.
Current Position
Within the AFC, the Bills remain near the top of the leaderboard and have been dominating most of their competitors. There is, of course, some room for improvement thanks to the New England Patriots. That said, the Bills have a lot to prove in the next season of professional football and are going to be the team to look out for.
To summarize, there are a lot of people to thank for their efforts within the Buffalo Bills. Some impressive profiles have contributed to the rivalries and continue to raise the bar higher and higher. Future players will have to strive to train hard and prove themselves to be drafted.
