First impressions matter.
At least to our psyches they do.
They don’t always foreshadow. But they’re often the basis of reputations.
Nine years ago, the Bills went bold — very bold — in the draft, trading up twice for the most polarizing quarterback prospect, Josh Allen. Even Brandon Beane probably couldn’t have imagined that day in April 2018 that his first selection as the Bills GM would work out as amazingly as it has for the organization.
And after nine years with the most successful head coach in franchise
history since Marv Levy, the Bills went bold — very bold — again, severing ties with Sean McDermott the morning after his team authored another agonizing playoff defeat short of the Super Bowl.
Buffalo stayed in-house with its hire after McDermott, and Joe Brady takes the sidelines today with the head coach title for the first time in his career. The defensive coordinator, Jim Leonhard, will also hold his title, in the NFL, for the first time. In years past, different defensive coordinators always shouldered the brunt of postseason-exit criticism in Western New York. Leonhard was arguably the most sought after defensive mind in football, a former overachieving player with a vastly different philosophy — and scheme — than the previous defensive-minded head coach.
To trot out a first-time head coach and first-time NFL defensive coordinator to begin a season with Allen’s superpowers at their peak… again, bold from the Bills.
And for Brady and Leonhard, what an ideal place to start… in Houston, a locale that, outside of Arrowhead in January, haunted Buffalo’s past regime unlike any other. While undoubtedly a major challenge, it provides an excellent opportunity to make a dazzling first impression.
Of course, the Super Bowl can’t be won or lost in Week 1 in the NFL. We have to keep that in mind. It’s a long and arduous rollercoaster of a season. For every team.
But for the Bills and their fans they knew exactly what to expect each year of the McDermott era, and it was unquestionably a span when Buffalo had its most prosperous and stable regular seasons in 30 years.
And first impressions still take time to shake, even today when opinions morph swiftly in the social-media driven age of the sports world.
McDermott won his first game as Bills head coach and ended a 17-year playoff drought in his first season. Allen’s first win, which came in September, was as emphatic as it gets, still the only occurrence in NFL history a 17-point underdog ultimately won by double digits (Buffalo won 27-6 in Minnesota). It also featured Allen’s original trademark highlight, which made quite the first impression. And that’s an understatement.
Those first impressions made indelible impacts in Buffalo for McDermott and Allen.
And now, just like when McDermott began in Buffalo, and at the inception of the Allen era, none of us know where to set the expectation bar for this new chapter of the team’s modern golden era.
We need a first impression to direct us where to start as the Bills venture into a new frontier.
Does the unadulterated version of Brady’s scheme, armed with the biggest receiver acquisition since Stefon Diggs, elevate Buffalo’s already well-oiled offense to new heights? Is Leonhard’s attacking style defense precisely what the Bills have needed on that side of the ball?
I suspect boldness will be a recurring theme from those two because such on-field evidence exists from their past coaching experiences.
And while the previous regime certainly won its fair share of big games, being bold wasn’t something that could always be said about McDermott and Co., especially in key contests.
On paper, a bold head coach and bold defensive coordinator align perfectly with Allen, the NFL’s ultimate on-field personification of boldness.
Yet football games aren’t played on paper.
And the Bills have a significant test right out of the gate, on the road, to begin this new chapter. I’d bet too that the Texans, despite their unusual level of accomplishment to date against Allen and the Bills, understand the significance of the test in front of them today.
Because while it’d be sensible for Houston to believe it just needs to run it back against Buffalo, these Bills are out to make a damn good first impression.
