Bills, Dareus Ready to Start Season

News around the NFL is that the long lockout between the owners and players' union is coming to an end. This means that us Bills fans can start another over-optimistic approach to another season. Anyways, we didn't want these guys just sitting poolside at their mansions all summer while the rest of us go to work right?

Now that it appears the season will soon get under way with training camps and practices, it's finally a reasonable time to look at the Bills this year.

 With the Bills being in the AFC East, every season seems to be an uphill battle from the start. The Patriots are one of the strong favorites as long as they have pretty boy Brady at the helm. The Jets seem to be getting stronger every year and are again one of the favorites to make the Superbowl. The Miami Dolphins have also been getting stronger and are rumored to make some big moves once the lock-out is over.

Then there is the Bills. One of the most positive things fans can look at is the estimated $38 million the Bills have in salary cap space. With many teams getting rid of high-priced players due to salary issues, this is definitely a time in which Buffalo can make a strong push for a few big names. The issue is convincing those players that Buffalo has a real chance to make the playoffs.

The Bills were looked at as having a fairly strong draft this year. With the third pick in the draft, Buffalo selected Marcell Dareus, All-American defensive lineman out of the University of Alabama. This was the highest pick by the Bills since the great Bruce Smith, and Dareus is expected to have a similar impact. Although this seems like an extremely optimistic point of view, Dareus is excited about his chance to play with the Bills as he explains in this articles with The Buffalo News.

Another thing to really look forward to this season is not seeing Trent Edwards behind center anymore. He had his moments, but he didn't have any last season. Ryan Fitzpatrick came in after the Bills had basically already lost playoff hopes, and he played pretty well. We saw flashes of greatness in his long pass game and even Jim Kelly is hopeful that Fitz can continue to help the Bills win.

For a better view of the Bills' upcoming season, you can check out their depth chart HERE curtousey of ESPN.

Get excited people. There are many bright sides to look at with the Bills' upcoming season. The main one being the fact that as of right now, everyone has the same record and the Bills are tied for first place!

If you need a little added incentive to get excited for this season, here's some of Marcell Dareus's highlights from college...the guy is a beast.